Here and There Blog

Park wandering is strictly to the pavement. No grass attempts allowed or posing next to the sculptures. Stick with the rules and security leaves you alone. This is actually great since you don't see people trying to climb to the top to see the crow or ruin a sculpture by accidental damage.  This fox is up on a high platform. The photo doesn't do it justice, it's huge!  Whimsy People  You could almost forget you're surrounded by tall buildings....Almost.  Water fountain. The flowers were surprising given it's winter and cold.

Jing'an Sculpture Park is another small oasis off the main streets of Shanghai. The park is fairly small and wasn't crowded on a Monday morning. The "people in park"  collection was one of my favorites.    The cow! I found the cow!

The small spot of nature in a concrete city is also an area where you're not harassed by people trying to sell you things or pickpocket your bags. It's where families go to let children play and older people go for exercise. It's a place of calm and makes for good walking near the hotel. Winters are not too harsh in Shanghai but the leaves still fall and trees go brown. The fog lifted for a brief spell and we were treated to blue sky. Cheap way to entertain children? Feed the birds. Same all over the world.

Shanghai's a crazy place and not always in a good way. A country that can find small pockets to place a park, build tall high rises, still has a long way to go with people's rights. A big mystery is the  birth defects street beggars. People without limbs, huge tumor growths, and indescribable phyical deformities are wheeled out each  morning and placed on the sidewalk near Nanjing Rd. to beg. Or, as they can't talk, to sit by a cup. And someone puts blankets on them and checks from them from time to time and then wheels them all back somewhere at the end of the day.  Sad. Strange. No answer. As a western tourist there's the hassle of walking down a tourist street. Big scam that has to end soon. People are holding up cell phones and pretending to be tourists. You can tell them from the real tourists who are holding up cell phones and taking selfies. The fake tourists ask if you will take their photo when "selfie" is the easy answer these days to their dilem...