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Published: March 9th 2008
Cool but sunny today, no rain. We went with Tao to Nanshi, the Old Town section, wandered around the shopping area, then to the Yu Yuan, a famous garden built in the 16th century (Ming dynasty) and maintained pretty much the same since then. There was a display of blossoming plum trees going on. I hope that I can upload at least one or two representative pictures. Then lunch at Lu Bo Lang, next to the Bridge of Nine Turnings (they love to put buildings in the middle of lakes so that they can build a zig-zag bridge to get to them.) All I can say is that the food here is extraordinary! A description of our entire menu is neither necessary nor appropriate. The only detail I'll put in is that Lynn and I let Tao eat both of the fish's eyes--he appreciated it more than we ever could.
After that we walked along the Bund--the riverfront embankment that is the heart of classic Shanghai--then down Nanjing Road, a pedestrian shopping district. This city is like Manhattan, Chicago, and San Francisco all rolled into one. It is unbelievably dynamic, crowded (although somehow I find the crowds almost comforting, and
Pudong TV tower at night
In front is the International Convention Centernot at all oppressive), and exactly the opposite of what you would expect a communist system to produce. We got back at 5:30 PM, then went right out at 6 for another extraordinary dinner with another one of our hosts, Dr. Zheng Yiwen, her husband, a few more postgraduate students, and Mark (Simms) who arrived this afternoon. After that, back to the Bund, this time on the Pudong side (Pu=river, Dong = east), to see the buildings and embankments lit up. At the end of the evening I told one of our companions that I'd been to New York, Boston, Chicago, London, and Paris, and I thought they were pretty sophisticated, but coming to Shanghai I feel like a country bumpkin walking into town for the first time in my life. If China is going to take over the world, it will actually be pretty cool. Very crowded, but cool!
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