Jinmao 88 very lucky (but hazy), lunch on another roof and porcelain & bronze

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You would be lucky to guess all of the threads in the heading of course. I decided that today I was going to be a monster and actually do three things. Which is pretty major from me as I normally do not start doing anything until about 2 PM and then at 5 PM it is virtually dark! Anyway as I will be out of Shanghai tomorrow (with another partial day here or not just before I fly out) I decided that it was the day that I had to do the high points of the tall buildings in Pudong. Trouble was today was hazy -- which is pretty much Shanghai all over really, but looking across the river at the aforementioned tall buildings did not give any great confidence that the rather large investment on a high floor view was going to be worthwhile.

There are three buildings most people would go to -- the god-awful Pearl TV tower which is like two billiard balls stuck on a stick - the Shanghai World Financial Centre, which is the tallest at 100 floors, and the Jinmao Tower which is likely the best to look at and is virtually right next door to the SWFC. To get there I simply walked down to the end of the street then south down the Bund to the Jinling Ferry wharf which costs only about $.30 for the public ferry crossing of the river. Then you really only have to follow your eyes in the direction of finding the buildings as they are not easily missed! I paid my 100Yuan (about $15.50 - warning about limited visibility which I had already worked out) and then zoomed up to the 88th floor (a very lucky number to the Chinese). There were only a very few people up there, about half a dozen including myself. If I had had the luxury of more time I would have waited for a clearer day but today was really going to be it. You could probably only see about a mile or so and the Bund buildings on the other side of the river was not really all that visible. I thought when I was up there, given that the Jinmao is the nicer building, how I would have been better off looking at it from the SWFC. The SWFC was therefore likely a better bet as although the 100th floor is 150Rmb the lower floors on 97 and 94 are rather cheaper -- and with all this haze it would not have made any difference.

Down from there and walked along Century Avenue to find the metro station to go to People's Square. The Plan there was to walk a little south west to a little old five-storey stone building with a clock tower on top which contained a relatively modern restaurant called Kathleen's 5. I had been past it the previous day and had had a look at the menu -- but with main courses at dinner at about 250Rmb ($40) I decided that two courses at lunch for 138Rmb (about $22) was way better value. It also tied in with my subsequent visit to the Shanghai Museum which is in the next street back. Although it has a glassed in restaurant there is a fairly large terrace with tables outside. As the weather was relatively sunny and about 13° this did not actually even require my jacket to be worn during lunch as I sat outside.

So the lunch was a foursome of quite tasty grilled prawns on asparagus, then some "live" sea bass (fortunately it was not still wriggling) with some baby clams and stuff on mash which was good. Naturally beer would have been way cheaper and I knew the wine would be expensive as I have looked in enough wine shops here already to know that, like Hong Kong, it just is. Anyway a glass of German reisling cost 75Rmb ($12) which was virtually half the price of the food. For an extra 20Rmb I decided to get stuffed for the rest of the day and get their creme brulee which came with some raspberry purée and coffee ice cream. So all up with an espresso the lunch cost me about $43 which is hardly that much for such a meal. I would not say it was totally fine end dining but it made a change from that Chinese food and was cheaper than somewhere trendy on the Bund which might otherwise have been a candidate for dinner (actually discovered tonight such a place I did not even know was there barely 30 m from the front of my hotel).

From there walked to the Shanghai Museum where I thought two hours would likely account for my potential fatigue level. However virtually a full hour in the porcelain section (unfortunately going chronologically backwards which was my mistake) meant I had to speed up with the rest . I knew I was not going to get anything out of the Chinese calligraphy and painting so gave it a miss. The jade section was quite nice with some very nice white jade in particular. On the basis of time also had to skip the Chinese sculpture section and just headed into the bronze castings area. It always amazes me how this art or technique has been going on for well over two millennia and I must wonder how it all started? Someone poking around with a stick in a fire?

A leisurely continuation of the route from People's Square runs into Fuzhou Rd which runs right down to the Bund and my hotel. This runs parallel to the much glitzier Nanjing Rd mall etc but I walked down that last night and did I say I have about had enough of the shops ?! An earlier night tonight, no real need for any more food! sorting this and other things out for my trip to Suzhou tomorrow for two nights - then Nanjing?.

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Photos

bull on the Bund
shades of Wall St one

Jinmao haze
for 100Rmb

SWFC - the 100th floor
is the walkway above the "hole"!

blue-red porcelain
in Shanghai Museum of course

old man w.pipe
sitting on grumpy animal

babystomping ??
must be a new sport

Comments

[Huddo]

Billiards, and Bull.
Hi Mike, Loved the 2 billiard balls on a stick comment, and photo, he he. What an amazing place it is. The "Wall street" bull, and the porcelain photo's superb. Great views. The "walkway" on the SWFC would have me reaching for the "Jack" with my respect for high places, he he. Love Huddo and girls.