Olivia Brackett, 11, cools off in the Coolidge Park fountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

The student dorms loom on the north side of the campus of Fudan University, one of China’s oldest and most prestigious universities, located in Shanghai, China.

A person in costume stands in the entrance to a restaurant on a tourist street in Hangzhou, China.

It is hard to understate the allure of China’s most famous mountain. According to the Chinese saying “五岳归来不看山，黄山归来不看岳,” after Huangshan there is little need to visit another mountain. The UNESCO World Heritage site is known for its towering granite peaks, pine forests, hot springs and ‘cloud seas.’ Since the Tang Dynasty, the mountain has been immortalized in art, literature and religion, for instance the mountain and water style (山水) paintings of the 16th century. With such a rich history, photographing the mountain can be an intimidating experience for the casual visitor, so CNNGo offers some tips for bringing home a better album from the famous mountain.

The Rules of Photography : Foreground and Background

Huangshan is not a single mountain but really a whole range of mountains with several peaks reaching more than 1800 meters above sea level. It can be hard to communicate in a photo the sense of scale and grandeur that the peaks inspire in person. One way is to use foreground elements, such as flowers and people, to introduce a sense of scale into the picture. In this photo, the branches and flowers in the foreground provide a contrast with the ranges of mountains extending into the background.

The Rules of Photography: The rule of thirds, repetition and leading lines

One of the basic principals of photography is the rule of thirds. If the photo was divided into nine equal parts with two horizontal and two vertical lines, the focal point (or the main point of interest) should fall on one of the four points where the lines cross. Here, the face of the closest porter is located, approximately, at the lower right third.
Other ways to make photos interesting are to use repetitive elements, such as these two similarly dressed porters, and leading lines, like the line of stairs to draw the viewer through the frame.

Use the light

Huangshan is famed for its ‘cloud seas,’ which surround the peaks creating islands from mountains. By exposing for the sky, a photographer can throw the peaks into darkness, silhouetting the mountains and creating a dramatic image of the clouds.

Show the crowds

While, most often, photographers want to replicate the ancient Chinese paintings, portraying a peaceful and serene scene, crowds are an integral part of the tourist experience. Popular landmarks, such as Welcoming Guest Pine, can be just as crowded as the Shanghai metro at rush hour and it is important to preserve this part of the Huangshan experience as part of your photographic memory.

Look for textures and details

It is tempting to always be looking toward the heavens, but sometimes interesting photos can be found down at your feet. Look for small detains in flowers and stones, and textures and patterns in roots, leaves and shadows for a different take on Huangshan’s scenery.

Slow it down

While in general, you want to photograph with a shutter speed of at least a sixtieth of a second in order to freeze the action, sometimes blur can provide a sense of movement. If you photograph a waterfall with a lower shutter speed, using a tripod or other form of stabilization, you can produce a picture with a dreamy flow of water rather than tack sharp droplets.

Focus on your memories

Many Huangshan visitors bring a lock in order to leave something permanent behind at one of the mountain’s peaks. However, the hikers motto is: leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories. Modern portable cameras make it easier and easier to preserve your unique memories of the mountain without impacting the beautiful scenery. Rather than simply trying to replicate what you imagined Huangshan would look based on other people’s pictures, the most important photography rule is to follow your own instinct and photography what is important to you.

Getting to Huangshan: Several busses run daily between Shanghai South station and Huangshan City, with a journey time of approximately five hours. There are also two trains daily between Huangshan and Shanghai Railway Station. Passengers can sleep during the 13-hour journey arriving at their destination the next morning. Shanghai Airlines also runs daily flights from Hongqiao Airport.

Photos and story by Gillian Bolsover for CNNGO: Shanghai

Climbing a steep set of stairs of this former Shikumen, we explore this half-shop, half-museum (the only place in China) dedicated to these musical marvels.

Caption: Tiantian Wang (王天天), left, and Xinyu Chen (陈鑫雨) try out some of the store’s music boxes.

“Modern society is too busy, too complicated,” says Sky Music Box owner Leo Zhang (张杰). “It’s the simple things that really move people.”

Every music box has a story, said Zhang. If looked after properly, they can keep working forever without the quality of music diminishing. Music boxes are often given as gifts, continued Zhang, but there is something about the simplicity and music of these boxes that profoundly moves both the giver and the receiver.

