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Friday, August 21, 2009

shanghai, china

after viewing the total solar eclipse, and enjoying a brief stop in suzhou, i went to shanghai, china for a couple days.

i made it successfully from the train to the subway only to find this sign...


uh, where am i going?

this has always been the most intimidating thing about visiting countries whose written languages i cannot even make a guess at! luckily, my guide book listed the chinese characters and english language, so i found my way to the correct stop!


a mix of old and new.


simple and smooth jasmine tea.


shanghai is an architecturally interesting city.


parasols everywhere. i love parasols. i wish people in the western world wouldnt look at me like such a weirdo when i use one on a sunny day! there were people walking around campus moments before totality of the solar eclipse still holding their parasols over their heads!


deep fry and enjoy.


i have no idea why the broccoli in the picture is upside down! it made me laugh enough to buy the book!


one of the main tourist attractions in shanghai is the riverfront buildings of the bund. as i was walking thru the city to the bund, i noticed this crazy building off in the distance!


i was more interested in seeing this strange oriental pearl tower than the bund, so i decided to cross the river to the pearl tower side. instead of taking the metro under the river, i used the "bund sightseeing tunnel." the ride was ridiculous! i cannot really recommend taking the overpriced tunnel for anything more than a good laugh and 4 minutes of bright lights! i have to admit that i did enjoy it though, because all the excited chinese tourists rushed to the front of the little car, while i sat in back watching their reactions to all the lights.


the oriental pearl tower up close.


the view of the bund from the pudong side of the river.


(how adorable is her dress?)



i wasnt expecting shanghai to be lit up at night as much as it is! all the buildings with crazy architecture also have lights strewn all over them!


this dish tasted a lot better than it looks or sounds: eel and eggplant.


self-portrait while sitting on the maglev: the world's fastest train and the first commercial high-speed magnetic levitation line in the world. since i rode outside of peak hours, we only reached 301 km/hr (188 mph - as opposed to the normal operation speed of 431 km/h (268 mph)). we attained that speed in under 2 minutes, and were only able to enjoy the smooth ride for another 5 minutes before we arrived at the airport, 20 miles outside of the city. i wish i could take a maglev across the US!


more photos: here.

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