Outing to Qibao

Happy Chinese New Year! This year it is the year of the monkey. The city centre is almost deserted, and it feels really weird with empty streets in a 20-odd million populated city. The actual new year's eve was on Sunday, and yesterday was the first day of the new year.  Everyone is traveling to their home towns to visit family during this holiday. Or visiting famous tourist attractions, as we learned today. We went to Qibao for lunch, an old street in the outskirts of Shanghai. It is famous for having preserved some old houses by the river, and is today filled with small restaurants and souvenir shops. We did not see so many of them today though, as the narrow streets were absolutely packed, and I mean Packed, with people! There was only one way of sightseeing and that was to follow the stream…

This was the entrance to the old streets of Qibao. 

Chinese new year was maybe the wrong time to visit this attraction, but at the same time is what quiet fun!

Traditional Chinese shoes with hand embroidery.

Cherry tomatoes dipped in melted sugar. My favorite is when they sell these made with strawberries! Yum!

We visited the temple of Qibao. It seemed to be quite newly build.

Here you can see the pagoda on the outside with the offering tables.

We also bought two candles, here my husband and John are lighting one each. Every candle has a written wish or prayer on them. You can choose what wishes for the new year you want to 'send up' to your ancestors, good health, good business and so on.

Kim and me lit up some huge incense sticks...

…that were placed in this pot.

Praying place before a golden Buddha.

These were also in the temple and being prayed before, but I have no idea who they are.

Outside on the street, the new year undergarment (to wear red undergarment for the new year brings luck) is drying together with fish… ?!?

A part of the street that was newly build, more shops and restaurants on there way!

Our lunch, pork knuckle!! It was so good!

Even more people had arrived when we were on our way home.

The last view of the river before we headed to the metro and home!

It was a very nice area of Shanghai, and I think I will return after the spring festival is over and hopefully be able to see more of it with much less people there!

I wish you a great week everyone, and in my next post I will return to art-ing!!