Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibit, and the Shanghai Museum

Over the weekend our group went to see some of the museums that Shanghai has to offer. Before going we went to a buddhist restaurant that served vegetables that were supposed to imitate meat; some of the dishes were somewhat successful, but others were less than appetizing. Afterwards we went to the Shanghai urban Planing Exhibit which showed the growth of Shanghai, starting in the beginning when it was still a fishing village, and ending up showing what the city is planned to look like in the future. It had a bunch of good exhibits, but nothing like the scale model of the city which was still massive. This museum truly focused on the art that architecture has become, and how the city is its own exhibit of modern and classical architecture. The Shanghai museum was one of the best museums that I have ever been to, it was like going to the Metropolitan mixed with the Smithsonian. We started on the bottom floor in a massive exhibit that was full of bronze works that were typically dated to about 11 or 7 B.C., yup some of the art that we saw was about 3,000 years old and still absolutely stunning. After that we went up to the third floor to go see the Calligraphy and Chinese Paintings. After taking classes in Calligraphy I have a new appreciation for it. It is a very detail based art form that is so much more than a way to communicate. We even got to see the Oracle Bone which is one of the oldest depictions of the origin of the written Chinese language. I then went to the painting exhibit, which like the bronze exhibit was massive, overwhelming, inspiring, and dated farther back than I would have cared to count. I am glad that we went to the museum after I started my classes, because this just reinforced what I am learning in class, and inspired me even more to explore these mediums. After that we went down to the tailor district where Ian, James, Thomas, and I got tailored suits, and shirts for less than 100 u.s. dollars. After wards we walked out side into the summer night and got some of the best noodles, and shao kao and shao niu (roasted lamb and beef) that we have ever had. All and all with everything else that we did that weekend I would measure to say that we had quite the time.

CJ