10/14/06 ~ Century Park

On the Rio: Pink Floyd ~ A Pillow of Wind

It's a first! I said something in Mandarin to the metro card clerk and he understood me! Ok, I admit it, all I said was "wu shi" which means "fifty" after I handed him a 100RMB note, but at least he understood I only wanted to add 50RMB to my metro card.

I hope I have as much luck tomorrow. I am going to Hangzhou by train and I had the apartment receptionist get my ticket. But the train system only allows the purchase of one-way tickets, so I have to buy my return ticket by myself once I get there. Wish me luck! (No need to worry, mom, the receptionist has also written out in Mandarin what I need to get back.)

Today I went to Pudong ("new" Shanghai on the other side of the Huangpu River) to Century Park for the 2006 Shanghai International Mosaiculture. Eighty works of living, top notch avant garde horticultural art from 55 cities in 15 countries are displayed under this year's theme of "Earth, Home".

I took over 240 pictures with the Nikon. Boy, am I having fun, and the pictures turned out great! I was switching lenses back and forth, looking like a pro. The exhibit was really interesting. I spent over 4 hours at the park. I will be quite selective with what I post, and will do so in stages. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

(Note - the descriptions are taken directly from the park postings, but the wording was too small when I posted the picture, so I'm retyping it.)

1. Memory of the Descendant Barrel: The body of the exhibit, the descendant barrel, used to be a gift from the parents in traditional nuptual custom. Around the barrel there lies a set of window lattice in the pattern of doublie Xi (which means happiness in Chinese), eggs and peanuts, all of which serve as carriers of best wishes for the newlywed couple.

2. Dancing Phoenix: The exhibit unfolds to the viewers the magnificent phoenix in a lively dance. Phoenix is a legendary bird in Chinese folklore, which represents revival and invigoration. With the adoption of primary colors such as red, green and yellow, the exhibit fully reveals the beauty and splendors characteristic of this mystic bird.

3. The facial make-ups of Peking Opera: The facial make-ups of Peking Opera, with the adoption of vibrant colors and exaggerated patterns, fully display the disposition and traits of the characters in the operas, for example, red face represents courage and loyalty while black face stands for audacity (fearless/daring) and sagacity (I admit, I had to look this word up in the dictionary: the mental ability to understand and discriminate between relations). The facial Make-Ups, along with the Opera, have long been considered as the treasure of Chinese folk arts.

It was almost impossible to get a picture without lots of people in it, no matter how patient I was. But sometimes, the cutest picture can get captured. This is my favorite of the day (and it looks much better not on the blog).