Two days of having Chinese friends who were familiar with the city, and able to speak the language, guide us around had helped us quickly tick off most of the things on our list (and of course made the experience much more enjoyable!). On our third day our first stop was the Shanghai Zoo. Although not as bad as some of the stories we'd heard, it was still a Mainland Chinese zoo, which is to say, not a place for the animal lover. We went primarily to see Pandas, which we did see, but it was also an interesting experience in terms of the way zoo goers treated the animals- kicking and stomping to get their attention, and at one point feeding coffee to the red pandas. Many of the animals had probably seen better days-especially the selection of house pets. For us, it was also interesting to be in a zoo accross the globe, where animals which are familiar to us (for me, these being raccoons and seagulls, both the bane of many a garbage-day in Canada) were an attraction.
When we left the zoo we headed for the China Pavilion, the only one remaining from the 2010 Expo. This was the first time since we'd arrived that I had to communicate anything more complex than "2 please" in Mandarin. It was then that I realized that the tricky bit isn't speaking, but rather understanding the answers to your questions. Thankfully, we met a subway employee nice enough to point out on a map how to get where we were going. Along the way, we stopped for food at one of the connecting stations, having skipped breakfast and arrived in the late lunch time of day. This was probably the cheapest food we had in the mainland-"Cantonese" Chow Mein (funny how even in China sometimes the food from other regions isn't authentic. Or I didn't understand the menu) for 11 Yuan (Less than 2 Dollars), and some very cheap sweets at the bakery next door.
The pavilion itself was fascinating. This was the first place, from what I can recall, where we learned the lesson that sometimes there IS a student discount, but it's only advertised in Chinese, even if the rest is also in English (look for学生）. We wondered briefly if we would have been granted that discount had our student cards not been from Hong Kong, which is technically China. Many people approaching the Pavilion were photographing their tickets with the building in the backdrop (since the building was on the ticket), and smiled happily at us. The whole process of getting in was quick, and we were quickly transported into a bizarre world of displays about the future of China.
Having finished the pavilion, we tried to go to the Shanghai Museum, which turned out to have already closed (we also ran into our friend who wanted to practice English again, and another who invited us to a "tea ceremony". Like I said before, this is a scam, and I had read about it in the travel reports from the Canadian government). We had gotten so much done so quickly in Shanghai that we actually took a break for a few hours before checking out Xintiandi (新天地）。 Meaning "New Earth and Sky", it's an upscale, up market newly constructed area. It was a bit too reminiscent of our own countries for us, and also too pricey. We quickly decided to go to McDonald's for a cheap reprieve from expensive food (this was probably the only time in my life I've ever suggested taking a taxi to McDonald's!).
Our last day in Shanghai was pretty subdued, having exhausted both our to-do list for the city, and ourselves. We spent the morning at the Shanghai Museum, which was both excellent (really, a must-see to get a taste of the history and culture of the country) and, inexplicably, free. This was followed by the Communist Party museum, and the purchase of a new memory card for my Camera, before heading to the airport.
Shanghai has two airports, and the one we flew out of, Hongqiao, is probably more used for domestic purposes. Within 15 minutes of arriving by cab, we had our bags checked, our tickets in hand, and were through security to KFC for dinner (where, unlike at home, the prices were the same in the airport as everywhere else), a sort of efficiency one doesn't find at many airports. The airport even provided free newspapers and internet, both of which usually cost money at home. Flying a Chinese airline was also interesting- many Hong Kong friends had told me to prepare for terrible service, and when the plane started boarding half an hour late, I felt they might be right. However, in comparison to what I'm used to in North America, they were actually quite wrong-we were given another free newspaper, served a meal, offered many drink re-fills, offered pillows and blankets (all of which a short flight like that wouldn't entail in Canada), and, despite our half hour delay taking off, arrived 10 minutes ahead of schedule in Beijing.
Edit: I almost forgot to mention, one of these days in Shanghai was the first time I understood a pun in Chinese (I've read that they're pretty prevalent)! Since puns can't really be translated, I won't try, but for those who understand, I saw this ad, for a restaurant, written on the back of a cab: 57-57-5777 我吃我吃我吃吃吃。
Well, I thought it was good, anyway.
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