Now we actually wake up in Shanghai. From the mountains straight into the mega city. These contrasts are still very impressive. Markus was here with Robert almost 10 years ago and already knew a bit about what we were going to see today. Our tour guide is already waiting for us and we first head to the Bund.
It is a long promenade along the banks of the Huangpu River, which flows into the China Sea. The Bund consists of over 50 houses in a wide variety of architectural styles. You can easily recognise the English ones. From here you have a perfect view of the Pudong financial district and the Shanghai Tower on the other side of the river. The twin city of the harbour city of Shanghai is Hamburg. Somehow the world is small after all.
We drive from the Puxi district under the river to Pudong. It is hard to imagine that 30 years ago there were only small houses in the Pudong district. They all had to make way for the new city project of the financial district. We take the super-fast lift in the Shanghai Tower to the viewing floor and can enjoy the view all around.
Afterwards we visit a bookshop on the 52nd floor. There is an exhibition of small drawings with nice sayings. We liked that very much. The biographies of Angela Merkel and Arthur Schoppenhauer were also available in Chinese.
Here are some texts to accompany the pictures.
All the Michelin restaurants I've been to are not as good as Mum's craftsmanship.
Don't change yourself just because you want to take care of others. Happy self.
Ah, I'm sorry I didn't reply to your message. Because I'm busy playing with my mobile phone.
We continue to Gucheng Park, the park in the old town. Lots of colourful flowers, the spring sunshine and the green meadows invite not only tourists to take a stroll. It is a colourful hustle and bustle. The Yu Garden is a 400-year-old garden from the Ming Dynasty. In addition to old pavilions, small lakes, stone formations and old trees, you can also discover beautiful flowers. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people out and about. After all, it's Saturday and the weather could hardly be better.
Immediately afterwards, we dive into the Yuanyuan Bazaar. What a hustle and bustle... Food stalls, silver jewellery, perfume shops, sportswear, you name it, you can get it all here at tourist prices. We had dumplings, spring rolls and noodles for lunch.
We really fancy a good coffee now. So off we went to the French quarter. A colourful mix of European and Japanese restaurants, cafés, bakeries and even Läderrach chocolate. We have a good time and stop off at an Italian restaurant. Cappuccino with Illy coffee and a tiramisu, marvellous.
We have a great time. This neighbourhood „Xing tian di“ - new heaven on earth - is also historically significant as the location of the first party congress of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921. And finally, we stroll down Nanjing Street. It is THE shopping street. Here you can find everything from Rolex to Tissot to Swatch. Li-Ning, Fila, Sketchers and the rest.
Tonight we'll take another look at the Bund and Nanjing Street with the lights on. Now we're going to take a break.
After so many impressions, we come back from the Bund and a barbecue room is still fuelling us. Another piece of meat and a sip of wine are just what we need.