Zhang recounts the story of a man who missed his flight back to Dalian waiting for the store to open so that he could buy a music box produced on the exact date his daughter was born. Zhang keeps a large book filled with comments from customers, pouring out their feelings about the store. One girl writes that she would marry any man who bought her a specific music box.

One Saturday morning, Tiantian Wang (王天天) and Xinyu Chen (陈鑫雨), both 18, quietly walked around the store, listening to and watching in awe all the different boxes inside the little shop. Both the girls said they were given music boxes as gifts when they were children and would love to return the favor to others now that they are old enough to give gifts themselves.

Caption: Ningpeng Wen (温宁芃) left, and Chun Hu (胡醇) look at music boxes in the store.

Ningpeng Wen, 16, and her friend Chen Hu, 17, held music boxes up to their ears and took pictures of themselves with the shop’s giant toy soldiers during their weekend visit to Shanghai, but the two girl’s weren’t interested in buying anything.

“The boxes are too expensive for us to buy,” said Hu. “I am just here to look. The quality of the music is beautiful and the accuracy is so good.”

This behavior is not frowned down upon by the store. While the year-old-store needs to remain economically viable, Zhang said the main aim is to showcase the beauty of music boxes. Not all the boxes in the shop are for sale. Speaking of one of his favorite pieces, Zhang said, “If I sell it only one person can enjoy it, but if I keep it in the shop many people can see it.”

In his home, Zhang has several hundred music boxes, but he feels the shop is not a safe enough place to keep the most antique and valuable boxes. He said he hopes that the shop can expand in the future so that more people are able to discover the pure sound of simple music and the timeless beauty of the music box.

After the interview, we asked Zhang to introduce some of his favorite music boxes in the store.

The Gramophone
This music box is made of wood and metal. According to Zhang, wood is the ideal material of a music box housing because the quality of the music is better when it comes from within a wooden case. The music box does not use batteries but instead is wound via the small handle on the top of the case. As the music plays, the gramophone’s turntable turns combining both music and movement.
Cost: 1600 元

The Loom-Spinner
This Japanese-made music box features a little-man turning his loom. Zhang says the box is extremely well designed and well made to allow the man move up and down turning his loom, as well as play music, without batteries.
Cost: 580 元

Old Shanghai
This snow globe and music box combines western and Chinese elements to create a typical Shanghai scene from the 1930s. A woman sits at her dressing table putting on her earrings with a cat, lying peacefully at her feet. The base of the globe shows The Bund of the 1930s including Shanghai’s own statue of liberty that used to stand on the Bund.
Price: 1180 元

The Christmas Cannonball
“This is one of my favorite pieces,” said Zhang. “Although it needs power to run, it does so many things…. It is a boy’s music box.” When turned on this train plays a variety of different traditional Christmas tunes, the elves on the train all work at their separate jobs, the wheels move and the light at the front of the train turns on. If you add special liquid, the train even belches steam from its smokestack. Zhang does not plan to sell this piece.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
Everyone recognizes the character of Snow White, says Zhang, who bought this piece in the Tokyo Disney Land. Since he only has one copy of the box, Zhang does not plan to sell the piece.

The Pandas
This music box, which was made in China, features many traditional Chinese elements, from the pandas wearing Chinese-style clothing to the red and gold design. As a hidden feature, one of the drawers at the base of the box opens, providing an area where jewelry could be stored.
Cost: 580 元

The Ballerina
This music box was handmade from a goose’s-egg in the style of traditional Russian music boxes. Both the egg shape and the dancer motif are very popular types of music box, combining romance, beauty and fragility.
Cost: 429 元

How to get there:
Sky Music Box is located in Tianzifang (closest metro Dapuqiao), lane 248, number 35. The shop is open everyday from 10:30 am to 9:30 pm.
Call 021-34617695 or 13512142859 or Email 917734652@qq.com for more information.

Photos and story by Gillian Bolsover for CNNGO: Shanghai

“I’ve been coming here every weekend for two years but here is a low rate of success,” said the desperate mother shaking her head. “Some people come for four or five years but never find someone.”

