We got up and had breakfast with the folks who are leaving at 8 am. After we bid them goodbye at the bus, we headed out to the nearby Daning-Lingshi Park with Luann and Sig.
When we passed by the display area of the fashionable
Mall where we did tai chi, we noted they had
changed the creative flower arrangements.
The Park is huge and bustling with people. We decided to just wander. There were several wonderful sculptures of children's stories. This one was about Kong Rong Gave Away Bigger Pear. The story is: In the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was a person called Kong Rong. He was very smart ever since he was a little boy. He had five older brothers and one younger brother. One day his father bought some pears, picking one of the largest and giving it to Kong Rong delibrately. But Kong Rong shook his head and picked up the smallest one. His dad was very curious, and asked: "Why?" Kong Rong said: "I am younger, so I should eat the smaller pear, and brothers should eat the biggest ones." His dad was very glad after hearing his words, but asked further: "What about your younger brother who is younger than you are?" Kong Rong said: "I am older than him, so I should leave the bigger one to my little brother." Moral: Affection and modesty should be in everyone's heart from childhood.
This story was Cao Chong Weighed the Elephant. During the Three States period, there was a clever kid named Cao Chong, who was Cao Cao's son. At the boy's age of seven, Sun Quan presented Cao Cao an elephant. All the official in Cao Cao's family were so amazed and they guessed how heavy the animal could weigh, but no one could work out an accurate result. So Cao Cao asked all, "Who can weigh the elephant?" At this time, the seven year old Cao Chong stood out, "Father, I've got it." "How?" asked the father to the boy, then Cao Chong answered, "Put the elephant on a boat, then the boat will sink a bit; after that, mark the shipboard with a line along the water level, then put the animal onto the shore; load the boat with stones to make it sink until right at the marked water level; finally, weigh the stones on the boat, which is of the same weight as the elephant's." Today such a method is no longer remarkable, but was like a miracle for a seven year old kid from 1900 years ago, therefore winning him a name of wonder child through the history of river. -- from Chinese Historical Fables.
As always the park was full of locals
practicing their tai chi, individually or in groups...
practicing instruments...
exercising..doing chin ups on the tree...
and photographic the luscious poppies..
wonderful...
as were the roses...
and the brass statues.
Reminder of fun in Japan catching
tadpoles and minnows with
the Grandchildren.
After an hour or so of wandering we headed back to finish packing and checking out of the hotel. Our foursome had taken up Mei's offer to take the Shanghai Magnetic Levitated Train ("MAGLEV Line") to the airport instead of a taxi. We got everything together and headed for the taxi to the Longyang Rd. Station.
When we got to the station Mei said she had just gotten an email that her flight home had been changed to an earlier flight...would we be okay to go by ourselves. Well yes, so we bid Mei a fond farewell with giant hugs and many thank yous for making this such a marvelous trip and headed through the turn style...
and up to the platform...
here it comes...
into the car...very nice and away we go on the world's first commercialized high-speed MAGLEV - 7 minutes to go 30 km to the Pudong International Airport - maximum speed 430 km/hr (267 mph)! Surprisingly it really didn't feel like you were going that fast. Great ride! We parted ways in the terminal as we were flying American and Sig and Luann were flying United. We had a quick lunch and spent the last of our yuan on some small souvenirs, boarded the plane...
a off we went for our long journey to Durham!
Farewell China--it was a GRAND ADVENTURE!
