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SHANGHAI (Day 16 - part 2)
We continued to wander around the old town a bit more.
A flowing tea pot fountain
Possibly the world's most ornate Starbucks Coffee shop
These three white statues probably serve as protection.
The outside edge of the Yu Yuan shopping area
A double dragon fountain
In the evening, several of us went to the French Concession for a lovely dinner. The distances are too large to walk in Shanghai, so it was necessary to take taxis.
Every driver must have his taxi license displayed.
Most of the major street signs are in both Chinese and English.
The Shanghai Exhibition Center
The French Concession:
Concessions in China were territories that were governed and occupied by foreign powers, which were generally Western powers or Japan. They are frequently associated with colonialism and were enclaves inside key cities that were treaty ports. The majority of these concessions had been granted due to the Unequal Treaties, a term used for the type of treaties signed under duress during the 19th and early 20th centuries, when Asian states were largely unable to resist the military pressures from foreign powers.
In these concessions, the citizens developed their own cultures, because each administration would try to make their concession look like "home." Each had its own police force, legal jurisdictions and separate laws.
The French Concession was estabilshed in 1849. Its borders were expanded twice, in 1900 and 1914. In 1943, the French returned the area to China. Despite rampant re-development over the last few decades, the area still carries an air of genteelness with tree-lined streets and turn-of-the-century French-inspired architecture.
Only the towering buildings in the background remind one that this isn't old Europe.
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