I had decided to drop the idea of visiting the Shanghai Museum, as on the first day here I saw a long queue waiting and that is what the guide also mentions as normal. So this morning I took the subway to Xintiandi station, only two stops from my starting point. The task was to walk around the neighbourhood known as “French concession”, the most European part of Shanghai, the most chic, cool, etc. I wandered for a while, had two coffees, looked at the little cute shops and then felt bored and took the way back on foot. It was a bright sunny day so by reaching People’s square I had enough energy to give one more chance to the museum. That went well; there was no queue! I walked in passing through control like at the airport and then no other burden; admission is free. I don’t know why it looked smaller from the inside and the halls were not that big and full either. The ceramics are beautiful; in the hall there is also a short introduction about the process and real size models of the kilns used in different periods. I had a look at the painting hall, at the calligraphy hall and last at the ancient Chinese sculpture hall, from stone carving to pottery making. Last piece to see was a dog made of clay, real size I thought. That was a good end of my stay in China. Happy with it I went to a pure Chinese diner where they don’t speak a word of English and ordered the cheapest meal of my trip, 18 Yuan that means 2,50 Euro; it contained a soup and a bowl of noodles well stuck together for managing with the chop-sticks and something meaty which on the picture looked like soya. I must note that they do not understand the word soya and that the dish “foe-yung-hai” which is standard vegetarian Chinese dish is Holland here does not exist…I think I will survive; my bags are packed.
artB 
Kalo Taxithi