The French Connection, er, French Concession!

The old French Concession stretches from the west edge of the Old City to Avenue Haig, is chock full of boulevards, cafes, restaurants and it used to be home to White Russians and Chinese. At one time, the British occupied this little area and answered only to their own laws with complete immunity from Chinese law, hence the name concession. They even used to have their own police force and in true Shanghai fashion, the chief was the leader of a famous group of thugs called the Green Gang that controlled the cities opium trade.

Before we reached the FC area, we stopped by one of Shanghai's most revered places for ancestor worship, the Jing'an Temple. Founded in the Ming and Qing dynasties, in the 30's it was Shanghai's wealthiest Buddhist temple and again, in true Shanghai fashion, the head abbott was also a gangster with a harem of concubines and White Russian bodyguards (they all probably lived in the French Concession no doubt). The temple was closed during the idiocy of the Cultural Revolution but today is the best example of an active Buddhist shrine in the city.

Take a look at the pics from our day in the French Concession/Jing'an Temple here...

These days it's basically beautiful tree-lined streets for rich executives and foreign dignitaries but they have some peaceful parks, unique restaurants, and enough sights and sounds to fill more than a day's worth of walking...there are even some western-influenced bars such as the infamous Blue Frog and a memorable tapas place, Las Tapas...we had a romantic, if not hectic, day walking and relaxing in the French Concession...

As we walked through one of the parks, a Kung Fu master was practicing his forms and he graciously let me film him during one of these...I am still trying to get this video uploaded and will have it up as soon as possible - it really shows the beauty and focus of a master...

Au Revoire...