<\/p>\n Peace and tranquility was just what the doctor ordered – what a relief it was to escape the constant bombardment of Hongkong pop dribbling at you over breakfast, in the hotel lobby, in elevators, on busses and on the streets. There is such an over-saturation of noise here in China that an old blind man, sitting at the exit of a street underpass, playing an ‘er hu<\/span>‘, a traditional 2-string Chinese instrument, can almost not be appreciated for its beauty and simplicity. A shame really. I guess one good thing is that I don’t understand any of it, which makes cutting it out or not being sucked into it a little easier, but not by much.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ‘Jing An’<\/span> is quite a beautiful little temple. It is the most famous landmark in the Jing’an district, where our hotel was, and is known as the oldest shrine in the city of Shanghai dating back to 247 BC (although accounts of this differ depending on where you read up on it). This would mean that it is older than the ‘official’ foundation of the city itself. It has undergone considerable reconstruction since the mid 90’s. Some of which is still to be finished.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \n Inside, the temple is decorated with big trees of Camelias and Azalea. I’m still mazed by them every time I seen them. People were lighting incense sticks and praying to two big golden statues of Buddha. I also loved the mixture of old and new. Maybe this next picture will illustrate what I mean by that.<\/span><\/p>\n![\"PICT1738.JPG\"](\"https:\/\/mattisonthompson.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/pict1738.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a> <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n