Shanghai, also known as the Pearl of the Orient, was my absolute favorite stop during my visit to China. It's a wonderful mix of old and new, western and eastern, casualness and chic...It's hard to believe that Shanghai is home to approximately 22 million people, making it the largest city in China. It's quite spread out and the traffic wasn't nearly as congested as in Beijing.
Shanghai was once home to three generations of my family. I grew up hearing all kinds of crazy stories about what life was like when my family members lived there, so I was very excited to finally be able to set foot in this magical city. Much to my surprise, I felt very much at home there and found it an exceptionally fun and interesting place to explore.
When our plane first touched down, the entire city was shrouded in a heavy smog-like mist. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed as I thought that the skies would remain hidden for the length of my stay. However, when I woke up the next day, the wind had swept the dirty air away and blue skies emerged...
The beautiful Bund...
Nanjing Road - the main shopping street in Shanghai...
A silk factory worker...
Stretching the silk to make a comforter...
Pudong New Area and its skyline...
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower (1,536 ft. high)...
Shanghai views...
The French Concession...
The Park Hotel...
Typical side streets...
Chenghuang Miao area...
Yuyuan Garden...
Night view of the Bund...
...and Pudong...
Farewell China!
Time to head to the airport on the Maglev Rail...
...very fast!
For this trip to China three of my traveling buddies and I decided to go with an organized tour (a first for us). In the end it was a good decision and saved us a lot of time and money, and we had such a blast with the other eight travelers and the wonderful tour guides who were assigned to us. Thank you China Focus for planning such a wonderful tour! I hope to return to China again some day.