“My daughter went to England for study for seven years,” she continued. “When she came back it was already too late for her to find a boyfriend… She thinks that her time in England is worth it, but to me nothing is more important than starting a family.”

The People’s Square Marriage Market is a Shanghai institution. Every Saturday and Sunday, hundreds of parents gather, regardless of the weather, clutching single sheets of paper that present their children in a few simple phrases – age, height, education, job, salary, whether they studied abroad and whether they own their own apartment.

“Female, born 1981, 1.62 meters tall, bachelors degree, project director at a foreign company, monthly salary above 10000 元, looking for someone born between 82 and 74, bachelors degree or above with a sense of responsibility for the family. “

While parents crowd around eager to talk to a foreign journalist, in the hopes that their children’s might have the opportunity to find a foreign partner, none of the parents are willing to give their real names or show their children’s faces in the media, most refuse to be photographed themselves.

“My daughter doesn’t approve of me coming here. I stole this photo of her to bring to the market,” said the father who owns the sign pictured above. He has sent is 29-year-old daughter on 12 dates with men he found at the people’s square marriage market. “But it never works out,” he said, shaking his head.

“My son is too picky,” said this Shanghai native. “A lot of girls are interested in him, but he spent a lot of money studying in Stockholm for seven years and he doesn’t have his own house yet.”

Despite the low rate of success at the market, parents maintain the hope that they will find a suitable match. “If I meet one suitable girl out of 100, I will have been successful,” the Shanghainese father.

However, a mother from northern China sees the problem in a different way. “Modern parents have very high demands for their children,” she said. “What the parents didn’t achieve they want for their children.”

Her 28-year-old daughter, who is a project manager at a foreign company, thinks the fact that her mother comes to the marriage market is “embarrassing.” But there is a traditional idea that people must marry, her mother says. “If I die with my daughter unmarried, I cannot close my eyes.”

While the average marriage market profile is a twenty or thirty something professional, with females vastly outnumbering males, there are always some who stand out from the crowd.

“I made a special advert specifically because I don’t want to get lost in the crowd,” said Zhang Wenjiang (张文江), pictured here next to his sign holding his university graduation picture.

The 73-year-old Shanghainese widower, who comes to the market almost every Saturday and Sunday, said he used to use agencies to try to find a new partner but they are only interested in profit. “It was hard to get the courage to come here,” he said. “I used to have a wife. She was very beautiful but she passed away. I don’t lack anything in life. I only lack someone to talk to in the evening.”

As we are talking, Zhang sees two women looking at his sign; he waves and beckons them over. The woman in question is 68, also from Shanghai. It is her first time visiting the market. They talk for about ten minutes and then swap contact details. Will the match work? “First we will talk as friends and see if we fit it each other,” said Zhang. “And then we will see.”

If you want to go:
The market takes place Saturday and Sunday afternoons from noon till about five at the north end of People’s Park, 75 West Nanjing Road. The closes metro station is People’s Square, exit 5.

Photos and story by Gillian Bolsover for CNNGO: Shanghai

Past an imposingly crowded entryway near Laoximen Station lies 万商花鸟市场，Shanghai’s busiest plant and animal market. Sellers say its location makes the market the best in Shanghai. As the only one in the city center, it is also a perfect opportunity for (brave) tourists to experience the sights, sounds and smells of a traditional plant and animal market.

Common pets at the market include insects, turtles, fowl and caged songbirds. “Older people usually buy birds because they are retired and want something to do,” said a seller who did not wish to be named. Retired people bring their birds outside every day to sing with each other, he continued. They show off and compete with neighbors to see whose bird has the best song.

The skylark (百灵) is ubiquitous throughout the market. Hailing from the grasslands of Inner Mongolia the bird is valued because of its ability to mimic other bird’s calls. A young skylark will cost about 300 元 and a good specimen is worth about 1000 元。

Fish and amphibians are also very popular pets and the market offers a bewildering array of different choices, including rare and exotic species. Local resident Qiankun Jiang (姜乾坤) came to the Laoximen market to buy some young turtles to add to his home, which already includes two large turtles, a wife and a dog.

“Turtles are very easy to raise. You just feed them with meat and shrimp and they grow very fast,” Jiang said. “I like to raise them, but when they are large they are not so fun. I release them in the river or a lake.”

