Shanghai

Last night, we walked down Nanjing (Nanking road) to a restaurant that had good reviews Xin Wans Restaurant 309 Hankou Lu off Nanking Street. It was a few minutes to closing at 2200 hrs so we had to order quickly. It had come highly recommended. It did not disappoint. 

This morning we are planning to explore the other side of the river - the modern financial district.  It appears one can't walk over the river to Pudong. The concierge told us that we had to take the Metro or a taxi!! As we walked down Nanjing Road, we saw a 'hop on / hop off ' bus (¥30 for 24 hours) and decided to take the easy way and let the bus bring us to the sights. It turned out to be an inspired choice as shortly after we boarded, it began to rain. Shanghai has a subtropical monsoon climate with four seasons, though Spring and Autumn are short. Yesterday it was 16•  but today it is only 12• with a 'soft' rain - not monsoonal. 

We passed down Nanjing Road, then onto the Bund and the heritage sights we had examined yesterday. We drove through the wide streets of the French Concessions with their fine buildings, 

now mainly occupied by upmarket shops We continued into the old town with its narrow streets teeming with life. Most of the old area of Shanghai is being bulldozed in favour of modern buildings but Yu gardens planted by the Ming dynasty and the bazaar has to date survived demolition. We didn't alight here as we intended to return later. We passed the Shanghai museum, the Grand Theatre 

and the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall where one can see the plans for Shanghai until 2020.

There were mostly Chinese on the bus in addition to half a dozen Westeners. The Driver only spoke Mandarin so we mistook the instructions on the audio guide to say that we had to change busses here to cross the river to Pudong. However, we were mistaken and repeated the route once again - and next time we ensured that we boarded the correct bus. 

The bus took the tunnel into Pudong and there we saw the unfinished as yet Shanghai Tower and the Oriental Pearl Tower.  Both were awesome at close quarters. The  entire district is impressive!! It makes the NYC Wall Street area appear insignificant. The Sheraton  hotel alone consists of three separate blocks of c.40 storeys apiece. All the major world class hotels have branches here as have the world banks and financial services. The area developed from marshland iin the 1990s and Disneyland is opening here soon!! It was impossible to photograph the area at close quarters, such was the immensity of the area and its buildings!!

Shanghai has an area c.5 times the size 

of NYC they were at pains to point out  

We returned to Yu Gardens, the old town and the bazaar area. 

Darkness was falling and as a result we were unable to visit the gardens but did wander around the bazaars. 

After a while,  we took a taxi back to the hotel. Tonight we have booked a French restaurant Cafe Rouge adjacent to the hotel. We need a break from Chinese cuisine!