Shanghai, 04.10.2019 Nine years are a long time

When we paid for Moritz school trip to China last year, I decided it would be about time to book a flight for Mia and me, too. All those years, Tobi insisted going to China wouldn`t count as a holiday, but I really longed for a reunion with Shanghai, and with Taipei, and with the people there. To go in the summer would not be an option, but since the autumn holidays were half a week longer than usual, we took our chances and got really lucky with the weather.

We stayed in a tiny apartment within an old Shikumen, really Shanghai style, right next door to the Ruijin hotel, where my friend Sonja used to live. Our Shaanxi South Road apartment was right around the corner.

The next picture looks boring. But it is the most extreme one I took when being in Shanghai. It is a real estate advertisement. 23 square meters in the French Concession. Guess how much! 370.000 Euro. I still cannot believe it!

The Tianzifang at Taikang Road had been an asylum for us for so many years. Now, I only recognize three shops: Urban Tribe, Platane and Chou-Chou-Chic. The whole place is crowded with people, mainly tourists, and the shops offer a wide range of crazy food (very expensive, but interesting) and stuff no one really needs. We still enjoy being here.

Another weird picture. The three Chinese characters on the right mean "Little tea house". Funny name for a tea house.

The awesome moments: Having a great drink shop with a mango-tapioka drink on offer right around the corner.

Shanghai, 05.10.2019 Ayi and Hotpot

On our first morning, we met with Ayi, of course! After strolling through Sinan Road and Fuxing Park, we had an excellent hotpot dinner at the Haidilao at Dapu Road, for about three hours, with four different soups and around a hundred different ingredients. I was mostly impressed by those many different sorts of Tofu, and the self-made Lamian. It is very long Chinese noodles, that are not rolled out, but pulled with great strength and - most of all - elegance. Watching the chef throwing it almost feltlike watching someone dance. We were extremely happy we could meet Ayis husband, daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons (Kai-Yi and Kai-Chen) for the first time.

Shanghai, 06.10.2019 Pudong

Our last home in Shanghai. We met our most beloved neighbour Fanny and enjoyed a stroll along the riverside promenade.

Shanghai, 07.10.2019 Light painting and wine bars

As a birthday present, Mia chose light painting as a unique Shanghai experience, and so it was. Zhou Jiajun brought his camera and a lot of different light painting tools, and we had an impressing evening in the Xujiahui park. In the end, Mia even bought most of his equipment and we dragged it with us practising it with Frank, Luc, Ida and Lia. And Frank took us to the Uva bar, first time for Mia to enter one.

Shanghai, 08.10.2019 Second home

I simply love Ayis homemade food! After lunch, we walked around her new neighbourhood, and bought some vegetables for dinner. The markets in Shanghai changed so much! I barely recognised them as markets, so clean and tidy. In the evening, we prepared Jiaozi and I really missed that.

Taipei, 09.10.2019 Eighteen years are even longer

In 2001, I did a regional planning project in a Taiwanese mountain region in cooperation with the Graduate Institute of Building & Planning of the National Taiwan University. A team of six students and two research assistants welcomed us, four students from Berlin. Despite the language barrier, we got along with each other really well. That was the main reason for me to start learning Chinese. For years, I kept in touch with Kuang-ting, and De-rung, who studied in the Netherlands afterwards. With the others, I connected on Facebook, but apart from that did not really know how they were. So it was a big surprise, that three of them actually came to the airport to pick Mia and me up. Thank you Shiuan-ru, Chih-wei and Li-yen!

I felt a little old after entering a pop-up-store filled with merchandise of a Japanese boy band I haven`t even heard of: Hey! Say! Jump! Somehow cosmetics products don`t fit my image of a boy band, but in a way it is also funny having boys with rainbow-coloured hair promnoting facial cream.

Taipei, 10.10.2019 Kuangting, Alice and Luc

The last time we met, Moritz and Mia had been small, and we strolled around Shanghai. This time, Luc joined us strolling along Dihua Road. I truly enjoyed the mixture of Chinese herbs, books, handicraft and paperworks and also the Ama museum. A street that doesn`t exist in Shanghai anymore!

Taipei, 11.10.2019 Danshui/ Tamsui

Fried octopus. A small temple. Hotchpotch. Cold noodles with cucumber and sesame sauce. Totoro socks and Taiwan sticky tape. A fake soldier. Frog eggs in liquid. I loved it.

Taipei, 12.10.2019 Songshan Cultural and Creative Park

A former tobacco factory with the Taipei New Horizon Building by Toyo Ito next door. We had pearl-milk-tea, rainbow cheese cake and a great coffee!

Taipei, 13.10.2019 SheMe House

Shiuan-rus sister owns a café in Beitou, and we went there to have coffee, cake and self-made icecream.

Taipei, 13.10.2019 Night market

My most desired destination in Taiwan - the famous night market. The place I first encountered stinky tofu. And a beautiful temple in the middle of it.

Taipei, 14.10.2019 Goodbye

I just hope it won`t take so long till we meet next time!

Shanghai, 15.10.2019 Mia and Lia

Mia met her very first and very best friend Lia on her first day in kindergarden. It was in 2009, so more than ten years ago. Last time Lia and Mia met was in 2011 - too long ago for two girls aged 13. We met Lia and her family in their new home in Hongkou - the only neighbourhood that hasn`t changed dramatically within the last decade.