上海 = Shanghai!

A few weeks ago our group took a weekend trip to Shanghai. It was a quick trip, but we got to see some really great sights. The nice thing is that Shanghai is just an hour and a half train ride away!

Here are some highlights from the trip!

Our first night in Shanghai, we went to a very nice restaurant and had dinner. It is very fun to have elaborate dinners like these, especially on Central's tab. :) Dinner included some delicious tuna sashimi and amazing scallops...I didn't even know I liked scallops!

Sashimi sculpture and scallop treasures

Our first night also included a walk to the Bund, an area along the river that runs through Shanghai. This area is close to the seaports that made Shanghai the entrance point for many Westerners in earlier years. Because of this, the Bund has mainly very European-looking buildings. It was a little strange to walk around and sometimes get the feeling that we were transported to Europe!

European architecture along the Bund

The Bund is also a great place to see the famous Shanghai skyline. They are constantly building in Shanghai and the skyline has some very tall buildings. One of the most recognizable is the Pearl Tower. The skyline also shows the tallest building in China, the Shanghai World Financial Center. This is one of the tallest in the world.

In front of the "Pearl"

Our trip also included an interesting tour around the Shanghai Modern Art Museum. The Museum was right on People's Square in an old brick building....covered in technicolor ants. The ants were actually an exhibit. The museum was pretty amusing to look through and there were a lot of multimedia exhibits. Most of the time I just had to smile and enjoy other people's enjoyment of the art because I had a hard time appreciating the art. The Chinese people in the museum really liked taking pictures in front of all the art, especially big dinosaur/people sculptures on one floor. Needless to say, the museum fulfilled my need for modern art for a few years.

Dinosaur sculptures with human heads
Some examples of life imitating art

They are very busy in Shanghai getting ready for the 2010 World Expo. We visited an Urban Planning Museum that showed all the elaborate buildings and setups they will have for 2010. One of my favorite buildings that they are planning is the China exhibition hall, which is basically an upside down pagoda. Another reason to come back to visit China!

All in all, we had a really great time in Shanghai. The weekend went quickly, but I felt like I got a good feel of the city. Shanghai was very different from Hangzhou and even Beijing. With all the Western-influence architecture, we always knew we were in a totally different city. Walking around at night, the city glows with colorful signs and lights in every direction. Also, we saw tons of foreigners in Shanghai, many tourists but also many who live and work in the city. Because of this, we got to eat some western foods that we wouldn't normally find in Hangzhou. (Chicken panini and root beer! yummm...)