A Visit to Qibao

On Sunday October 25th, we visited the home of Ms. Zhu near Qibao, which is also one of the old towns we’d like to see.

In Ms. Zhu’s home, we were introduced to her husband and her son. We drank a cup of tea while chatting.

    After a delicious lunch, Ms. Zhu took us to visit the old town of Qibao. There we joined the many other visitors strolling through the narrow streets, looking at the colorful wares offered by hundreds of merchants, and photographing some of the historic structures, canals, and bridges.

Of particular interest to us were the museum exhibits that were a peaceful contrast to the busy streets. The museum describing life in Qibao in the Ming and Qing Dynasties had very interesting displays showing the cotton weaving and cloth making for which Qibao was famous in former times.

We also enjoyed visiting the museum displaying the miniature sculptures by the renowned artist Zhou and his daughter. The tiny settings and furniture he created representing the rooms in the novel Dream of the Red Chamber were amazing in their precision and beauty. Miniature steles displayed writing so small that one needed a magnifying glass to see the characters.

We appreciated Ms. Zhu’s generous hospitality and her giving us a chance to see one of Shanghai’s famous landmarks.

游七宝古镇

 10月25日周日，我们去朱校长家做客，她家在七宝附近，也正是我们想要游览的上海古镇之一。

 在朱校长家中，我们认识了她的丈夫和儿子，我们边喝茶，边聊天。

        一顿美味可口的午餐之后，朱校长带我们去镇上逛逛。在七宝古镇，我们加入了游客的人流之中，漫步于狭窄的街道间，我们一边观赏商人们提供的丰富多彩的商品，一边拍摄沿途的小桥流水和历史建筑。

 让我们特别感兴趣的是与繁忙的街道形成鲜明对比的宁静的博物馆。博物馆展示了七宝在明、清时代的生活，展品中闪现出七宝昔日闻名的纺纱织布业。

 我们还饶有兴致的参观了著名艺术家周先生和她女儿的微雕艺术展，他所创作的摆设和家具都取材于小说《红楼梦》，它们极其精确，又极其美丽，微雕上的字如此之小，以至于人需要用放大镜才能看得见，我们不由为之惊叹。

 我们感谢朱校长的热情好客，也感谢她给了我们机会拜访上海地标性建筑之一的七宝古镇。

------written by Mr. Brown and translated by Iris