Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Xi'an to Shanghai

This morning we said goodbye to Xi’an and flew to Shanghai. With more than 20 million permanent and temporary residents, Shanghai is the largest city in China. The Huang Pu River divides Shanghai into the Puxi and Pudong districts. The Puxi district is home to Old Shanghai and the former foreign French, American, British, and Japanese concessions, settlements that were governed by their occupants and untouchable by Chinese law. The Pudong district is the modern business center of Shanghai.

After lunch we visited the Shanghai Municipal History Museum, located in the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. The museum gave us an excellent overview of the rise of Shanghai as a major trade city and center of economic development in China.

Our evening wrapped up with a show at the Acrobatic Theater. We enjoyed watching hoop jumping, plate spinning, umbrella spinning, and mid-air ballet. Every day has brought a new cultural experience and this one was not a disappointment.

Today’s interesting tidbit: In 1985, Shanghai had only one skyscraper. Today, there are more than 3,000 buildings in Shanghai with 18 stories or more.

Photos: 1. A skyline view of Shanghai. 2. Plate spinning at the Acrobatic Theater.

1 comment:

ejconnolly said...

WE WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THIS FANTASTIC BLOG. WE FELT WE WERE RIGHT THERE WITH YOU. THANKS AGAIN, THE CONNOLLY FAMILY