Wednesday evening, October 7th:
Dinner at the hotel with all 36 of my travel companions now in Shanghai. Some are new to Shifu Chen, but some have been his student for as long as I have and one even longer.
After dinner we took a boat trip on the Huang Hu River and saw the light show and architecture of the Bund which was built in in the 1800’s by Europeans. 
The more recently developed buildings – high rises and ultra modern business district – showcase Shanghai’s pride in being a melting pot and economic center.
The lights are beautiful, dancing across the buildings’ facades and the river water. This was an evening to meet many new people from all around the world: Americans, Brazilians from Bahia and Sao Paulo, Canadians, our guides from China and others.
Very tired now. We have an early start tomorrow as we head south to Suzhou.