The Bund

We spent a lot of time in transit to get here. First we took the KTX to Seoul, then the shuttle to Incheon airport, then a flight to Shanghai, a maglev from the airport to the city, and a cab to our hotel. The maglev is worth mentioning. It goes 440 km per hour and banks to turn, and I found it a slightly terrifying experience. Bobby thought it was cool.

When we finally got here, we headed for The Bund, which is a picturesque and crowded, area by the river. One side of the river is lined with old European buildings, and the other sports flashy, space age buildings. It was well worth the crowds. There is a lot of history on the Bund, which was where the British set up shop after the Opium Wars. The venerable buildings included a British consulate built in the mid 1800's, an old customs house, and a fusty old club where “Chinese and dogs” were not allowed. It's a wonder that the Chinese let these symbols of British imperialism stand, but they are beautiful now (and all fly Chinese flags). There is a steady flow of barges heading through the canal. It is almost like watching cars on the highway. On the other side of the river, after nightfall, there are twinkling buildings, buildings with candy colors, and two with video shows on their sides. We had a drink at an old signal house, where we sat on the roof and watched the city light up (well worth the overpriced drinks).

We then squeezed into the ferry with tons of Chinese and headed to the other side of the river. The light show intensified: all of the trees lining the boulevard had green or blue lights on them, and some had white “icicles” hanging from them. It sounds garish, but it was tastefully done, probably for the Expo. We went to the observation deck of the World Financial Center, which is the highest observation deck in the world (or was, they weren't very clear). It was 492meters up, and there was a section in the middle with a glass floor so you can see just how high up you are. Bobby loves these things, and we go to one at every city we visit.

On the third floor, we found a dumpling restaurant. This is exactly what I wanted. I have been reading The Last Chinese Chef, and I was very eager to eat some dumplings. They did not disappoint, though I popped a couple in my mouth before they were adequately cool.

Western influence is very obvious in Shanghai. Aside from the buildings, there are Mc Donalds's, Krispy Kremes, KFC's, and Starbucks, everywhere. We even saw a Hardee's and a Best Buy. We have not yet seen a temple or anything resembling one, but we are in the industrialized area of town. Shanghai has long been a commercial center, and there is not much evidence of old China here.

The Bund

It looks like a space needle

I think this is a customs house

You can kind of see the light display