The last two days of our upcoming exploration of China will be spent in Shanghai. I think our stay here in Shanghai should being renamed “the garden tour” since we are scheduled to visit three different gardens during our two days here. That sounds a bit much to me. While not a politically correct thing to say, after a while they all start looking the same to me. I can say the same about so many other “treasures” around the world, such as European churches, castles, temples, museums, wineries, etc. While each one is unique and very interesting, I tend to get burned out after seeing a number of them in a short period of time. I am afraid this may happen to me while in Shanghai. I may end up baling out on going to one of them but we will just have to wait and see...

Shanghai is the largest and most prosperous city in China. It is located in the Yangtze River Delta, along the coast of the Yellow Sea in East China. Though not the capital, Shanghai is China's most populous city, with over 23 million inhabitants, which also puts Shanghai on the world map as one of the world's largest cities in terms of population. Note: while I previously wrote that Chongqing had a population of 28 million, I have gone back and discovered that number was stated for Chongqing and its immediate environs. The actually population of Chongqing city is just 8 million.

Shanghai's origins date back as far as 5800 years ago, during the Neolithic Period of the Stone Age. The earliest traces of civilization present in this area have been unearthed from a village by the name of Songzhe, in what is the present-day Qingpu District of Shanghai. The artifacts unearthed include hard pottery (vessels mainly) and even prototype porcelain, as well as stone implements.

For centuries a major administrative, shipping, and trading town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of several opened to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the First Opium War and the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking which allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, trade was reoriented to focus on socialist countries, and the city's global influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.

Our first day in Shanghai will actually be spent in the city of Suzhou to the west of Shanghai. Suzhou is known for its beautiful gardens. While there, we will visit Tiger Hill, the Lingering Garden and the Silk Factory No.1.