Shanghai

Our first stop in Shanghai was Nanjing Road, a very famous shopping street. Often called the Fifth Avenue of Asia, Nanjing Road is divided into two sections, East and West. The East section, pictured above and below, is covered in neon lights and filled with mid to high end stores (and street salesmen selling low quality Chinese toys). The West end is closer to the financial district, has more open space, and is filled, almost exclusively, with luxury brand and high end stores.

We also visited the Bund, another very famous section of Shanghai, located on the western bank of the Hangpu river. This area quickly became the main banking and trade hub in Asia following the opium wars in the mid 1800s.

The bankers built large stone office buildings to rival their counterparts in Europe. Of particurlar note are the mosaic ceilings in the old HSBC building , once called the most luxurious building between the Suez Canal and Bering Strait. Unfortunately pictures were not allowed inside so you'll have to check out the link to Wikipedia.

Today the Bund is still home to banks but also fancy restaurants and high end retail stores. This is still one of the most sought after and prized addresses in Shanghai.

Later in the week we visited Old Town and Yuyuan Gardens (pictured below). The pagoda style buildings were a nice nod to tradition but unfortunately everything had the shiny new feel of an area remodeled for tourists. Even in Old Town there was a Starbucks and a McDonalds. Fortunately Yuyuan gardens was a relaxing break from the hustle and bustle of the city. We had a great afternoon exploring passageways and finding different serene ponds, temples, and rock formations every time we turned around.

According to everyone we talked to, a stop in the Shanghai Museum was necessary. We found great permanent exhibits of ancient ceramics, bronzes, and currency. The pot pictured below is more than 6,000 years old.


No visit to Shanghai would be complete without a stop in the French Concession and Xingtiandi. This area is filled mostly with trendy, new bars and restaurants but punctuated with buildings leftover from the Open Door era. Its a great place to wander around in the day time or go out to at night.

Finally, it was great to run into some old friends (Howie and Haimu) and make some new ones when in Shanghai. Thank you to Sharon and Steve for including Ellie and I in your Christmas dinner!

Please excuse the hastily written post - I'm about 2 weeks behind on the blog and need to catch up.