Shanghai, China

China tour – 4 

Shanghai is the commercial and financial centre of China.  With a population of more than 24 million it is largest city in China by population and the second most populous city in the world.  It is to Shanghai that we travelled by coach from Wuxi on 11^th Sep. morning.  Our first visit in Shanghai was to Jim MaoTower observation Deck in the 88^th floor of this building.  Jim Mao Tower is in Pudong New area.  The sky line here is studded with skyscrapers and it is difficult to believe that before 1992 that was all farmland.  From the observation deck we had a panoramic view of the Pudong New Area with all its high-rise buildings and also of Huangpu river, a tributary of Yangtze river, that flows through down town Shanghai.  In the Tower there are also modern offices, a de-luxe 5-star hotel and a glass skywalk.  Two direct elevators operate to the 88^th floor besides other elevators to serve different floors. From Jim Mao tower, we went for a walk on the Bund.  It is a mile –long stretch along the bank of the Huangpu River.  Lined with buildings of different architectural styles, it is regarded as Symbol of Shanghai.  There was the optional night cruise on the Huangpu river which we did not take. We were content to sit near the wharf and enjoy the charming night view.

Next morning after breakfast we went to the Maglev train station for a train ride.  The Shanghai maglev train or Shanghai Transrapid is a magnetic levitation train.  It has no wheels and runs on special tracks.  It can reach up to 431 km/hr (268 mph) during the journey and is the fastest train in the world in commercial use. It is in operation for a distance of 30 km only, between Longyang Road station and Pudong international airport.  Because of the high cost of construction and operation, the proposal to extend it to city centre was shelved. We took the Maglev train ride back and forth and it was an enjoyable experience.

Another landmark in Shanghai that we visited was Shanghai Old Street.  This is an old business street that has a combination of shops, cultural exhibits and tourist attractions.  Along the street we can find hundred-year-old stores and we can learn what Shanghai was like in old days. Wandering through the old alleys of Shanghai we can discover its traditional culture.  Nearby is the 400 year old Yuyuan Garden or yu Garden, which we did not visit due to time constraints.

Next morning we left Shanghai in batches. Our batch of eight to Sydney was the last batch to leave in the afternoon. On our return trip from Shanghai we had a change-over at Chonqing, where we had to collect the baggage and recheck undergoing all the formalities again. Irony of it is both Chonqing and Shanghai are in China only and the airline is the same, Sichuan Airlines and also when flying into China we flew direct from Sydney to Shanghai.  The additional hardship in Chonqing was that there was a change of terminal as well involving a shuttle trip requiring loading and unloading of baggages in the shuttle bus. Luckily this time there were other members of the tour with us and Cameron, Peter and Paul had been a great help all through and also the flight from Chonqing to Sydney was only half full letting us have a restful time in flight.  In all, it was a memorable experience to visit a country as old as India which is now as modern as the most advanced country.   The photos taken in taken in Shanghai can be seen in Flickr album “Shanghai, China” @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/sam-sekar/albums/72157701339339454

All the photos taken in our China tour can be seen in Flickr album “China tour” @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/sam-sekar/albums/72157695687695630

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