Illuminated Shanghai

In many ways, Shanghai is the "flagship" of the new China.

While the city has ancient origins, most of Shanghai was rebuilt in the 20th and 21st centuries.  This bustling metropolis is now home to 24 million residents and still growing.

There's no more scenic way to view this modern city than by cruise ship on the Huangpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze River that connects Shanghai to the nearby East China Sea.

Shanghai's proximity to the ocean brings fog rolling up the river to combine with the city's pollution to make its infamous smog (smoke plus fog).  The inversion layer of warm air above this city bordered by mountains certainly plays its role, too.

At night, any smog that remains seems more like a magical elfin mist, or maybe an intentional smoke-machine special effect at a rock concert.

You may recall that Shanghai made a perfect setting in the James Bond movie, "Skyfall."

On the north side of the river, the ultra-modern Lujiazui skyline dazzles all who see it illuminated.

Completed in 1994, the Oriental Pearl Radio and Television Tower, with its dramatic sphere and spire, was an early forerunner of this new glitzy image.  The most identifiable part of the skyline, it stands 1,535 feet tall

There are observation decks and a rotating restaurant that provide gorgeous views, ranking it China's highest AAAAA scenic area designation.

It was the tallest building in Shanghai until 2008 when the Shanghai World Financial Center was completed.  Standing 1,642.2 feet tall, it has a distinctive bottle opener appearance with a trapezoid peak atop its 101 stories (3 stories are below ground).  If you have the yen --- or should I say yuan? --- you can stay at the Park Hyatt Shanghai, which occupies floors 79 through 93.  Needless to say, I wouldn't recommend that if you have acrophobia.

But this is modern China, so of course it was just a matter of time until somebody had to outdo that.  Shanghai Tower towers over them all at 2073 feet tall.  The elegant twisting design is the brainchild of the American architectural firm Gensler.  This 128 story "megatall skyscraper" sports the world's highest observation deck, on floor 121.  However, similar to other ghost cities in China, reportedly 2/3 of this tower remains vacant.  What will be the world's highest hotel, the J-Hotel, should be on floors 84 through 110 already, but its opening has been unexpectedly delayed.  Maybe next year?

On the other side of the river is The Bund, an elegant city neighborhood constructed in the early 1900's in the Beaux-Arts style of France of the mid- to late-1800's.  Originally, The Bund was a major financial center housing all of the big banks as well as being a social hub for the wealthy with lavish nightclubs and hotels.

When the Communists took over in the 1940's, the area was converted to other uses, dropping a shroud of bureaucratic government over the once thriving commercial zone.

Colonial monuments were removed from the riverfront, and as much history as possible was erased.

It wasn't until Mao died and relations with the USA began to improve in the 1970's and 1980's that The Bund began to return to its former uses and glories.

This optional river cruise, along with the delicious downtown meal we enjoyed before boarding, would have made a gala grand finale to our trip, much like the nighttime cruise through Budapest's impressive historical skyline was for our Danube cruise, but that was just our first evening in Shanghai.  We had two full days to go!

Our hotel was close to The Bund, so Julie and I walked back to enjoy the views again on our second evening, while most on our tour group chose to attend the optional Acrobatic Circus Show with dinner, which again all who attended said was spectacular.

When we started out of our hotel in late afternoon to find a torrential downpour, we thought we had made the wrong choice.  By the time we went back to our room, the rain storm had already dissipated, so we headed out again, this time with umbrellas in hand.  We barely needed them.

The rain not only refreshed the air but had cleaned out the May Day crowds we had encountered earlier that day.

It made for a delightful evening stroll through the city streets and along the river.

We wanted to see the cruise port, because Shanghai is a great place to embark on a cruise through Asia, and we were surprised to find brand new SUVs racing around through a makeshift course of cones on the slick concrete.  They were shooting commercials with the Lujiazui Skyline as a backdrop.

The twilight views along the river were great, but we wanted to return after the blanket of night fell.

We continued into town looking for a restaurant. If you guessed we were looking for McDonald's or KFC, you nailed it.  After so many huge meals of Kung Pao Chicken, Mandarin Beef, Chow Mein, Beijing Duck, Dim Sum and other savory Chinese dishes, we hungered for a decidedly Occidental meal.

We found ourselves in a Starbucks drinking a Caramel Macchiato at about Redondo Beach's breakfast time.  Their delicious turkey croissants hit the spot.

The walk back along the waterfront at night was magical.  As we strolled past super deluxe condos with their own private yacht harbor, a project that looked quite opulent but based on the number of empty yacht berths is far less than fully occupied, we wondered who is the target audience to live at that address in this city where the average annual income is about $10,000 (59,000 yuan at about 6 yuan to the dollar) and rents of less impressive 30-story apartments already run $2000 a month, according to our guide Yuan?

Finally cutting back to city streets from the river walkway, we didn't know exactly where we were, so we went into a gas station to buy some cookies.  Julie asked the clerk if he knew where our hotel was located by pointing to the hotel's logo on our umbrella.  He took us out to the street and actually walked with us to the end of the block to be sure we could find our way.

Individually, Chinese people tend to be quite courteous and helpful, even if in crowds they can be quite pushy and have little regard for personal space.

In a country of 1.4 billion, perhaps that yin and yang is necessary.