Saturday, September 01, 2007

Day 291 August 26th 2007, Old pots - Shanghai


I'm not really a big fan of museums, there are some notable exceptions when it comes to Natural History or Science but when culture or history is involved I switch off. I can already tell you before I even go into such a museum what it will contain.

Pottery - old non descript pots followed by generations of more advanced pottery, gradually gaining in color and complexity

Clothes - old and dull leading to new and dull

Weaponry - sticks and spears, followed by bows and arrows then swords, some old muskets alongside some local ornamental weapons

Money - bronze, silver and then gold coins followed by notes that decrease in size the newer they are

Aren't I clever, anyway Shelley on the other hand loves to pour over the exhibits and their descriptions. So after a 10 minute scroll I agree to wait paitently outside, watching the fans of old pots and clothes go by as I catch up on emails with the blackberry. The Shanghai museum although historical is very well done, I did spend more than 10 minutes in the money exhibition, largely due to having it all explained by a video that was playing in there. One particular old pot (above) did catch my eye but I couldn't find a replica for sale in the gift shop.


After a bit more exploring we checked out the Pudong skyline by night, the Oriental Pear Tower on the left stands out at 468m high.


Highlights: Shanghai skyline by night

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