Quickies in Shanghai

Being kindly offered by my boss to embark on a quick 2-day business trip in China before the Thanksgiving holiday, I was able to join my family in Shanghai 3 days earlier than schedule (Thursday night instead of Sunday night) I originally meant for the trip to visit my ailing grandpa, who had been hospitalized for several months. Unfortunately he passed away one day before my scheduled departure, and by the time I touched down, all the proceedings have been completed. (My family has been prepared for this for a while now, but the thoughts of the upcoming business trip did not let me fully react to the news emotionally... I'm still struggling to come to terms with my own reaction (did I under-react during the phone call? Was the right call to drop the business trip and head to our hometown first? In reality, I was afraid to call my mother directly for some weeks now in fear of hearing her breakdown after picking up the call

Anyway, here are some quickies (using a brush pen) I did while in Shanghai during the TG holiday. It was unbelievably cold (even though I've been through Canadian winters wearing my uniform skirt). You could feel the freezing damp air pierce into you.

 While resting after shopping for some books. Haikou Rd

The backstreet of Jin'An with the Shanghai Exhibition Center (formerly Sino-Soviet Friendship Building) looming in the background. It is already very rare to see a non-high rise old neighbourhood in the high-end Jin'An district, let alone one with such a dramatic backdrop! Worth braving the cold for this one

After work duties in Shanghai

 Being sent to Shanghai during one of the not-so-humid/hot and not-so-cold months was a rarity. So I convinced myself to either get up half an hour early, or postpone dinner by half an hour to draw. (last time I only got to draw out of my hotel window because it was a burning hell outside) I did get stomachache and limped my way back to the hotel on one occasion, but it's that special opportunity that a Shanghai-nese actually get to stay near the Bund for an extended period of time. All worth it.

Somewhere on Jinling East Road, through which I basically walk from my hotel to another hotel (20 mins walk away) to catch the shuttle to work. The scenery was so interesting that I was really sad when they arranged additional shuttles to my hotel a week later... Honestly I never got to see any of the shop fronts open (it was too early in the day), but there was a lot of hustle and bustle on the street, parents sending kids to school, people getting to work, lining up for the pharmacy, etc 

The Customs building and former HSBC building. I basically walked a block out of the hotel, poked my head onto the bund, scribbled into my sketchbook, and quickly left. It was Friday of the long weekend, but I still needed to work that Saturday...;A;

I totally overestimated myself when I started working on this one. My brain just didn't have the processing power to process both the demands of my eye-hand coordination, and the dire warnings from my stomach. In the end my stomach lost, so I spent the next hour lying motionless on the sofa

The Bund, Shanghai

As a former-Shanghainese, I couldn't recall the last time I looked onto the Bund from this close...I need to get to know my city better! From the right, the HSBC Building, the China Merchants Company Building, The Great Northern Telegraph Company building, The Russel & Co. Building, the NKK Building, and cut off on the very left, The Union Building. I suspect none of the original namesake owners got their buildings back...

Getting high! in Shang-hai! :D

View from the 94th floor of IFC Shanghai, overlooking the back of the head of Grand Hyatt and their big brother Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Huangpu river was a refreshing green (?) on this sunny day! From someone who was used to admiring these skyscraper neighbours while straining her neck, this was a pleasant change!