Watching the band at a beautiful old hotel!

Great SEA event!

We learned the history of the Suzhou Creek which at one time had a variety of manufacturers along it which caused major pollution. It is much better now – we even saw fish and birds.

The day included a tour of a matchstick factory, boat tour and a wonderful lunch.

It was a great day and I met some wonderful new people!

Rich and I went out to dinner with his colleague Stephen and his wife Jean ( who I’ve been spending time with).

We decided we wanted to go to a restaurant with a view but it turned out it was a cloudy night. The food was delicious at the Park Hyatt Hotel. The steak you see is called the tomahawk – which we all shared!

Great evening!

I met Sara and Abby during my first SEA tour soon after arriving in Shanghai in March. We attended several events together and decided to do something on our own this trip.

Sara and her husband are on a several year assignment here and Abby is their daughter who has been visiting for a few months. Because Sara is an expat she has a driver who was so kind to drive us on our excursion. We really wanted to see a water town so we were off to Zhujiajiao!

Zhujiajiao is an ancient water town located in the Qingpu District of Shanghai (about 40 minutes outside the city). It was established about 1,700 years ago and it’s archaeological findings date back 5,000 years. It has 36 stone bridges and numerous rivers with many ancient buildings that still line the riverbanks today.

It was kind of ironic – we thought we would be headed to this small remote village but the shop owners spoke better English than most people in Shanghai. And amongst the ancient village with all of these old streets there is now new construction with one of the locations being a Starbucks….ugh!

Notice the cute kitties too!

My new friend Rachael was kind enough to organize a tour and invite me to join. It was a great day – so informative and eye opening!

Here is how our tour guide described the tour:

Shanghai has a population exceeding 22 million, 9 million of which are migrant workers. These are the people who have built this modern metropolis from the ground up, clean its streets, do most of the menial labor jobs, and yet receive minimal social benefits from living here. As we wander the busy lanes , we’ll observe and sample street foods from all over China, while visiting some unusual business that are only found in these neighborhoods. You’ll learn about China’s hukou-based social system and the discrimination that stems from it. We’ll also discuss the issues migrant workers face while living away from home, and discover if the government is doing anything to address them. Several families have invited us into their homes to share their stories, talk about their sacrifices, and proudly reveal how they’ve found happiness and success. This tour will give you a fresh perspective on this hard-working group of people.