Shanghai - first full day

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Today, I decided to explore the Bund and the area round my hostel. I finally met my dormmates - one American travelling for a year (who was still asleep when I woke) and two friends travelling together, one of who was from Hong Kong and recommended where to go for tourist shopping.

After breakfast, I headed East towards the Huangpu River, as there is a newly refurbished promenade along the river, with the Bund buildings to the right and, on the other bank, the new commercial district of Pudong.

The Bund is... well, weird. Misplaced. It's quintessential 1920s and 30s European and American art deco and neo-Classical architecture. You feel, in fact, as though you are in Vienna or the older (and cleaner) parts of the City of London, or Berlin, or Paris. Anywhere, in short, save Shanghai. It was strangely comforting, but also disorientating.

Pudong, on the other hand could almost be Japanese (indeed, the tallest building in Shanghai - called the bottle opener, because that's what it looks like - was built by a Japanese company). It's skyline is all skyscrapers, malls, office blocks. The modern Shanghai and the old colonial Shanghai, side by side. It makes for a strange, walk, I'll give you that.

After walking the length of the promenade, I headed back towards East Nanjing road - the Oxford Street of Shanghai and the central axis for going anywhere. These shops, like Oxford Street, are fashion, watches, bags - crammed with shoppers and hawkers ("lady! shopping? bagsanshoes? bagsanshoes?"). I wandered around a bit - and headed off the main street into some little side streets, full of cute little tourist shops and a large number of DIY stores and spare parts stores. It was amazing how quickly the grand, slick facades of the main street became dingy little family-run shops.

I walked as far as People's Square, but didn't explore- instead I took the metro to YuYuan. According both to the guidebook and my new dormmate, this was the place to shop. The place was a warren of shops and boutiques, with this kitsch little covered bazaar. Most the stuff being sold was tat - think a whole bazaar of Claire's Accessories, plus touristy things. And the vendors were tough - by far the stingiest hagglers I had met so far (so I was ripped off and then some). And used to tourists.

Now out of the Bund, the architecture had returned to the normal Chinese reconstructions: the edge of the roofs curled up and the small ceramic tiles made a welcome reappearance.

I managed to find the famous 'steamed bun' restaurant - a renowned delicacy of the area (think dumpling, but with thicker dough). I got hopelessly confused trying to order - and managed to spot a fellow foreigner and asked him for help. Poor man, I quite interrupted his meal. Fortunately, his companion spoke excellent English and told me exactly what to do. And, yes, it was delicious.

After lunch, I visited the YuYuan Garden. That was a strange experience. YuYuan is right in the middle of the city (more or less). The garden itself was similar to the ones I had seen in Suzhou - but with many more twists and hidden areas, since space was at so much more of a premium, this being the city. But over the top of the garden walls, instead of trees, I could see modern skyscrapers and commercial buildings. It was a strange juxtaposition.

It is this unexpected mixture of old, traditional, kitsch and new, space-age, and 1920s European architecture that makes Shanghai special and defines it, for me at least, as a city. This first day, I admit, it was a bit of a shock, but I soon got used to it and revelled in it. For me, I think part of the attraction was that Shanghai comes the closest of all the places I visited in China to being multicultural. Having lived in London for the past 18 months, I found coming to Shanghai a little like coming home. I already knew that I would come back to Shanghai even if only for 2 weeks and even if I never made it out of the city itself.

Having wandered round the garden for a bit - and I am living proof that it is possible to get lost in an area less than an area - I headed out to Pudong, to meet a friend for dinner. I was mean and let him order - everything was delicious, as I knew it would be - and then we walked through Pudong by night, with all the buildings lit up. He introduced me to the ferry across the river, which counts as public transport!, and we crossed back over to the Bund to walk along the promenade again, this time by night. With both sides of the river lit up, it made for some great views.

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Photos

Bund promenade
One of the cool old art deco buildings in the Bund

Bund promenade
End of the promenade