We started our great Far East journey in Shanghai, with the thought that it would be an approachable start to what was ahead of us... and it turned out to be just that: a sort of capitalism with apparent wealthiness, if you don't look behind the curtains...
First of all Shanghai impresses, Big Time! Already when getting from the airport to the city:
Flashy, Western-style advertising everywhere—billboards, benches, TVs and posters. Except for the Chinese characters on signs and the inevitable observation that everyone is Chinese, what you see in Shangahi could be anywhere in the West. Street vendors sell lots of low-quality goods really cheap, including very real-looking copies of iPhones. New wealth is seem to be shown with driving around in brand new Audi's or Mercedes, but having little or no care for pedestrians attempting to cross the street at green light.
The financial district felt a little like Singapore, with skyscrapers competing with each other, relative clean streets and organized traffic:
At night we decided to look DOWN on the Pudong for a change (instead of having a sore neck from looking up to the skyscrapers) and went for some drinks to the 93rd floor of the highest building in China:
Side Note: BTW that little colorful tower DOWN there is 468.0 m high :-)
The Bund on the other hand is the reminiscent of the British, with European style buildings on the banks of the river - mixed with just a few modern but stylish skyscrapers, which however tend to blend in just as if they were always there:
As we made our way more into the heart of the city away from the financial center, we faced masses of people when the light at a pedestrian crossing on Nanjing road turned green (which by the way we though we were ready for, but this felt more like as if they were coming from a Lady Gaga concert or such):
With a brave attempt to buy a pair of sandals for Zoli we entered some of the shopping malls on the Nanjing road... although Shaghai's probably most popular shopping street, we had a real hard time finding what we were looking for, even though we decided to compromise on quality. Guess what, the main issue was the size. 45? No, noooo! No. It seemed to be a giant's foot size in China.
Heading to the Nanshi district, we were presented a blend of the picture-book traditional China and American fast-food culture,
but of course it takes only a little effort to find the "real" China we were looking for:
Blending with the locals, we had one of the best meals in China (after figuring out their system and learning how to use chopsticks):
With full stomach we headed for even more "real China" and visited a traditional Chinese Garden, an oasis in the middle of this modern metropolis:
All our pictures from Shanghai.
First of all Shanghai impresses, Big Time! Already when getting from the airport to the city:
 |
| From ASIA - CHINA - Shanghai |
Flashy, Western-style advertising everywhere—billboards, benches, TVs and posters. Except for the Chinese characters on signs and the inevitable observation that everyone is Chinese, what you see in Shangahi could be anywhere in the West. Street vendors sell lots of low-quality goods really cheap, including very real-looking copies of iPhones. New wealth is seem to be shown with driving around in brand new Audi's or Mercedes, but having little or no care for pedestrians attempting to cross the street at green light.
The financial district felt a little like Singapore, with skyscrapers competing with each other, relative clean streets and organized traffic:
 |
| From ASIA - CHINA - Shanghai |
At night we decided to look DOWN on the Pudong for a change (instead of having a sore neck from looking up to the skyscrapers) and went for some drinks to the 93rd floor of the highest building in China:
 |
| From ASIA - CHINA - Shanghai |
The Bund on the other hand is the reminiscent of the British, with European style buildings on the banks of the river - mixed with just a few modern but stylish skyscrapers, which however tend to blend in just as if they were always there:
 |
| From ASIA - CHINA - Shanghai |
As we made our way more into the heart of the city away from the financial center, we faced masses of people when the light at a pedestrian crossing on Nanjing road turned green (which by the way we though we were ready for, but this felt more like as if they were coming from a Lady Gaga concert or such):
 |
| From ASIA - CHINA - Shanghai |
With a brave attempt to buy a pair of sandals for Zoli we entered some of the shopping malls on the Nanjing road... although Shaghai's probably most popular shopping street, we had a real hard time finding what we were looking for, even though we decided to compromise on quality. Guess what, the main issue was the size. 45? No, noooo! No. It seemed to be a giant's foot size in China.
Heading to the Nanshi district, we were presented a blend of the picture-book traditional China and American fast-food culture,
 |
| From ASIA - CHINA - Shanghai |
but of course it takes only a little effort to find the "real" China we were looking for:
 |
| From ASIA - CHINA - Shanghai |
Blending with the locals, we had one of the best meals in China (after figuring out their system and learning how to use chopsticks):
 |
| From ASIA - CHINA - Shanghai |
With full stomach we headed for even more "real China" and visited a traditional Chinese Garden, an oasis in the middle of this modern metropolis:
 |
| From ASIA - CHINA - Shanghai |
All our pictures from Shanghai.
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