Shanghai, China

/ China, Shanghai, Travelogue / By

After Beijing we flew to Shanghai for a couple days.  We were able to buy tickets through our hotel, which was lucky, since the English version of the Air China website doesn’t work to actually purchase tickets.

Cranes in Shanghai
Cranes in Shanghai

Shanghai has 25% of the world’s building cranes!  Skyscrapers are going up like crazy there!

Trivia question:  Why does the tall building in the photo (top left behind the Petronas Tower look-alike) have a 4-sided hole at the top?

  1. It looks cool
  2. It resembles an ancient Chinese symbol
  3. It helps keep the building from being blown down by the wind
  4. None of the above

Well, 1 and 2 might be true, but the real reason is 3!  The original design had a round shape but the final design allows more air to pass through the building which helps keep the building from swaying!  Wow, that building must be really tall and there must be a lot of wind up there!

The Bund, Shanghai
The Bund waterfront, Shanghai
Planet shaped building, Shanghai
Planet shaped building, Shanghai
Looking across the river, Shanghai
French colonial buildings along The Bund, Shanghai
Panda bear made out of soda cans
Panda bear made out of sweet tea soda cans
Pearl tower, Shanghai
Pearl tower, Shanghai

We didn’t go up the tower, since the tickets were too expensive.  It was still neat to see yet another super tall communications tower!

The Bund, Shanghai
Looking across to Pudong from The Bund, Shanghai

Notice the LED light display on one of the buildings.  A few minutes later the building next to it also lit up with LED advertising.  I think it’s going to be a thing of the future.   Unfortunately, everyone is selling out to corporate sponsorship.  It’s a perfect spot here as there were thousands of people lined up along the river looking over to the Pudong side and just as many people on the other side.

Heidi and George, Shanghai
Heidi and George, Shanghai
Cool boat lit up at night, Shanghai
Cool boat lit up at night, Shanghai
City lights at night, Shanghai
City lights on the Pudong skyline, Shanghai
Colonial buildings, Shanghai
Colonial buildings, Shanghai

Shanghai is a very modern city with uncontrollable growth and I think you will either love it here or hate it!  Next year they will host the world’s fair so you will probably start seeing their ugly blue mascot (a gumby look-alike) very soon.  If you like to shop, this is the place, but you have to be prepared for the gigantic crowds wherever you go.  While we enjoyed our stay we were also glad to be leaving to a small town of just a few million, Xi’ An, home of the Terra Cotta Warriors.

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