Insects are the most common presence at the market, ranging from grasshoppers for good luck to the famous fighting crickets. Cricket fighting has a long history, said seller Jack Wu (吴). It started in the Song Dynasty and originally only the emperor was allowed to play, he explained. Now cricket fighting is a sport mostly reserved for the affluent and elderly, Wu said.

“Normal people can’t afford to play,” said Wu. For instance, the special food given to crickets before a fight that will make them more aggressive costs about 1000 元 per half kilogram. Wu said the most expensive cricket he ever sold was 10,000元.

In addition to the small family stores, there are also a few large, modern stores, like Beijing Chinchilla Specialty Shop. The South American rodents, who vend for anything from 1000 to 6000 元, are growing dramatically in popularity in China because they are clean, disease free and need much less attention than a cat or dog, according to employee Genfeng Sun(孙根风).

The popularity of Japanese anime movie Totoro, featuring a gigantic chinchilla, also apparently helps sales. After seeing the movie, seven-year-old Jiawen Sheng (盛佳文) immediately got online to research the species. She found a lot of information about chinchillas as pets, Sheng’s mom said, and we brought her to the shop the next day.

If you go: 万商花鸟市场 is located at 417 South Xizang Road near Dongtai Road. The closest metro station is Laoximen.

Photos and story by Gillian Bolsover for CNNGO: Shanghai

Gulangyu (鼓浪屿) Island’s mild climate, car-free streets, colonial architecture and relaxing atmosphere make it a perfect escape from the Shanghai winter.

This small (two-square-kilometer) island is located five minutes ferry ride from Xiamen, whose international airport is boasts daily flights from Shanghai by China Eastern, Juneyao, Shanghai Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and Spring Airlines. While Xiamen Island is already ranked as one of the most pleasant places to live in China, with its warm climate, good air quality, abundant beaches and laid-back lifestyle, a quick glance back towards Xiamen from Gulangyu’s highest point illustrates how the island has maintained its old-world charm while its bigger sister developed into a bussing city.

Sunlight Rock dominates Gulangyu’s scenery. Every day, legions of visitors scale the 40-meter-diameter stone for a panoramic view of the Gulangyu Island and neighboring Xiamen.

The island’s beaches are one of its main attractions and the opportunity to roll up one’s trousers, splash around in the surf and then stare off into the sunset together is what makes the island so popular with young couples.

When I was young, I had wanderlust, said Tao Zhang (张涛), who is originally from Heilongjiang. “I wandered all over the place before I finally settled in Xiamen… the city is beautiful, the weather is good and the people are civilized.” Zhang, who owns an art shop in the city, comes to Gulangyu on the weekends to paint calligraphy.

The island is famous for its fresh seafood. Every day visitors line up outside 189 Longtou Lu to try Gulangyu’s most famous pan-fried oyster cake. While the basic dish is served all over the island, the oysters at number 189 are shipped in daily from the owner’s hometown and fried with a special blend of sweet potato powder, eggs and green onions.

As homage to its touristy nature, the island produces several passport books, modeled after that of the 2010 Shanghai Expo, to introduce visitors to the island.

Gulangyu’s visitors navigate the island’s winding streets, finding listed businesses and rushing in to find the necessary stamps to compete their book. Businesses make their own stamps and are featured in “passports” they agree to sell, but do not require visitors to make a purchase in order to obtain their stamps.

Xiamen’s history as a treaty port ensured that many different countries left their architectural mark on the area. Gulangyu features a fantastic blend of colonial architecture such as and the Eight Divining-Rod Tower (八卦楼), Huangroung Yuantang Villa (黄荣远堂别墅) and The Seaside Garden Hotel (pictured).

The (mostly) well-preserved period architecture on the island attracts many artists looking for inspiration. “There are a lot of beautiful villas here,” said Lie’ou Zhu (朱列欧). “It’s very pretty and it is not as noisy as Xiamen.”

Jie Zhao (赵杰), who works in Xiamen but is originally from Yunnan, stands looking out to sea as the sun sets over the island and the end of his weekend beach trip. This is the first time I came to Gulangyu, said Zhao. It is not as pretty as my hometown, Gulangyu has been renovated too much, but I will definitely come back.

