It is a city with striking contrasts.

The Pearl of the Orient Tower as seen from the YuYuan Garden

It is a city with an intricate road system, sometimes comprising 5 levels of road!

and famous shopping areas like Nanjing Road

It is the home of the YuYuan Garden which dates back 400 years and has all of the elements of a traditional Chinese garden- plants, rocks, buildings, and water.

The Jin Mao Tower used to be the tallest building in Shanghai. Although it is a skyscraper, it contains some elements of Chinese design. You an read more about it here. From its observation deck, one can have a bird’s eye view of the city on a clear day. These school children are attempting that…

The current tallest building in Shanghai is the Shanghai World Financial Center.

The Shanghai World Financial Center building is very impressive and seems to change shapes as one drives around Shanghai and sees if from different angles. You can learn more about it here.

China is still growing and under construction is the Shanghai Tower that when finished will have 128 stories.

Here is a poster that depicts the skyline when the new tower is built.

From left to right: Jin Mao, World Financial Center, Shanghai Tower

Next time: Jewish Shanghai, remnants of Jewish history in China

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One aspect of pain reduction is relaxation and I copied from a book, perhaps Husband Coached Childbirth, an exercise that I read to the couples (yes, I had the husbands relaxing too) while they relaxed on the mats on the floor. It contained images that would help a person focus on another place and experience to distract them from some of the tension in their body.

I am long past the childbirth stage. I have, however, used many of the techniques over the years for uncomfortable medical and dental procedures. Sometimes, I use the images to simply reduce tension. Sometimes I use them just to make me happy.

So here are just some of the places I go– in no particular order:

1. A Chinese garden. Once of my favorites is the “Good Luck” Garden in Hangzhou, China. Not only is it lush and green and with some of the trees decorated with red ribbons, but it contains lovely sculptures and has beautiful Chinese music playing in the background. It’s a first class stress-reliever.

Good Luck Garden

Liu Hai and the Golden Toad

Looking through a doorway

2. Bamboo raft ride on the Martha Brae in Jamaica. Sorry, this was in the days before digital photography! You’ll have to picture nearly still water with trees of all sorts on both banks of the river forming almost a canopy over us and lush vegetation everywhere. Except for the sounds of the birds, and the gentle poling of the gentleman taking us on this ride, there was silence. A fine mist contributed to making the experience magical.

3. Halong Bay in Vietnam. It is beautiful– breathtaking, actually.

4. The Rice Terraces at YuanYang, China. They are majestic. There’s something very clean and pure about the fresh stalks of rice, planted in rows, sculptured into the landscape.

Rice Terraces

5. Austria, just south of Salzburg. It’s just beautiful. I love the snow-capped mountains and this really isn’t a painting. It’s a picture I took myself in the month of May.

So tell me, where do you go??

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Note: This was NOT produced by my daughter who does this professionally and could have done a great job. This is my first attempt to make a movie.

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Kunming is called the “Spring City” or the “City of Eternal Spring” because of its wonderful mild weather. Foreign students flock here to study Chinese language and traditional Chinese medicine.

Here is a view of part of the city center.

Gate, City Center, Kunming, China

Although most Chinese people are not devoutly religious, they do have beliefs in higher powers and many think of themselves as Buddhist or Taoist. Many also have adopted the Confucian philosophy. Many Chinese see no contradiction among these three and are adherents to all three. Here is a very beautiful Buddhist Temple. It differs from most because one actually enters and then descends toward the main complex. The picture was taken looking back toward the entrance gate.

Gate, Yuantong Temple, Kunming, China

The temple was built late in the 8th century, but, of course, preserved through the years. Here is some detail of one of the buildings as it was being refurbished recently. It is made of wood with lacquered paint to decorate it. All of the painting is hand done.

Detail of building in Yuantong Temple, Kunming, China

What could be more relaxing after a day of looking at all of this beauty than sitting with a cup of tea. We were treated to both the tea and an explanation of the significance of this particular type, Puer tea, which is formed into large wheels of tea (about the size of a frisbee) and sold to parents when their daughter is a baby and preserved until she is betrothed as a gift for her husband. Puer tea can heal just about everything and we were told that if we were to have a steady diet of it, our skin would look as young as that of this lovely lady who served us tea in her ethnic dress.

Tea tasting, Kunming, China

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The focal point of the city is Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. It is a mountain that has numerous legends and for the local Naxi people whose language, Dongba, is the world’s last remaining pictographic language, it is a holy mountain. It is easy to see how this mountain would inspire awe. It has thirteen peaks and seems to resemble a dragon lying down. From afar, it is magnificent and a ride up the cable car to the point beyond which one may not climb is an amazing experience.

One way to enjoy this mountain is by viewing it from Black Dragon Pool Park. Without its magnificent views, the park would be well worth visiting because it is landscaped exquisitely and contains buildings and bridges and live music. Adjacent to the park is a museum of the Naxi people that houses all sorts of fascinating artifacts. A visit there is worthwhile if only to hear about the Dongba language and see how it works. You can also watch the embroidery of intricate silk ties. These ties take two months to embroider as complicated geometric designs are embroidered by hand with painstaking accuracy.

With the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain in the background, it is a most picturesque and impressive place to visit.

Here are some of the views.

Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (in background)

A closer view of the mountain

On the pond

The other side of the bridge

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All traditional Chinese gardens share four elements: buildings, stones, water, and plants. Chinese gardens are a microcosm. The stones, collected for their sizes and shapes, sometimes put in creeks for a period of a year or two or three to refine their shapes, represent mountains. The ponds represent the seas. Unlike the gardens we see in Europe that consist chiefly of plants, these gardens combine the textures of plants and stone and wood and marble and stucco. Unlike the gardens of Europe that feature lots of flowers in brilliant colors, Chinese gardens are shades of green, colored by the leaves of their trees. Unlike European gardens which are manicured and symmetrical, Chinese gardens are wild looking and full of variety.

Today I will show you some pictures of the Lion Grove Garden in Suzhhou, China. Suzhou is known as a garden city or “Venice of the East.” Indeed, Marco Polo reputedly so named it. The city has canals like Venice and being poled through the canals of Suzhou is a uniquely beautiful experience. Suzhou is home to many magnificent gardens. The Lion Grove Garden is only one example. It once belonged to the grandparents of the noted architect, I. M. Pei. A visit there is something that can refresh and renew you for years.

A place of tranquility

A walkway in the garden

Always new views

Looking across the pond

A surprise view from a hole in a rock

A tranquil view of the pond and the walkway across it

Come join me in China for a tour of some magnificent gardens!

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