SEA Alternative Shanghai Day Trip

On Tuesday, October 14, I went on an SEA tour to discover another side of Shanghai with my friends Jen Manna and Jenni Rosen, as well as a bus full of other Shanghai Tai-Tais.  

We started out at the magnificent Sanshan Guild Hall built by Fujian fruit merchants in the late Qing Dynasty which has been restored to its early grandeur, including the enormous gilded hall, theater stage and statue of sea goddess Mazu.  Here, going through a museum in the former club, we learned about the regional and commercial clubs of old Shanghai.  When people migrated to Shanghai from other provinces, they often joined the provincial club in Shanghai with others from their province.  These social clubs also provided benefits for the unemployed and helped return the body of a deceased club member to their hometown for burial.

After we left the museum, we headed to the north end of the Bund, walking past the first Christian Church established in Shanghai.  It was a beautiful sunny day with bright blue skies, which one of the best things about fall in Shanghai.  Along the way, we saw a lot of couple in wedding attire taking photos, especially around the church.  Brides were wearing white dresses, red dresses, and green dresses, the traditional colors, as well as other colors.  Chinese couples take their wedding pictures weeks or even months before the wedding takes place, so the couple often takes advantage of a great day, especially since air quality in Shanghai is so iffy.  We had one bad day this week, but most of the time, the air has been clear, which is a nice change around here.

After walking across the Suzhou creek, we  visited the former Astor House Hotel which was the first western hotel in China.  The hotel is still beautiful and many famous celebrities from around the world have stayed there, including President Ulysses S. Grant and Albert Einstein.  The hotel has been renovated, but the old part of the building has been changed into a huge compound with local Chinese living in old hotel rooms as their day to day family home. Because of the location at the north end of the Bund, these homes are quite expensive and fairly prestigious.  We even were lucky enough to have a resident show us around. 
 
Wandering through the old hotel, we were all struck by the traditional homes of the local Chinese, including small hotel rooms turned into apartments, as well as the kitchens that had been built in the hallways.  We saw glimpses of the old grandeur of the hotel, the carved railings and ancient woodwork, but covered in hanging laundry, soaking bok choy, and the detritus of everyday, working life in Shanghai.
 
After leaving the Astor Hotel, we climbed back on our bus and headed out to visit the biggest, and creepiest, Slaughterhouse in 1930s, located in the historic Hongkou District. This eerie Gotham-deco architectural achievement in concrete, glass, and steel, was originally intended for herding cows to their doom.  We all decided that the slaughterhouse, which is now a mall filled with restaurants, cafes, boutiques, and furniture stores, would be a good place for a Halloween party and haunting house.  Our guide said it had recently be used for a fashion show - for me, very similar to a haunted house.  :)

We had lunch at a local Shanghai-nese restaurant and then jumped back on the bus and headed over to the former British Police Station, what used to be prison cells and offices back in the 1920’s now shelter low-income residents living in a Roman coliseum-looking square-shaped compound; 5 story buildings surround a spacious courtyard in the middle which house over 250 families. 

The prison was a startling experience for most of us.  The idea of a family living in an apartment the size of a prison cell, and paying one million RMB (approximately $165,000) for the privilege to do so, was staggering.  The courtyard of the prison, where we could see the residents working on their scooters, hanging their laundry, cooking on the outdoor kitchens, was overwhelming.  

We ended the day at a redevelopment of a historical textile factory on the banks of the Huang Pu River, filled with "outlets" such as Nike and other western retailers.  We were excited to find a Austrian-transplant, the  Zotter Chocolate Factory. While the chocolate is actually made in Austria, there are tastings, a film, and lots of chocolate.  It was a great day with friends and a great look at many off-the-beaten path sides of Shanghai.