China - February 20th

Friday, we rested at home. We spent time sorting though our pictures and trying to weed down the numbers to a more manageable size. In the evening JoMa's family was hosting a dinner though we girls stayed behind as Leslie & Jenny were dealing with not feeling quite up to par.
Saturday we spent the morning getting all of our things together and packing for our trip home to Ca on Sunday.

Saturday afternoon was our last trip out into Shanghai where we went to vist some of the old neighborhoods. These traditional shikumen ("stone gate") houses are disappearing at a rapid rate in Shanghai and are being replaced with high rise living spaces. The people that have been living in the neighborhoods are being moved out to the outskirts of the city.

While out we visited XinTianDi which is an area of restored shikumen houses on narrow alleys with some adjoining houses which now serve as book stores, cafes and restaurants, and shopping malls. Most of the cafes and restaurants feature both indoor and outdoor seatings. This area is built to appeal to the tourists and to get them to part with their money in the shops there.

Saturday evening was spent with friends and family coming by to talk and say goodbye. Ying will be seeing them again in the summer as will Michelle. Jeff will see them again in the future but for the Morgan girls it is doubtful we'll be visiting China again.