Woke up at the hostel in Shanghai. Surfed the net, uploaded photos. The guys woke and went to get train tickets and drop off out heavy backpacks. 
From there we went to Duolin Rd which has many statues of famous Chinese political writers near their former homes. 
We checked out an excellent contemporary painting exhibit and many antique shops with Mao buttons and illustrated books. We walked down the street Andy tried out a Hulusi (interesting wind instrument) at an instruments shop along the roadside and I checked out some interesting inside painting done intricately on the inside of glass snuff bottles and spheres. Exhausted, we began walking back, when I saw a man in the distance down the narrow lane we were traveling. He had a long whispy beard and hat which looked like he might be Muslim. So we stopped in to say hello and find out. We walked closer and he saw is from across the street and waved for us to come in. We had just eaten, but agreed to order a small dish we could share. Our host and his family were so happy to see us (two of us are from Pakistan). He told us he was indeed Muslim and from Qinghai in the west of China. He had a large picture of the Khana Kaba in Mecca and one of a large Mosque presumably in Qinghai inside his tiny retaurant. We ate some tomatoes and eggs. After the meal we went to pay and they refused to take any money from us. We walked out to thank the owner and saw that he was performing wadu (ritual washing before Muslim prayer), so my friend Omar and I asked to join him in prayer. His brother Hasan and he (Isa as in Jesus) brought out 2 prayer mats, a cloth sheet and a towel for us to pray in the dining area (with the tables pushed to one side). Andy and Mike sat on one side and the entire family watched as Isa, Hasan, Omar and I prayed together. No language in common, but a shared religious tradition. 
It was a pretty amazing thing to share, and our way of connecting and thanking them. We talked a bit with Mike as translator before saying goodbye. We walked on, jumped on the metro and came back to the train station. By then we were hungry for dinner and grabbed some dumplings. Andy surprised us with some ice cream from a Burger King and Omar brought some coffee. Outside I saw this cute chubby little guy playing some stick ball on his own. His mother, a vegetable seller asked me to take his picture and I gladly did and showed it to her. She was happy, but did not want to be photographed herself. We got on the overnight train to Anqing.
From there we went to Duolin Rd which has many statues of famous Chinese political writers near their former homes. 
We checked out an excellent contemporary painting exhibit and many antique shops with Mao buttons and illustrated books. We walked down the street Andy tried out a Hulusi (interesting wind instrument) at an instruments shop along the roadside and I checked out some interesting inside painting done intricately on the inside of glass snuff bottles and spheres. Exhausted, we began walking back, when I saw a man in the distance down the narrow lane we were traveling. He had a long whispy beard and hat which looked like he might be Muslim. So we stopped in to say hello and find out. We walked closer and he saw is from across the street and waved for us to come in. We had just eaten, but agreed to order a small dish we could share. Our host and his family were so happy to see us (two of us are from Pakistan). He told us he was indeed Muslim and from Qinghai in the west of China. He had a large picture of the Khana Kaba in Mecca and one of a large Mosque presumably in Qinghai inside his tiny retaurant. We ate some tomatoes and eggs. After the meal we went to pay and they refused to take any money from us. We walked out to thank the owner and saw that he was performing wadu (ritual washing before Muslim prayer), so my friend Omar and I asked to join him in prayer. His brother Hasan and he (Isa as in Jesus) brought out 2 prayer mats, a cloth sheet and a towel for us to pray in the dining area (with the tables pushed to one side). Andy and Mike sat on one side and the entire family watched as Isa, Hasan, Omar and I prayed together. No language in common, but a shared religious tradition. 
It was a pretty amazing thing to share, and our way of connecting and thanking them. We talked a bit with Mike as translator before saying goodbye. We walked on, jumped on the metro and came back to the train station. By then we were hungry for dinner and grabbed some dumplings. Andy surprised us with some ice cream from a Burger King and Omar brought some coffee. Outside I saw this cute chubby little guy playing some stick ball on his own. His mother, a vegetable seller asked me to take his picture and I gladly did and showed it to her. She was happy, but did not want to be photographed herself. We got on the overnight train to Anqing.