We basically added an extra day to our time in China by flying from Xiamen to Shanghai…for $30 (it would have been the same price but a 24 hour trip by train). Shanghai was never a place I had on my list, but once again I was awed. The city is huge, yes, but it has tons of character. The subway system is vast, and we were “lucky” enough to experience insane rush hour and what a crowd in China really means. The buildings are all very old, mostly European style, and run along the Huangpu River. We really loved walking along the pedestrian area of Nanjing Road, where we found super expensive clothes but super yummy dumplings.
beautiful Shanghai by night, when it finally stopped raining
It rained a lot in Shanghai, so we spent a long time in the Shanghai Museum, trying to learn as much as we can about the history of this enormous country. One thing that fascinates me about all the Asian countries we’ve visited is their collection of historical currency. Since the United States isn’t very old, we don’t devote nearly as much museum space to currency as Asians do. This museum had half a floor displaying money! We also paid a long visit to an urban planning museum, where we saw all of the “green” plans for Shanghai. We definitely noticed pollution there (although it was not as bad as anywhere in Southeast Asia) so I really hope they are true to their green promise.
the biggest model i have ever seen in my life!
Along with models of what the city is going to look like down the road, we saw a lot of information about the upcoming world’s fair (or as they call it “expo”) in 2010. They are building like crazy to prepare for the event, and many countries will also have buildings to showcase…something. We never really had a good explanation of what exactly people will be presenting at this world’s fair. But we did learn all about the mascot and what he stands for. Something about water and bringing people together.
me with a big stuffed mascot for the expo 2010. i followed the rules and did not touch him!
We only spent two nights in Shanghai, making us really want more in the future. The city will be even more spectacular after all the construction for the fair is done. We took a quick train from Shanghai to Hangzhou, a city with a famous lake that we were told to visit. We only spent one night there, and that was fine with us, because beyond the lake, there isn’t much to do there. Our hostel was quite a trek from anything interesting, too. The lake was nice, and clearly a big tourist spot for the Chinese. I took some really nice pictures that I will post later on. But for now, I have to get away from a cute cat who is cuddling with me and who I am probably very allergic to.
