Shanghai, Last Hurrah: TREASURE HUNT IN MY BACKYARD

 One of the reasons we picked our current flat was the antique market that’s casually sprawled behind our compound. It’s a charming 2-block stroll with Chinese antiquities all around. And as a bonus, the vendors here aren’t as obnoxious as those at the fake markets.

Here they sell “antiques” (in China you can never be sure what’s genuinely old and what’s made to look old) in an unpretentious setting with very pretentious prices (I still can’t figure out that conundrum). But it’s still a fun activity nonetheless because you see I have something that almost every kid wishes for: a treasure hunt in my very own backyard!

OK, I do admit it’s not your typical treasure outing with an old, coffee-stained map where "X" marks the spot to your buried gold, but rather more like the TV show “Antique Hunters”. But I don’t let that get me down, because technically, “antiques” are “treasures” and I am out there hunting for them. So there you go! I have a bonafide treasure hunt in my backyard! 

The outdoor flea market is called Dongtai Lu and was supposedly put together in 1902 during the Qing Dynasty. Then the locals called it Taishan Road, they named it something else along the way and then finally after 41 years, they made up their minds and dubbed it Dongtai Lu.

What I find interesting is that this wasn’t always the setting for a fun afternoon of treasure hunting, but rather just a normal spot for lazy locals to have breakfast and a cup of tea. Pretty soon, they decided to make it a “dinner and show” kind of place and people would bring their little knickknacks to show off or swap and change with others. Pretty much like we as kids did with our stickers or Pokémon coins. Well, some guys thought they could make a buck out of this and soon shops popped up around the tea sippers. And the rest is, as they say, history.

I have to admit that I have been pretty fortunate in the past when it comes to my backyard. In South Africa, I had a rather large field behind my house where I imagined cheetahs, lions and my imaginary giraffe, Jimmy, could wander freely. In Germany, I literally had a castle in my backyard. So I lived the Disney fantasy right there and now I have treasures to scour for. I can barely contain my excitement for what adventures await in my backyard in Germany when we return. Probably a Turkish kebab shop, but hey, then I can imagine I’m on the Orient Express to explore Eurasia. I can be an explorer of foreign lands, who will never have to be hungry for long.