I just had a wonderful time in Shanghai. It is an incredible city -- a cross between tradition, modern and blade runner. Tall, tall new buildings in such unusual shapes and colors. Yet, at the foot of these buildings people hang their clothes out to dry. Down the alley you will see rows and rows of clothes, underwear, sheets hanging out drying.

We started the day taking a ride on a magnetic train. It went around 430 km per hour, so we did in 7 minutes what had taken us ~35 minutes the night before. Amazing! We then toured a temple, now turned market, where we bought chopsticks from a famous store. Deep within the temple we got to see a ceremony performed to honor gods.

George and Helen, our awesome hosts, took a break from walking and we visited a tea house where we saw furniture over 400 years old. Young girls performed a special tea ceremony that was once done for generals. The tea was incredible and we had wonderful nuts and dried fruit for snacks. Once again the time and beauty, as well as the innocence of this moment brought tears to my ears. The girls took such time and care with grace in every movement. Each girl had a role in the process. Their hands and bodies moved rhythmically in tune to the effort.

We ended the day by seeing the chinese acrobats perform a version of swan lake. Imagine a cross between classical ballet, traditional asian dance and a circus. Breath-taking twists and turns on polls and in the air, as well as mind-boggling balancing acts. The colors and costumes were brilliant and reminded me of Cirque de Soliel (sp?). Evidently they were only performing for 5 nights in China before going to Sydney.  I couldn't believe we were lucky enough to see this event.