Today, after an early start, we wear at Peoples Square to see the Shanghai Bienalle exhibition at the museum of art - a bargain at 1 kuai for hours of lovely art viewings and films. Peoples Square was horrible though - not the square itself but the constant, unwavering attention from people trying to trick tourists. This sounds odd, but these scams are really common and no one let up on us the whole time - until we fled to the comfort of the metro station.

The most common thing we experienced was people asking us to take a picture of them - then asking you where you're from - chatting, and basically tricking you into something then escorting to a cash point. The most common method, is to make friends with a foreigner, take them to an 'amazing' chinese tea house, and then they find out that charge is about 100 pounds. Luckily, I had read all about these - and we didn't fall for any of it. We had non stop comments about out 'lovely' blonde hair and 'lovely' white skin - men and women from the scamming teams were targeting our vanity and laying it on thick with the complements in a vain attempt to get us to talk.

Once inside peoples square metro station - with no fewer than 20 different entrances and even more platforms - you are confronted with the biggest mall that you have ever seen - most of it underground. It would have taken all day to wander around it, but suffice to say, we found a Parisian style cafe with a 3 kuai set lunch and I had a manicure for 2 kuai - which was hilarious, as I'm not used to such pampering, and for 2 quid, though thought that I couldn't possibly get anything that would last longer than 5 mins, kept saying thanks and getting up to go! You really can get a lot of value for your money over here as a tourist... I am thinking about having some more treatments. Maybe botox? Yes, that sounds sensible.

We went to the insect, bird and fish market after this - the most unusual and amazing sight. Streets and streets of individual, live insects for sale of all different types. Crickets - used for cricket racing and fighting - a very popular pastime here, were being groomed and bathed by their stall owners, menageries of birds, singing and squawking for their lives - and more lucky goldfish than you can imagine.

At points the market was harrowing. The Chinese (generally speaking) put little importance on animal welfare, and many, many cages of emaciated cats and unidentifiable, piled on top of each other house rodents and dogs looked as though they were suffering acutely. As we are about to enter the year of the rabbit - they are treated as kings - and are very scarce as they are symbols of the greatest luck.

It makes me think of my Dotty - how is she?

We decided to eat in tonight and bought a dvd of the new and unreleased Cohen brothers film 'True Grit' for 50p from a street seller along with some chinese cakes from my favourite hole in the wall on Anfu Lu.

Tomorrow we head to the countryside! Will write from the high speed train.