Family takes Shanghai!

Yeahhhhh my family came to visit me in Shanghai!! I went to meet them with a flower and a box of Pocky for Mother’s Day, and then we had a delicious dinner at Cloud 9 mall and checked into the hotel (which was approximately a million times more comfortable than my dorm “bed”).

Thursday, my parents met me after class on campus so I gave them a tour and took them to tangbao (汤包!), our favorite soup dumpling restaurant. We later went to Yuyuan Garden (豫园) where Jake and I enjoyed taking selfies (or “youfies” as my brother calls selfies of other people), and my mom had fun taking photos of poorly translated signs. After Yuyuan, we took a walk to the Bund before heading back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. We met my dad’s friend for an incredible dinner at an old building in Shanghai that was converted into a restaurant.

On Friday, we went on a day trip to Hangzhou (杭州), to visit West Lake . We climbed to the top of the Leifeng Pagoda, although it was pretty foggy so the view was obscured. We then took a boat across the lake, which was nice and relaxing, and we got to see the landmark from the 1 RMB bill. We then had linner (late lunch/ early dinner?) at a restaurant called Lou Wai Lou because they had a dish my dad remembered being delicious over 10 years ago called Beggar’s Chicken. At night, I brought Jake to the bar by campus, Ellen’s, where he met my friends.

Boat selfie

Interactive piece

Saturday we went to the fake market and then went to the Long Museum West Bund. The museum took forever to find but was actually pretty cool. We went for a Sichuan dinner in the French Concession and then I took them to live music at Southern Belle, where my mom ordered (Ryan?) Gosling ginger beer. Then, on Sunday, we met in Global Harbor mall where Jake got Mövenpick ice cream, his favorite ice cream from when we lived in Hong Kong that he hasn’t been able to find in years. From there, we went to M50 on Moganshan Lu, a really cool art district with tons of galleries. It was a very relaxing way to spend the day, and something all of us were able to enjoy. Plus, it is one of the few places in Shanghai where graffiti is allowed (yay China!). One of my favorite galleries had a lot of digital art. On one piece, you could call the number on the screen and the person in the image would answer their phone and then disappear, and someone else would replace them. Then you receive a weird text. It was cool. I called twice.

 

That night, we met my cousins Charlie and Rya for dinner at M on the Bund, which had a beautiful view of the Shanghai skyline. It was so nice to be with my family again, even though I was halfway around the world from home.

On Monday, I had a test and field trip in my class so my parents and Jake did the main tourist sights (Shanghai Museum, Nanjing Lu, etc). I met my family for dinner at a nice Thai place recommended by my roommate. The next morning, I saw them off for Hong Kong. We did a lot of things in Shanghai but the best part was getting to spend time with my family after not seeing them for so long, (although the continental breakfast buffet at the hotel was a close second). I couldn't wait to see them again in two days, when I would go meet them in Hong Kong.