Shanghai, Day 1

Shanghai is a place where old meets new. So much seems to have been built in just the last 15 years. For example, check out the beautiful skyline, which was undeveloped land just 20 years ago:


Here's the view out our hotel window. If it looks hot and smoggy, that's because it is.


It's an exciting place, with all of the changes in the political, commercial and physical landscapes. Tonight we walked by the site of the first meeting of the Communist Party in China (in the photo below). Ironically, the house where the meeting was held is now surrounded by an outdoor mall, in the style of Irvine Spectrum. There's a small plaque marking the site.


I had a fun experience buying a shirt this afternoon (yes, I underpacked). The women at the store didn't speak any English, and I can only say things in Chinese like "the man is riding on a horse." Not helpful. We somehow managed to figure out my shirt size and they figured out how to take my credit card (not as easy as it sounds). On the streets outside our hotel, 7 different guys approached me within ten minutes, trying to sell fake Rolexes and Mont Blanc pens. Anyone want a souvenir?

Our Chinese friends took us to an excellent restaurant tonight where we had some of the local cuisine...nothing like Panda Express, that's for sure. It was extremely good food. There was even a duck involved, a la Christmas story, but it was also very good.

Our friends also took us to a rooftop hangout on the Bund, the main street along the river Pu with all of the old colonial buildings. The Bund is where Grampy once saw beggars rolling dead bodies down the street (seriously?). Things have changed a bit since then. Here's the street now. No dead bodies, just lots of fancy restaurants. I took this photo on the fly so it's hard to see behind the cars and bus stop, but you get the idea: