A Two-day Visit to Shanghai

One of the beauties of traveling in China is the presence of speed trains (bullet trains). Some of these trains run at over 200MPH. In deciding to make the trip to Shanghai, I had a choice of flying or going by train. Prices are comparative. The plane is of course faster but when you factor the discomforts that are are associated with flying, you might be better of taking the train. Chances that planes get canceled or delayed as a result of poor weather are also higher. Trains from Beijing to Shanghai take about six hours. These trains are very comfortable, even on the second class seat. Second class seats are like what you would get in an economy class plane. There is however more legroom. Prices of tickets are an average of $100 but you can get cheaper tickets on some of the slower trains.

Arriving at Shanghai, you notice a significant difference with Beijing. Shanghai is more cosmopolitan. You frequently encounter people from other countries here. As I was trying to figure out the meals at my hotel’s restaurant yesterday morning, a Chinese American lady immediately walked up to me and started explaining the different dishes in English. She was on a short visit from the United States. American brands are everywhere: Forever 21, Hershey’s, Michael Kors, Tiffany’s, etc. The clothes worn by people here also reflect that cosmopolitanism.

Being in Shanghai, you could easily think you are in New York City. There are skyscrapers everywhere. The difference is that some of the ones here are way more taller than what you would find in the Big Apple. The Shanghai World Financial Center area is inundated with so many of these skyscrapers. I actually think they are an environmental hazard. One of the buildings has the world’s highest observatory. It is about 1555 feet from the ground and has 100 floors. it is one of the tallest buildings in the world. There are several restruarants around there. Some are Chinese and others are Western. At some point I was so hungry and I grabbed McDonald fries and an ice tea. Prices were about the same with the US but that is considered expensive for China. I had dinner at one of the Chinese restaurants around this area. I tried for the first time the Chinese Yellow Wine. This is made from wheat. I couldn’t drink the whole thing without having to add Sprite to it. I do not think it taste that good. My personal opinion!

I visited the Bund and took a walk around there. At the Bund, you will see the skyline of the skyscrapers and the colonial architecture. It is a nice walk around the area but very crowded. There are high end international brands and overpriced small shops at every corner. I did not care so much about the area basically because I couldn’t breathe. It seemed like almost everyone was smoking cigarettes and the number of people was large and so the whole air was polluted with cigarette smoke. Smoking shouldn’t be allowed in public places like these. But this is China, I have seen people smoke in restruarants where there are signs saying ‘No Smoking.’ The same is the case in the restrooms at the train stations.

I think one shouldn’t plan on spending more than a day in Shanghai. There isn’t much to see here. I was going to visit the Shanghai Museum today but I got up this morning feeling really tired and it was also raining heavily and so I decided to stay indoors all day and rest. I had gone to the Museum yesterday but it was too late to get in.

It seems Shanghai is a city that has plenty of rains. When I arrived yesterday, I noticed everyone was carrying an umbrella. Tomorrow I am in Guanzhou.