China, Exploring Shanghai

The Shanghai portion of our trip was unlike any of the other legs of our journey - and I don't mean our journey in China, I mean from the first day in St. Petersburg. Shanghai was unique. In Shanghai we were blessed to be accompanied pretty much every step of the way. You already know about our wonderful Shanghai friend, Prof. Ma and his wife, Vivienne, but in Shanghai we also had our California friends Sandy and Pete.

At the outset of our journey we issued what we thought was a standing invitation to all of you to join us, anytime, for any part of our adventure. Sandy and Pete were the only ones we could convince to take us up on the offer.  It made a big difference to how we experienced the city. First, Pete knows Shanghai well. He is a pilot who flies Asia routes and finds himself in Shanghai a couple dozen times a year. 

Pete's been doing this for years and as a result has made a bunch of friends in Shanghai. He shared them with us. He gave us the opportunity to see another side of Shanghai - the side of everyday life. A side that could otherwise easily be missed as your head is turned by Shanghai's glitzier side.

The glitzy side is surely the one that makes the biggest impression. Downtown Shanghai, especially the riverside area known as the Bund, is something like New York meets Vegas. Shanghai is China's largest city by population by a pretty wide margin. 

Electronic traffic updates on freeway signs -
Maybe they are ahead of us in applying technology?

It is also China's economic engine, which means that it is going to have the mega skyscrapers you would find in New York. But there are a couple of differences. New York, being an Island, is a confined space. Shanghai is a bit more like LA in that respect. It can spread out in all directions and it does. Tall buildings, displaying extraordinary architectural panache, appear at all points of the compass. Shanghai's skyline is impressive in the day time - then the lights come on and it is like nothing I have ever seen. To me it is a great expression of China's vibrancy and confidence.