While those searching for off-the-map adventures should look elsewhere, those looking for a pleasant, peaceful place in the sun, free from cars, pollution and the worries of the city need look no further than Gulangyu.

How to get there:

China Eastern, Juneyao, Shanghai Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and Spring Airlines all provide daily flights from Shanghai to Xiamen Island. A taxi from the airport to the pier takes about 20 minutes, followed by a five-minute ferry ride to reach Gulangyu. The island contains many cute hotels in beautiful colonial houses, but those traveling on a budget should look to stay in Xiamen rather than Gulangyu Island.

Photos and story by Gillian Bolsover for CNNGO: Shanghai

Looking for a cost free way and convenient way to exercise and socialize in Shanghai. Every morning and every evening in every area there is a dance group ready to teach you their moves.

Every evening, as long as it is not raining, couples and individuals converge at Xiangyang Park from 7:40 to 10 to dance. Mr. Shu （舒先生） (left), who has been dancing for ten years, and Xiaoman Sun (孙小曼) say they met when Sun started coming to dance two months ago. “We don’t know each other’s first names,” Sun said. “But we know each other well so we dance well together.”
He taught me how to dance, said Sun, when you start coming it doesn’t matter if you know how to dance or don’t have a partner to dance with, if you stand and watch, people will ask you to dance.

Jinying Guo(郭金英) (center) has been leading a dance class at Liyuan Park every morning from 7 to 8:30 for more than seven years. “I am happy to be doing something that is beneficial for society,” Guo said. “Shanghai is an old people’s city… Before old people just stayed at home and looked after grandchildren. Now they have nothing to do so they come out of their homes.”

If someone comes to the class who doesn’t know how to dance, Guo will teach them. “When I was young, I used to teach people how to dance,” she said. “Now that I am retired, I can use my extra strength to teach people.”

Dancing isn’t just something for older people, said 36-year-old Yue Yu (雨夜) (right), who comes to Xiangyang Park to dance every evening after work. “Young people also have to exercise,” she said. “If you wait till you are old it is too late.”

While exercising is relevant for all age groups, the choice of music at different locations varies widely. Some play traditional Chinese music, others disco or electronic, it’s all up to the organizer. “There are no rules,” says Guo.

For Meizhen Zhang (张美珍) (center) public dancing isn’t just about exercising the body. “All the people here are my friends,” she said. “I come here every day when I don’t have something else to do… dancing makes me feel happy.”

Liyuan park is a hotbed of morning activity. In addition to Zhang’s group (which is slow and traditional) and Guo’s group (which is faster, creative and plays modern music), there is also a group for the elderly that focuses on basic stretches and a tai chi group, as well as various informal groups, individuals and basketball players.

While most park dancers are content with exercising their bodies and meeting friends, others take dancing to the next level. Jihua Shi (史济华) (left) and Meihua Wang (王美华) used to work as dance teachers. “Now we are retired and don’t teach,” said Wang. “This is just our hobby.”

“In Shanghai, almost every park has people dancing in it,” Shi said. This style of dancing comes from the west, Shi explained, and since Shanghai is China’s most open city it has the greatest number and most variety of dancing opportunities.

After several hours dancing within a circle of onlookers in a huge variety of styles, the couple paused to smoke and talk with admirers before packing up for the night. Do they mind dancing while being watched by so many people? “When I started dancing, I was afraid,” said Wang, but “I got used to it. He really likes it.”

“The more people the better,” added Shi.

The best locations to observe the public dancing culture in Shanghai include:

1. Shanghai Fuxing Park (上海复兴公园), 516 Fuxing Zhong Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu 复兴中路516号, 近淮海中路
2. Shanghai Xiangyang Park (上海襄阳公园), 1008 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Xiangyang Bei Lu 淮海中路1008号, 近襄阳北路
3. Shanghai Liyuan Park (上海丽园公园), Liyuan Lu, near Jumen Lu 丽园路, 近局门路
4. Beijing Houhai area (北京后海), entrance through the Lotus Market, No. 51, Xi Da Jie, Di’an Men, Xicheng District 西城区地安门西大街51号
5. Shenzhen Lihuashan Park (深圳莲花山公园), Hongli Lu, Futian District 福田区红荔路

Photos and story by Gillian Bolsover for CNNGO: Shanghai