Drove out of Shanghai for my first trip to Jingdezhen. Over the 8 hours I got a much better feeling for some of the beauty that China offers. Shanghai's size and congestion distract from its culture. It's metropolitan feel is comforting for a westerner but its not the heart of China. Shanghai is a melting pot of eastern/western urban influence.
A few hours out of Shanghai I started to see large rice paddies. There are elaborate canal systems that direct water into the paddies. The criss cross pattern of the paddies is an engineering feet that stretches deep into China's agricultural past. Every inch of flat land is used to grow something. Our driver, Bao Zhi, who's nickname means chinese dumpling, told me that we were also passing many tea farms. They were growing green tea bushes on terraced farms that crept up into the mountains.
I had to include the image of the Avatar-like tree structure we passed. Its actually a toll booth but it looks like it was plucked straight from a legoland fantasy world. I will be in Jingdezhen for the next 3 days so I will post many images from my travels.
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