City God Temple

My study abroad program hosted a day trip to City God Temple for anyone who wanted to go. Of course I was totally up for a trip out to another temple (I love going to temples!), so I immediately signed up! I had a great afternoon at City God, but it was definitely not what I was expecting and a very interesting experience showing how China capitalizes on the history of their country while demonstrating the interests of the people who live here.

When you first walk into the temple, the entry way is not very peaceful but instead filled with a souvenir shop, a massage parlor, and a restaurant. Not quite the first impression you expect when entering into a place of worship. When you enter into the main courtyard it feels much more like what you would expect out of a Buddhist monastery; much quieter and the traditional Buddhist incense and praying. Unlike other temples I’ve seen, the statues and relics were all incased when you went in and out of the rooms around the perimeter of the temple. There were stands (tourist traps) set up inside of the temple itself, as well, selling pieces of jade jewelry, religious figures, and other trinkets.

Outside of the main temple is Shanghais oldest teahouse, which is 180 years old. My roommate and I went into the teahouse thinking it would be fun to get some tea from such a famous location but quickly changed our minds and left when finding out that a pot of tea would cost over $20 US dollars, but not before snapping a picture! Instead we went to a nearby restaurant and had 饺子(jiăozi- dumplings) which were very cheap and delicious!

The area surrounding the teahouse was a beautiful pond with statues, flower gardens, and coy fish! But again, I was a little disappointed in the area that was meant to be such a relaxing place. The amount of people that crammed into the area around the teahouse was completely overwhelming! You couldn’t move without getting pushed in the opposite direction, and the Chinese are not shy about blatantly pushing you out of the way! Around the pond and teahouse, which used to be traditional buildings that were an extension of the temple, are now completely converted to house gift shops, restaurants, and many different stores to buy things. Its very surprising being in a place which clearly has so much history and an elegant style of old Chinese architecture and to be suddenly snapped out of it by being pushed by somebody into a Starbucks, shoved in the opposite direction into a McDonalds, then harassed by a street vendor to buy a remote controlled helicopter! The commercialization of Chinese history and the country’s monuments is one thing that I have found to be disappointing in China

 (You can see Starbucks in the center, on the left is a Cold Stone, and further on the right is McDonalds!)

Although the experience to City God Temple wasn’t quite the afternoon that I had had in mind, the trip was very eye opening and interesting to see this side of China. Its these experiences, the ones that may not be the most appealing to me, that help me piece together an idea of what Shanghai is like overall, not just viewing the city from the eyes of someone who has only experienced the best of what it has to offer. I believe that the negative experiences are the ones that make you more patience with the unfamiliar, more understanding of the people and the culture, and humbling you when realizing that it is you who has to change the way you behave when choosing to be in a new and foreign place.