July 17, 2011 - Shanghai: A City of Commerce

We had another early wakeup call, packed our bags, and were headed to Shanghai!  This airport check-in went much more smoothly (I didn’t have to body check anyone to save our spot in line) and we were in Shanghai in a matter of hours.  Driving in we were again hit by the immensity of the city as massive high rise apartments shot up in all directions as far as the eye could see.  We enjoyed what was for me a very restorative lunch…I honestly felt SO much better after I ate.  I really feel best when I eat a sizeable portion of protein in my meal and while in Beijing I was eating less than normal, in Guangzhou I basically was just so hungry I was nauseous for days and days (I’m really not a seafood eater…so I was pretty miserable).  We were given time to settle in when we arrived and I excitedly hand-washed a very large amount of clothes, convinced they were definitely dry faster than chronically damp Guangzhou.  And then we headed out to do a walking tour of the Bund (which is hindi for embankment…so no, not German.)  The Bund was the section of Shanghai that had various foreign concessions along the coast.  A concession was an area occupied by the British or French who then had autonomy over that region.  So the British concession applied British laws not Chinese laws to their territory.  Because of this, there is very European architecture along this area and very beautiful posh buildings.  The French Concessions area was actually a hotbed for the early communist party meetings, as French not Chinese laws applied.  The concessions were torn from the French and British hands when the Japanese invaded in WW II, was then government property under the communist era after 1949, and was quickly leased by the government to various international companies after China opened up in the 1980s and 1990s.  One example is the AIA – the American International Assurance was one that bought a lease asap when Shanghai opened up and restored the reliefs that were on the outside of the historic building. 

And then we stepped up to the water’s edge and were able to enjoy the beautiful  view of the iconic high rises of Shanghai….  I am not a big high rise architecture person…usually the modern stuff is quite garish in my mind…but I really really liked the pink TV tower and the accompanying buildings of Shanghai…in fact I found them captivating. 

We were given some time to wander and I made my way down the Nanjing shopping street to a pedestrian shopping area.  Shopping is alive and well in Shanghai too.  We enjoyed a dinner and headed in for the night – my favorite hotel yet!

July 17, 2011 - Shanghai - along the Bund