That "Compulsory" Shanghai City Tour

In case you are wondering where in the world silk is produced the most, it is in China. This piece of cloth woven from the cocoons of silkworms has become the icon of trade and commerce going all the way back in the ancient times when European merchants used to come in and out of China mainly for silk (familiar with the Silk Road?). Silk is known to be a valuable resource with a variety of uses - whether for protection and warmth during the winter seasons (clothing), comfort and security for a good night's sleep (bed sheets and pillows), or for luxury and royalty with unquestionable quality (wall designs and other apparel). Its popularity has been evident all throughout history that most people often call Chinese silk as "soft gold".

It was interesting that we got hands-on weaving silk together with the workers there, pulling out the silk from the stack of sheets on a table, got a feel on the silkworm cocoons from where they got this precious piece of cloth, and be amazed at the transformation from a simple animal covering to luxurious bed sheets and impressive clothing design. We even got to distinguish authentic from fake silk, though I could not remember how, I just knew what original silk felt like!

As our tour on the silk shopwas drawing to a close, we were then led to their shop for all things silk - from clothing to bed sheets, carpets, art for home display, you name it. The price tags were, to no surprise, heavy as gold, considering the authenticity of the silk products here. It was quite noticeable that a lot of Europeans and Western tourists bought various sets of silk sheets for themselves, perhaps the products would help them stay warm as winter approaches in their respective homes. As for us, when was the last time the Philippines was as cold as the United Kingdom?

Anyway, while our "tour guide" really had us convinced to purchase some of these silk - we opted for those fabulous bed sheets that can be useful as home - we just politely declined to the offer and headed downstairs to the exit for our lunch.

On the afternoon of the same day, we visited the shop that may be considered the "place to be" for all things jade and other stones that make China one of the leading suppliers of the stone in the world. Jade is a green ornamental stone that has been around for thousands of years, becoming a symbol of power and prestige from the royalties of ancient China to the affluent of modern Chinese living. 

Upon our visit, we were greeted with a brief history of jade in ancient China, the discoveries, uses and exports. While the stone is commonly seen as green, we got to see numerous shades of them, and like the silk shop, we were educated on what's real and what's not! Jjade comes in different shapes and sizes, whether for ornaments like earrings and necklaces, for home decorations like statues and Buddha figurines, or simply for safekeeping such as an investment to store rare commodities like gold.

The jade shop features not just jade itself, but it had other stones fashioned into bracelets, earrings, or other accessories that create a good variety for the shopper/tourist coming in. Some notable stones include diamond, ruby, and amber. As for every "original" merchandise, jade does come with a price, and the girls working in the shop do a marvelous job of selling us with their products. We ended up buying those amber bracelets which we managed to haggle, even in a jewelry shop-like environment. That left us thinking if we got a good deal or if we got ripped off. I don't mind anyway, it is all part of the experience.

Next on the list was a center for the practice of Chinese medicine. 

Anyone who has at least taken some form of therapeutic drug should be familiar with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). This method of treatment uses a wide range of medicinal practices that has grown and developed since ancient China. While this medicinal approach is often considered to be a complementary alternative one, TCM is commonly attributed to acupuncture, herbal medicine, exercise, dietary therapy and massage.

Our orientation to TCM took a very interesting approach. After the tour guide had discussed and ran through Chinese medicine, its benefits, risks, advantages and forms, we were asked to try on those wooden ventosa suction cups. As someone who has tried on this form of massage, I got curious with the wooden version of the cups, as they say it is more effective than the glass.

While having our ventosa cups well positioned on our backs, or places that were targeted based on any current ailment we were experiencing, we were each called for a "consultation" on our state of health. While the consultation went well, we were amazed when the doctor started stating the "prescriptions" as we were told to buy one of their products - which is quite pricey for medicine - and use them for a period of three to six months in order to "fully experience the effect and heal you". Not bad for a great way to get your products sold. 

While we tried to politely decline the offer, they were quite persistent to getting us to buy their products when we are obviously not here for a health check up.

Although the lecture was informational, so to speak, we had hoped we did not disappoint them during our stay. I'm sure they have had other tourists buy their products and created significant value out of them, but we took a pass that was probably just too much to invest in,

Prepare a lot of "excuses" just so you cannot buy from those products if you are really not interested with any of those. Just keep it polite even if at times they could be rude to you. But I'm sure they are just doing their job, and most of them doing an honest living, although you would have to live with the way they offer stuff to you. Just try not to react negatively right away; after all, you are in someone else's country, and cultural differences are normal.

While I give due respect to the tour operator and the tourism authority of Shanghai for putting up such an interesting yet compulsory city tour, to me it was more of a learning experience than a shopping spree over these items. And that is the beauty of travel - you get to experience different things at different times, with different people, in very different places. In the end, how you perceive such experience, if it is a good or bad one, is your choice.

Safe travels everyone!