I finally got to do one of the top things on my China To Do List (it really does exist, and will sadly not be satisfied this trip due to time constraints): Go on a river cruise up the Yangtze River to see the Three Gorges. To get to the cruise, we took a sleeper train to Chongqing (not the first sleeper train, and not the last). It is the largest municipality in the world with 29 million people (almost the size of my home country, Canada) but is not a destination that has much to offer sightseeing-wise, other than a never-ending sea of high-rises. After arriving, we had five hours to kill, so we went to a square where the bus that would take us to the boat was to pick us up. We quickly ... read more

I think that visiting Beijing after spending so much time in Shanghai made me look at the city differently than I would have if I had visited it sooner. I found Shanghai and Beijing to be like night and day. Shanghai as a city is so young, everything is new and there is an energy to the city that you feel everywhere. In contrast, Beijing is steeped in history and is far calmer because of it. I liked Beijing, but it didn't energize me the way Shanghai does. When I first got to Shanghai, I found the number of people and chaotic way the streets operate overwhelming. While Beijing has just as many people and just as many cars, there is a control in the city, and it lacks the manic vibe Shanghai gives off. I ... read more

It's amazing to think that I've already finished the first 2 months of this trip and my time in Shanghai is over. (sidebar: I have also now finished my MBA... such an amazing feeling!) I figured I should mark the transition from the first part of my trip to second with some reflections on it. Shanghai is a great city. It is a great city that is evolving so fast that I'm sure the next time I am back, I will have to explore it all over again. This is the case this time around, as I had a 3 day visit 2 years ago, when there were 3 less subway lines, and quite a few skyscrapers were missing from the skyline. I wonder what it would be like living long-term in Shanghai - do they ... read more

I came to a realization earlier this week that I had less than 2 weeks left in Shanghai. I'm excited about the next part of my trip, but it shocked me to think that I've been here for almost 2 months. I also realized that there was still a lot left that I had been planning to do, but hadn't got around to. Unfortunately, this realization occurred at the same time the b-school I'm on exchange at (CEIBS) kicked into high gear, so I have been trying to cram writing papers in with doing as much as I can in the city. I finally got to the Shanghai Zoo on Thursday - Nori and I both desperately wanted to see some pandas (cliche, I know, but there's a reason its a cliche), but neither of us ... read more

The last day of the Spring Festival is marked by the Lantern Festival (gotta love a country that has a festival within a festival). In Shanghai, the Lantern Festival epicentre is Yu Garden (a wonderful tourist trap that is a must see while in Shanghai), where, thanks to their wonderful sponsor Pepsi, massive lantern sculptures are on display across the garden and surrounding buildings. A couple of friends and I decided to shell out our ¥80 ($13 - go big or go home), and join the crushing crowds to see the sculptures. I have to say, it was pretty cool. Each sculpture showed a different Chinese story (my friend Mingming identified a few, but my brain was in photo-mode so nothing was retained), they were very intricate and thanks to modern technology had moving parts, lasers, ... read more