China's Holy Grail Found in Shanghai

I don’t think King Arthur’s men had it nearly this easy. On just my second day of the quest, I think I found China’s Holy Grail. The Shanghai Museum is stocked full of Eastern treasures, and quite a few Dutch realist treasures as well. Curious how I had to voyage to the Far East to find some of the greatest paintings of Rembrandt and other 17th century Dutch masters.

After a quick breakfast of shrimp vermicelli, dumplings, and hot tea, I wandered my way over to the Shanghai Museum. The building itself is a work of art (but nothing compared to the Shanghai Grand Theater—that building still hath me enthralled…sorry, yet another Keats reference, but what do you want, I’m a Romanticist). Meandering through the People’s Park, around a rather imposing communist municipal government building where it seemed dozens of angry farmers were seeking an audience with some government officials and were being controlled by local police, I crossed through an underground pedestrian passageway and emerged to behold the wondrous site of the Shanghai Museum. I spent most of the day gazing at Chinese artifacts in various exhibition halls, including bronze works dating back to the 21st century BC, sculpture from the 5th century BC to the 3rd century AD, ceramics from the 8th millennium BC through the 18th century AD, a coin gallery with coins from the 8th century BC (when metal coinage was modeled after miniatures of farm tools), classical Chinese painting and calligraphy, folk art and clothing from the 50 different ethnic groups of China, and a furniture gallery. As I left the museum, I was treated to some of the best works of Rembrandt and other 17th century Dutch masters on loan from Amsterdam.

I was totally overwhelmed by the vastness, diversity, elegance, intricacy, and antiquity of this land. I’m also struck by the overt kindness and curiosity of the people here, particularly the women. It’s only the second day of my quest, and I’ve had several people just strike up conversations with me—Where are you from? Why are you here? Are you an artist, because you look like an artist? I like your hair. You have a beautiful nose and nice eyes. My friends are going to a traditional celebration, would you like to join us?... Either they are sincerely curious, or they are trying to scam questing kings. After talking to a nice woman named Kiki, her cousin, and her ancient aunt who couldn’t speak any English but just smiled at me a lot, I sat down in the People’s Park, had a nice pipe, and watched some old men fly some really cool kites. I’m now finishing up my late lunch of, yep, dumplings and soup. I really like this Chinese diner called East Dawning. By the end of my journey here in Shanghai, I will have sampled everything on their menu. The food is very tasty and ridiculously cheap: 20-60Y (3-8 dollars) for a filling and delicious meal.

[Time lapse]

I just got back from the acrobatic show. My new friends were a no-show, but I enjoyed the performances. It’s nice to be back in my lodgings, as I had a long day.

Click to see a few pics from my quest at the Shanghai Museum and the acrobatics show (the closest thing to court jesters I’m probably going to get, and much more exciting). [New pics show up toward the bottom of the album, following the previous set of pics, starting with "Breakfast of Champions".]