shanghai scenes
stripes and shapes columbia circle, shanghai
columbia circle - a historic gem amidst the urban jungle. newly polished, sparkling and shiny✨. the former expat compound, brimming with history and old shanghai glamour, originally housed the columbia country club, a popular hangout and social hub for shanghai's american community in the city's grand epoch, during the 1920 - 1940s. the complex drastically changed its appearance from "the epicenter of expat activity" to an industrial site when the shanghai institute of biological products took over the campus the 1950s, closed it to the public and developed it further in an industrial context. the institute ceased operations not too long after though, and the site laid inaccessible for over half a century, slowly being overgrown, enveloped by urban development - and almost forgotten. the vast complex, which once featured a pool, gym, ballroom, bowling alley, various tennis courts and a colorful assortment of architectural structures, displays a cross-section of twentieth century colonial architecture, from art deko to spanish colonial revival style - extended by sleek industrial buildings added over the years. fortunately this "sleeping beauty" array of significant shanghai architecture was recently awaked from its enchanted slumbers and redeveloped into a vibrant public area and mixed-use hub. today it combines commercial and cultural spaces, a plaza surrounded by shade trees and fountains, restaurants, cafés and shared offices for creative business. like in the old times, the picturesque pool is the heart of columbia circle. today, cute little restaurants and cafés offer poolside dining all around it, but unfortunately, swimming is not allowed. when i strolled through the vast complex half of the pool was obstructed by a runway and shooting equipment, columbia circle was obviously rented out for a fashion show lately. but to me, this only enhanced the flair of historic significance and glamour this place radiates, so i jumped on the chance and took some pics of the models, too 💦
on our way back home from moganshan we visited the ancient water town tongli, dubbed “venice of the east”. this beautiful gem close to suzhou wasn’t too overcrowded, even though we visited on moon festival weekend (thanks to the 100 RMB entry fee p.P. I guess). we enjoyed observing the colorful hustle and bustle on the streets and on the canals a lot. ___________________________________________ auf unserem heimweg von moganshan machten wir in der antiken wasserstadt tongli halt, die auch “das venedig des ostens” genannt wird. tongli schnuckeliges staedtchen in der naehe von suzhou und es war trotz des mondfest-wochenendes nicht allzu voll hier (dank des eintrittspreises von 100 yuan pro person schaetze ich mal). wir haben es sehr genossen, uns hier die beine zu vertreten und das bunte, geschaeftige treiben in den gaesschen und auf den kanaelen zu beobachten. tongli ist wirkich einen ausflug wert!
0517 inn - a cute and quirky boutique hotel in tangkou
weekend trip from shanghai to huangshan: we took the yuping (jade screen) cable car up to the essential huangshan scenic area. this area is well developed and suitable for hikes with little kids. hold them tight though, they can easily slip through the fences! // wochenendausflug von shanghai nach huangshan: wir sind mit der yuping (auch: jade screen) seilbahn direkt in das szenische herz der gelben berge gestossen. dieses areal is gut ausgebaut und auch mit kindern leicht zu erwandern. die sollte man jedoch gut festhalten, hinter den zaeunen gehts direkt in tiefe schluchten!
huangshan, china in our final shanghai days we embarked on a super spontaneous weekend trip to huangshan ⛰. we took our car, loaded it to the brim with snacks and hiking gear and drove up to the national park in a 5-hour car ride. the yellow mountains greeted us with perfect hiking weather: it was 28°C (82 °F) warm, sunny, a sky strewn with picturesque, cooling clouds⛅️. we were super lucky to have hit the weather jackpot for our short stay - it was hard enough to get my 6-months-preggo-belly up the mountain in these perfect conditions🤰😂, i did not even want to think about chinas unbearable hot and humid summer weather. but in the end the workout turned out to be just what we needed. we were all very happy we made it to this amazing travel-destination at last🤗. huangshan is not to be missed!
// im endspurt unserer shanghai-zeit haben wir noch einen super spontanen trip nach huangshan eingeschoben. wir haben einfach unser auto geschnappt, es bis zum dach mit snacks und wanderklamotten vollgepackt und sind losgeduest - nach einem crazy 5-stunden ritt waren wir am ziel. die gelben berge haben uns mit perfektem wanderwetter begruesst: 28°C, sonnig, mit pittoresken, kuehlenden woelkchen⛅️. so ein glueck, dass wir den wetter-jackpot gezogen haben! selbst unter diesen perfekten bedingungen war es schwer genug, meine 6-monats-kugel den berg hochzurollen🤰😂. aber das workout hat uns allen sehr gut getan. diese stadtflucht war genau das, was wir im umzugsstress brauchten, und waren sind alle sehr gluecklich, es auf unserem china-endspurt doch noch in dieses famose reiseziel geschafft zu haben. die gelben berge darf man nicht verpassen!
tapas with my tribe at the W hotel in suzhou
oh, the places we went!
my little girl, i love to show you the world! hope i can wholeheartedly dream about “oh the places you'll go” again soon.
rose cake - a yunnan classic. warm and crispy puff pastry filled with fresh, fragrant rose petals🌹. so good! // rosenkuechlein - eine spezialitaet aus yunnan. warmer, knupriger blaetterteig, gefuellt mit duftenden, suessen bluetenblaettern frischer rosen🌹. so gut!
bai minority tie dye. for over a thousand years, the bai minority have used tie-dying as a technique to dye their traditional costumes. the centuries old techniquea are still alive and very popular in dali. we spend a whole afternoon at this magical workshop and shop, marveling at these old hands crafting beautiful traditional nature-inspired patterns into the fabric, inspecting the huge pot of indigo dye and admiring all the pretty tie dyed clothes and fabrics in display in the shade of this tranquil backyard. of course we left with full hands. several gorgeous indigo blue blankets and wall hangings made their way back home with us 🤗
erhai lake in dali, yunnan.
洱海, Ěr Hǎi
they played together for two hours straight while we drank and dined deliciously <3
i miss yunnan’s fresh mountain air