Day 12
Shanghai. Wow what a contrast to the rest of China. For the first time since day 1 in Beijing we saw blue sky and bright sunshine. 17 million people live in Shanghai. The first thing you notice is the tall skyscrapers, hundreds of them. Some of them look like space ships. All shiny glass and steel. There is a TV tower, which really does look like a space ship. It has these revolving balls a long pointy needle at the top and is a twenty room hotel within these 5 balls suspended between two bigger balls. It’s not a regular hotel, you cannot book a room there, you must be invited to stay. The president of US and the prime minister of England have stayed there. So, it’s for those kinds of people. The tower glows an array of amazing colours at night.
Our hotel has a space ship like structure at the top which is a restaurant and bar. We are located a few minutes walk from the famous Nanjing Road. Our first night here we walked down Nanjing Road which is a very wide street with shops, shops and more shops. Bright neon lights flash constantly, huge TV screens adorn the corners of buildings at intersections. The traffic is chaotic, crossing the road is a nightmare made worse by the fact it is difficult to distinguish where the footpath becomes road as the surface remains the same. Hawkers are very persistent, copy watch, copy watch, handbags and shoes is the constant cry. Street stalls sell all sorts of hot foods and the pungent aromas are a little nauseating at times.
We walked the full length of Nangjing Road coming out onto the Bund. The Bund is the historical waterfront of Shanghai. The area once housed the numerous banks and trading houses of most of the European countries Britain, France, Germany, Russia etc. These beautiful old buildings line the East side of the river and on the West side of the river are the shiny, taller, more modern buildings. I prefer the character of the old buildings. We walked along the Bund and at night and the buildings are all lit up.
Our next day after visiting the local markets and a beautiful serene Chinese garden in the middle of the city we took a ferry boat up and down the river for a different view of the Bund. Just as beautiful in the day time as at night.
Shanghai. Wow what a contrast to the rest of China. For the first time since day 1 in Beijing we saw blue sky and bright sunshine. 17 million people live in Shanghai. The first thing you notice is the tall skyscrapers, hundreds of them. Some of them look like space ships. All shiny glass and steel. There is a TV tower, which really does look like a space ship. It has these revolving balls a long pointy needle at the top and is a twenty room hotel within these 5 balls suspended between two bigger balls. It’s not a regular hotel, you cannot book a room there, you must be invited to stay. The president of US and the prime minister of England have stayed there. So, it’s for those kinds of people. The tower glows an array of amazing colours at night.
Our hotel has a space ship like structure at the top which is a restaurant and bar. We are located a few minutes walk from the famous Nanjing Road. Our first night here we walked down Nanjing Road which is a very wide street with shops, shops and more shops. Bright neon lights flash constantly, huge TV screens adorn the corners of buildings at intersections. The traffic is chaotic, crossing the road is a nightmare made worse by the fact it is difficult to distinguish where the footpath becomes road as the surface remains the same. Hawkers are very persistent, copy watch, copy watch, handbags and shoes is the constant cry. Street stalls sell all sorts of hot foods and the pungent aromas are a little nauseating at times.
We walked the full length of Nangjing Road coming out onto the Bund. The Bund is the historical waterfront of Shanghai. The area once housed the numerous banks and trading houses of most of the European countries Britain, France, Germany, Russia etc. These beautiful old buildings line the East side of the river and on the West side of the river are the shiny, taller, more modern buildings. I prefer the character of the old buildings. We walked along the Bund and at night and the buildings are all lit up.
Our next day after visiting the local markets and a beautiful serene Chinese garden in the middle of the city we took a ferry boat up and down the river for a different view of the Bund. Just as beautiful in the day time as at night.
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