The tour guide is the long-time Shanghai resident Mr. Chong, a retired cabby who has lived in the city for most of his life.  Mr. Chong will show you around his own neighborhood, where you’ll stroll through bustling markets and laundry-strung Shanghai alleys, as well as discover historical landmarks and hidden gems.  Being a veteran dancer himself, Mr. Chong will also take you to an old-school neighborhood dance hall; you can watch couples waltzing and fox-trotting between one another or even show off a few moves of your own To get a feel for what local life is like in Shanghai, visit Mr Chong’s home and hear the family’s stories from the past and present.  He’s aided by a translator to round out the tour.

Starting in September, Mr. Chong’s tour will be offered every Thursday morning (9:30am – 12:30pm) and Saturday morning (9:30am – 12:30pm) and afternoon (1pm – 4pm).  The tour is 250RMB per person and requires a minimum of 4 people.

If you’re interested in joining the tour, please email us at info@quintet-shanghai.com and tell us all the dates/times you can consider.  If your group has less than 4 people, Quintet will try to match you up with other guests who are also interested in the same dates/times.

For our first anniversary, I though we’d make a Christmas keepsake for guests who come to stay with us around the holiday time.  If everyone likes it, we can potentially do a version every year!

While brainstorming on what the gift should be, I was inspired by the recent “Tiny Feet” exhibition at the Plum Gallery.  Why not make a Christmas stocking with a Chinese flavor?  For those who know a bit about Chinese history, women, especially in the royal and wealthy families, used to have their feet bound to about only 3 inches long starting in their childhood.  Women with tiny feet supposedly looked delicate and attractive to men when they walked and swayed from the imbalance.  While the feet finding custom is now seen as an evil, sexist tradition that kept Chinese women subdued for centuries, some of the design and crafts that went into making the tiny shoes that covered those feet were exquisite.

I brought up this stocking idea to my guest-friend Hiroko and she also thought this ideas was interesting.  So when she came to Shanghai a few weeks ago, she helped sketched out a design for the stocking and then we went to the fabric market to pick out the fabrics together.  We chose four different patterns and colors for the stocking to give it a luxurious look and feel; the fabrics we used are also the same fabrics that people make “qipao” dresses and “mian-ao” jackets out of.

Each of the stockings is sewn by my housekeeper’s neighbor so each one looks a bit different and unique!  For a limited time only, we will sneak these little stockings into the guest rooms as parting gifts.  If you want one, come stay with us soon!

The Adagio Package: $300RMB

-Romantically decorated room with flower petals and candles

-Candlelight milk bath prepared with a scent of your choice

-Bottle of sparkling wine or red wine with chocolates

-Mood music played on Quintet house ipod (you can bring your own ipod also)

The Passionato Package: $800RMB

-Romantically decorated room with flower petals and candles

-In-room massage for two (one hour per person, choice of Oil or Traditional Chinese style)

-Candlelight milk bath prepared before massage with a scent of your choice

-Bottle of sparkling wine or red wine with chocolates

-Mood music played on Quintet house ipod (you can bring your own ipod also)

-Breakfast served in-bed

Here’s a map showing the eclipse’s path:  http://www.heywhatsthat.com/200907-solar-eclipse.html Here’s a map highlight the eclipse path within China:  http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2009/TSE2009iau/TSE2009-fig03.GIF The eclipse is the longest when you view it nearest the center line of the band.  Shanghai is a tad north of the center line.

In Shanghai, the eclipse will begin around 8:30am with the total eclipse starting around 9:3x-9:4x am, depending on where you are.  The only uncertainty is the weather on the morning of the 22nd.  The serious sun chasers are planning to go wherever it takes to get a good view.

Quintet is looking into organizing some kind of viewing event, possibly on our very own rooftop if the weather in Shanghai is good enough or leaving early in the morning to go somewhere in a van.

Email us if you’re interested in joining us!