June: second day: Shanghai Normal University

The San Francisco-Shanghai Sister City Committee wanted its cultural delegates to spread out a bit into the community.  We thought our best contribution would be to go and work with some choirs.  We went this morning to Shanghai Normal University where choir director Wang Jin greeted us.  Four choral groups sang for us, starting with the Xinsgshi women's chorus and continuing with three small a cappella groups.  They invited our comments, and we gave them - mostly about performance style.  After this vigorous session, observed by many members of the university's music department, we were invited to a really really delicious lunch of Shanghai specialties.

June: Shanghai

Hot muggy gray. Very hot. Gregory contributes this as probably the best way of dealing with Shanghai in June... if we could, we would.  Leaving soon for our event at Shanghai Normal University followed by Conservatory.  Patrons leaving at 7.45am for ribbon cutting with Mayor Newsom at Urban Best Practices Pavilion, followed by China and US Pavilions, then they will join us at the Conservatory.  They have dinner at the Yung Foo Elite Club ( where we went last year) with Matt and some faculty members from the Conservatory, while we have the evening off!  Perhaps somebody will brave Expo in the evening.  Ben and Adam were

very enterprising yesterday and walked to the Bund, went up the radio tower, did tourist things. .  As it was a Chinese holiday it was packed - and full of energy.  Eric fulfilled his long cherished mission of having a tailor replace the winter coat which has accompanied him for 20 years of Chanticleer tours - they went and picked out some nice cashmere and a double happiness lining.  We'll show it to you when he gets it.

June: first day in Shanghai

We took walks, had appointments with tailors ( the Shanghai Quartet had kindly turned over the name of theirs) and rested - nobody seems to have taken on Expo yet.  Adam happened to be in the lobby to greet Mayor Newsom of San Francisco as he arrived for the receptions, lunches, dinners and ribbon cuttings of San Francisco week.

Shanghai's bright lights are fun to see from a fast taxi ride to the Bund for dinner. We had dinner of caesar salad, lobster bisque, chateaubriand and desert in the Vue restaurant at the Hyatt on the Bund with our patron group who are staying there.  The restaurant is so named for its spectacular view of the River and the Bund and Pudong sides.

June: Shanghai

Our hotel ( the Ritz Portman where the SF delegation to San Francisco week at Expo 2010 is staying) is across from the 50's Russian style Exposition Center - a vivid illustration in the world of Expo 2010 of how much has changed in China.  We have today to go and see a bit of Expo - we'll keep you informed as best we can, which is not SO easy.

Chanticleer's little corner of the blogosphere ( us and 275 million others around the world) is blogger.com/blogspot - that's how we post our blog.  Come to find out that it is blocked in China now.  It wasn't when we were here last year.  Which means that we can still post to it by email, but means also that we can't go look at it to correct, add, edit, see if that's what we meant etc. - so we'll have to get it right in the original email.  That lack of convenience is not the point though;  It's a very strange feeling to be blocked from seeing your own blog!  And that's why yesterday's post was incomplete - we sent it over to blogger, where, we hear, it was posted, but we couldn't go there and add text.

SO - yesterday - we flew here with 140 other members of the San Francisco cultural delegation to San Francisco week. Mayor Newsom, presumably Senator Feinstein, former Mayors Brown and Jordan, and others are arriving today for events at which we won't be present.  On our plane were Samoan and Irish dance groups, the Northern Lights children's choir from Oakland, 40 members of Glide Memorial's Choir, the Bridge instrumental chamber group and us.  All the other groups will be performing at a community center tomorrow and at the Expo on Sunday.  Our itinerary is a bit different ( which means that we won't have the pleasure of seeing the dancers dance) - we will do two exchanges with choirs tomorrow - at Shanghai Normal University and at the Shanghai Conservatory.  Then on Saturday the non-dancing people perform at the big SF Gala - we just found out yesterday that we will sing one song on that occasion. Then Sunday we go to Shenzen for a concert in the concert hall.

Our travel agent La Fugue ( in Paris) organized a patron tour to China which takes in our visit to the Conservatory and the Gala and then goes on to Shangri-La and Guilin.   A number of French people will be joining our board members Kathy Henschel and Ann Goodbody, and Florence Lidell.  We'll see them for dinner tonight at the Hyatt on the Bund.

More soon.  It's HOT here!

June: we've arrived in Shanghai

We look pretty good, don't you think, after a 2 hour delay and a 12 hour flight.  It's evening in Shanghai.  We passed the Expo site on the way in from the airport; we'll be heading over there tomorrow, for sure.