Feeling at home in China!!!

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Shanghai is as close to the west as you will get in China (HK aside.) It was evident in the dress and demeanour of the chinese people-more refined, more fashionable, less uncouth. Even walking around the city centre-many of the streets are polished and well presented. When you do come across a traditional hutong-like chinese street you feel like you have walked into another world.

If I was to to live in China, it would probabaly be Shanghai I would gravitate towards since it caters for the expat but Beijing wins hands down for places of interest, historical sites, colour, the strange and the unexpected.

The Bund (it's named after an old Anglo-Indian term, bunding-the embanking of a muddy foreshore) is great for a walk at night time - the dazzling lights of the skyscrapers over the river make for a fantastic backdrop to the very European grandiose buildings on the other side. You could be walking down a street in Manhattan or London.

Across the river, the dramatic Oriental Pearl TV Tower, is so high its antenna is often shrouded in mist but when we were there we could see it clearly and it varies its lights every evening. On one particular evening it gave the semblance of different coloured doors on different levels-very space age and you begin to imagine what life lies behind those doors.
Went to the Peace Hotel for a glance at how the other half holiday. Met with smoking jackets, film crew and a very supercilious concierge!! It does have a fabulous lobby, jazz bar and mezzanine. Inspired we donned our glad-ish rags and took ourselves to the 45th floor of the Radisson Hotel for a splash-out lunch in their stunning restaurant. Excellent and very affordable even for the backpacker's budget. For 100 RMB each we had a 5 course lunch and a panoramic view of the city as the restaurant floor revolves 360 degrees over 2 hrs....fantastic.
To even dizzier heights we headed and treated ourselves to night views from the other side of the river on the 87th floor of the Hyatt-awesome bar with unfortunately very expensive cocktails so dinner was the delectable wasabi nuts that accompanied our drinks.

There aren't a whole lot of sights in Shanghai. We walked around the old quarter (mainly remodelled), the former French concession, the antiques market and Renmin Park.

Took a day trip to Suzhou and rented bikes to cycle around the various gardens. The town is pretty cool with many canals. Visited 3 gardens. The Shizi Lin garden featured lots of grotesque rock which is s'posed to resemble lions in all shapes and sizes. Part of the rockery takes the form of a convoluted labyrinth and it is rather maze-like to find your way out of. There are also lovely pagodas, wodden walkways, reflective water, surrounded by lots of lotus and wisteria.
The second, Ou Yuan was like a big park-saw 2 newly wed couples having photos taken there.
The 3rd, Wangshi Yuan was classic. It has an attractive central lake, beautiful pavilions with carved walnut wooden furniture. The other appealing feature is the lattice work in the windows thru which you can see a glimpse of bamboo, water and rockery framed in the window. Enchanting and very relaxing.

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