The Bund in Shanghai

---

On our previous visits to China, the riverside Promenade area of the Bund in Shanghai was completely blocked off due to construction. The construction has now been completed, so we decided to visit again and had a gorgeous day.
We had made reservations for a dinner cruise on a big, fancy, "Dragon Boat." We were dropped off late in the morning on June 5th, supposedly near the cruise boat office so we could pay for our tickets. Well, we couldn't find the office, asked a few people for help, the Chinese pointed, so we headed in that direction and still found nothing. The other English speaking people we found knew no more than we did. We finally decided to head the opposite direction where we could get some lunch. We enjoyed walking along the river, all of us had our own cameras and were taking pictures as we went, eventually crossing over to where we could find a restaurant. We went down a street called Fuzhou Lu because I thought I remembered seeing info that this was where the bookstores were. We didn't find them and figured that they must be much further down on the other side of People's Square. We passed many restaurants, but couldn't agree on one, so we cut across to Nanjing Rd, the busiest shopping street in Shanghai!- and gave in to Leah's request for Pizza Hut. It was a fairly warm day, so we were glad to have chosen a place that was nice and cool.
After lunch, we walked down Nanjing Rd to the Bund, then started back in the direction of the cruise ship docks south of the Bund - I believe it was called Shiliupu Pier.
We took our time and enjoyed watching the many boats on the Huangpu River. I loved the contrast of the old coal barges moving along the river with the brand new skyscrapers of Pudong as a background. So many different lifestyles could be envisioned from one spot!
Leah attracted attention as usual, so we stopped numerous times for her picture to be taken. It seems that you stop when one person asks and then end up with a line of people waiting! There was one little girl in traditional Chinese dress who was very friendly, and although she didn't have that cute "China doll" look, she was cute in her own way.
When we got back where we had started, we still couldn't find the boat we had reservations for, so decided to take a 50 minute afternoon cruise with Shanghai Scenery. It was a smalerl boat, but we were able to sit on the top deck the whole time. As we headed a little further south on the river, I saw the "dragon boat" quite a ways in the distance still, so now we know that they are WAY south of the BUnd. After we reached the North end of the Bund and went around the curve, we were surprised to see a large cruise ship docked there. I looked it up on the internet afterwards and found that there are some cruises that depart from there and go to Japan and Korea. The river cruise was very enjoyable.
When the river cruise was over, we decided to take a taxi to an area called Xin Tian Di for dinner. "As a re-creation born out of the sprawls of Shikumen housing, which is the architectural symbol of Shanghai in the 20th century, Shanghai Xintiandi, “The City’s Living-Room" is a place to unwind and relax after a long day. A window to the past and the future, to China and the world.Shanghai Xintiandi's Shikumen attraction was created by converting residential blocks into a multifunctional dining, retail and entertainment center flowing with restaurants, boutiques, cafes and bars of an international standard. The Shikumen buildings within Shanghai Xintiandi retain the antique walls, tiles and exterior of the Shikumen housing of old Shanghai, while the internal spaces have been designed and decorated to suit the up tempo lifestyle of the 21st century urbanites, with infinite details that exude the casual elegance of modern city living. Shanghai Xintiandi is where "yesterday meets tomorrow in Shanghai today." http://www.xintiandi.com/english/aboutus_1.asp .
We had dinner at Simply Thai and topped it off with some ice cream from Cold Stone Creamery to celebrate my 50th birthday!

---