January Rides

Despite the winter temperatures this January, I've been out in the Pudong countryside on my mountain bike three times now, which feels fantastic. Yesterday I ventured NE, and covered some new territory. And as always, if I come across kids, I stop and chat with them. Special moments; for them, because it's probably the first time they've ever spoken to a foreigner; for me, because I can never get enough of a child's heart. Played some soccer with the boys in their yard.

Preserving the Old

Biked about 34 km through southern Pudong yesterday and came across this Catholic church in the middle of a huge area which had been completely flattened. The building was completely empty, with only the walls still standing. I checked on Google Earth; only a year ago that area still had villages and canals.
On the map you see Shanghai's maglev track curving on the left. To the right of that and below the outer ring road (S20), everything is gone...except the church. To be confirmed, but I imagine this church was related to the Tangzhen Church, which was built in 1898.
(See http://vansteenblogen.blogspot.com/2007/01/winter-ride.html)

Jinan

Visited my in-laws in Jinan for New Year's and came across this huge Catholic church...




Also found some of my mother-in-law's pictures of the time when she was an actress; these are from the mid-seventies; the Cultural Revolution had just finished and she played Mao's ex-wife Jiang Qing.

Mickey in Chuansha?

What was unofficially official for months, or even years, is now official: Disney plans to build a them park near the town of Chuangsha, in Pudong. All that remains is approval from the central government. Located only several kms from where I live, I decided to explore this city further. (See here for some previous pictures.)
The 200,000+ inhabitants are mostly blue collar, and I was told that until not too long ago, local gangs ruled the streets. Fortunately, that's improved significantly. Nevertheless, there's still some cultural places; on my journey today, I came across a handful of buildings that reflect the city's many ideologies of the past century.
I first biked to Chuansha's public park, with its large pagoda. Then on to a revolutionary war memorial (I was the only visitor), followed by a visit to the former home of one of Chuansha's famous political figures, Huang Yanpei. I then stumbles upon an old Catholic church (built by French Jesuits in 1874) and a small Protestant church, built by American missionaries in 1935), both hidden in obscure small alleys. The Protestant congregation had grown to over a thousand worshipers, so they now rent a large warehouse nearby, hoping and praying to find a piece of land for their own building in the future. They also told me proudly that Song Meiling was born nearby the church building in Chuansha. One of China's three famous sisters (all educated in Shanghai and the USA), she later married Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Nationalist Party, and played a influential role in Chinese politics and history.

The Heat Is On

Small village squeezed between modern development projects. How much longer will it still be here?


Catholic church (1864) and old folks home






After a bikeless weekend last weekend because of the heat, I decided to go for it this morning at 7:45. I lasted only 19 km with many stops, as the sun was powerful. When I got home, the weather report said 32 C, "feels like 39 C" because of the humidity. Nevertheless it was worth it, I explored new buildings and roads, which took me to an old Catholic home for the elderly with an old church from 1864, which was completely boxed in by new office buildings in Zhangjiang's high tech park. It housed over 100 people. Also came upon an old village, hidden behind trees and a river along the Gaoke highway. Then close to home in Tangzhen, where many building and land have to make room for a new apartment and villa developments. I asked one of the inhabitants whether this was a good thing or not; he replied that he was not an owner but most are getting "good compensation" which runs into the tens of thousands for their farm homes. If any word typifies Pudong, it's CHANGE...

Time to move. House in the back is over 100 years old.













One of the few street names in China named after foreigners: Newton Rd.