Shanghai city planning hall model of inner city
Lighthouse group at site of first Party Congress, Shanghai
Looking down on the Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai
100 stories up in Shanghai
Barbers use special dyeing comb to dye hair near Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai
Dragon's head, Yuyuan Garden
Crowds near Yuyuan Garden
Dawn and Adele on the Bund, Shanghai
Looking toward Pudong, Shanghai New City
Shanghai Acrobats
Shanghai Acrobats
Take care,
The Lighthouse Group
SHANGHAIED
Oct. 20, Thursday
This is one incredible city! We began the day with our guide, Jenny, whose English is excellent, and is very easy to understand. First off we went to the Shanghai City Planning Hall Exhibition Center, where on the 3rd floor is a huge model of the 650 sq. kilometer inner city (one tenth of the whole city of Shanghai). Lighting made the Huangpu River look rippled, with its many barges. The model is on the scale of 1:500, and is 10 years old, so it included last year's EXPO pavilions as well as residential and commercial buildings. The elevated walkway around the model's perimeter made it easy to get a grasp of the size and complexity of the area.
Next stop - Shikumen and the renovated Linong area. The Linong (similiar to Beijing's hutongs) area has been Yuppified and upscale bars and restaurants line the walking streets. Shikumen is the site of the first Party Congress in 1949. Then it was on to the Global Financial Center Tower, the tallest building in China, financed by a Japanese company. Ask any tour female about the Japanese toilets there! We took the elevator to the 95th floor, then two escalators to the 97th, and another elevator to the 100th floor observation area, with glass floor and spectacular views out over the city. This experience was especially meaningful having already seen the model of the city earlier in the morning. We ALL went up to the 100th floor!
After lunch it was the Yuyuan Garden, a large classical Chinese garden, with recently added shopping area. We certainly recognize that China has an active market economy based on the many renovated shopping streets in every city. Our guide offered to get tickets for a Shanghai Acrobats performance after dinner, so we took her up on the offer and enjoyed a great performance from balcony seats. Then it was back to the hotel to try to jam more purchases into our suitcases, which for some meant throwing out some unneeded goods to make room for new. Off to Chengdu in central/west China tomorrow morning.
SHANGHAIED
Oct. 20, Thursday
This is one incredible city! We began the day with our guide, Jenny, whose English is excellent, and is very easy to understand. First off we went to the Shanghai City Planning Hall Exhibition Center, where on the 3rd floor is a huge model of the 650 sq. kilometer inner city (one tenth of the whole city of Shanghai). Lighting made the Huangpu River look rippled, with its many barges. The model is on the scale of 1:500, and is 10 years old, so it included last year's EXPO pavilions as well as residential and commercial buildings. The elevated walkway around the model's perimeter made it easy to get a grasp of the size and complexity of the area.
Next stop - Shikumen and the renovated Linong area. The Linong (similiar to Beijing's hutongs) area has been Yuppified and upscale bars and restaurants line the walking streets. Shikumen is the site of the first Party Congress in 1949. Then it was on to the Global Financial Center Tower, the tallest building in China, financed by a Japanese company. Ask any tour female about the Japanese toilets there! We took the elevator to the 95th floor, then two escalators to the 97th, and another elevator to the 100th floor observation area, with glass floor and spectacular views out over the city. This experience was especially meaningful having already seen the model of the city earlier in the morning. We ALL went up to the 100th floor!
After lunch it was the Yuyuan Garden, a large classical Chinese garden, with recently added shopping area. We certainly recognize that China has an active market economy based on the many renovated shopping streets in every city. Our guide offered to get tickets for a Shanghai Acrobats performance after dinner, so we took her up on the offer and enjoyed a great performance from balcony seats. Then it was back to the hotel to try to jam more purchases into our suitcases, which for some meant throwing out some unneeded goods to make room for new. Off to Chengdu in central/west China tomorrow morning.
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