Tag Archives: Shanghai

Shanghai Fried Rice

Shanghai Fried Rice

Shanghai Fried Rice

I was sitting around the hostel working on my blog and I got a little hungry. I thought I would order some fried rice. I like fried rice. The plate of fried rice that you see here cost me less than $2 and it had to be some of the best fried rice I’ve ever eaten. Wow! Double Wow! I still have a few more days here.

Two Shanghai Towers

Two Shanghai Towers

Two Shanghai Towers

These are two of the tallest buildings in Shanghai. Actually, they are two of the tallest buildings in the world. The building on the right is the Shanghai World Financial Center. Built in 2007, it is the 3rd highest building in the world as of this writing. The building on the left is the Jin Mao Tower. Built in 1998, it is the 11th highest building in the world as of this writing.

Oriental Pearl TV Tower – Shanghai

Oriental Pearl TV Tower - Shanghai

Oriental Pearl TV Tower – Shanghai

It’s a very unusual building. It was built in 1994 and was the tallest structure in China until 2007 when the Shanghai World Financial Center was finished. The tower stands about 1,500 feet high and is one of the highest towers in the world. It is supposed to attract over 3 million visitors a year. The tower has 15 observation levels and has a revolving restaurant that is at close to the 900 foot level.

Shanghai Apartments

Shanghai Apartments

Shanghai Apartments

When I say the people of Shanghai live in apartments, I’m not joking. There are high-rise apartment buildings all over the city. Along both sides of the Huangpu River, the area of Shanghai south of the Bund is covered with large apartment buildings like the ones pictured here. The most significant thing to note about this picture is the age of the apartments. These aren’t the slums of the 1920′s. These babies are new. They’re modern. They’re glitzy. There’s a lot of money in Shanghai and it shows in the massive building campaign that has been going on in the last 20 years.

Noodles – Shanghai

Noodles - Shanghai

Noodles – Shanghai

There’s no way your going to starve in Shanghai. Unless, of course, you’re just a really, really poor person. First, outside of the hostel costs, most of the rest of the costs in Shanghai are fairly reasonable. The cost of a large bowl of tasty noodles runs between $1.50 and $3. That’s not bad. I got lots of tasty treats on the streets for less than $1. I love the food here. It’s not as good as food in the states, but I’m having no problem finding lots of really yummy goodies.

Dorm Room – Shanghai

Dorm Room - Shanghai

Dorm Room – Shanghai

It ain’t much to look at and it’s even less impressive in person, but it was home. What can I say? It cost me $15 a night to stay there.. Is that a good deal? Yes when they want $100+ for the regular American stalwarts. Plus, I got to meet lots of fellow travelers. Shanghai isn’t all that cheap.

Big Bus – Shanghai

Big Bus - Shanghai

Big Bus – Shanghai

I’ve taken these tours before. They’re a one or two day hop-on-hop-off and I like them a lot. They help me to get oriented in a city. When I went to the internet to see what the price was, the web site said the regular price was $44, but I could get 25% off by booking on the internet. When I went down to the local stop I got a one day ticket for about $15. Apparently, they only advertise their most expensive price on the internet.

Pudong at Night

Pudong at Night

Pudong at Night

Pudong is a section of Shanghai. It’s full of skyscrapers and Big Money. It’s the financial district of Shanghai is only a little over 20 years old. That’s just a toddler in city years. City years are kinda like dog years only longer. Pudong has really great lights at night. I went up to the 32nd floor of the Hyatt Hotel and had a beer and took some pictures. If Nanjing Road isn’t enough of a reason to go to Shanghai, the elevated night view of the city is.

Nanjing Road at Night – Shanghai

Nanjing Road at Night - Shanghai

Nanjing Road at Night – Shanghai

Nanjing Road is just a little crazy at night. In my opinion it has to be one of the world’s great pedestrian promenades. It appeared there where tens of thousands of people on the streets just around where I was. I’m sure the number of people who traversed the street was in the hundreds of thousands by the end of the night. We sit 85,000 people at the local football stadium at home, so I’ve seen some fairly large crowds at the games. This crowd was larger in multiples and it didn’t seem like it would ever stop. Wikipedia says that ""Nanjing Road is the world’s longest shopping district, around 6 km long, and attracts over 1 million visitors daily." I’m not sure about all of that, but I will say that it’s worth a visit to Shanghai just to experience the crowds at night. I like unique experiences and this was certainly one of them.