Expats see links with homelands
Shanghai Museum drew large groups of visitors on Saturday, among them Mike Rippon and his family from England. They made the museum their first stop on a three-week tour of China.
“This is the best place for us to get a brief introduction to Chinese culture,” said Rippon, who added that the family was also pleased to see an exhibition of landscape paintings from the Tate Britain in London. “I hope we will see more exhibitions from China when we go back home as well.”
Many expats found ties between their motherlands and China in the museum. Rahul Rathod, a Belgian of Indian ancestry, lingered in the coin collection room, taking pictures of ancient Indian coins.
“It seems both India and China had coins with seeds pressed onto their surfaces,” he said. “It is amazing that the two ancient empires had so much in common.”
Shamni Pande, a freelance writer from India who has lived in Shanghai for two years, was fascinated by an exhibition of bronze vessels.
“It’s remarkable how sophisticated these are, considering their age,” said Pande.