I was Shanghai'd!

So our last weekend trip from Tianjin was to Shanghai, via train. This train ride (10 hrs) was definitely more comfortable than the ride from Xi'an back to Tianjin (almost 20 hrs), but the experience of waking up and having that feeling of travel grunge just can't be avoided. I slept on the top bunk (of 3), and this is the aerial view I had of the Go game happening on the bottom bunk:

Shanghai is definitely more condensed a city than Tianjin, and the famous skyline was quite impressive.

Aside from the skyscrapers everywhere, I actually was not as blown away as I thought I would have been. Shanghai is featured in hundreds of films, travel reviews, novels, etc. as this exotic hub of Asia that is the epitome of style and modernity, but I couldn't help feeling underwhelmed. It definitely had a more modern feel to it than the other cities we visited this trip, but I suppose I was expecting an environment similar to Tokyo or Hong Kong (the Tsim Sha Tsui district), and comparatively, I didn't feel it measured up.

The night scene is definitely a treat; these pictures were taken at The Bund (I'm still not sure what a "bund" is, but I'm guessing it's a strip of vendors next to a river) around 9:30, 10 at night. Every five minutes a different ferry sails by, and many buildings have intricate electric light designs rotating through the various patterns. The real sight that evening was the memorial commemorating the Chinese civil war between the Kuo Ming Tang and the Communists:

<-- This one is from underneath in the direct center, looking up

This one is from the front, at the base -->

Granted, we weren't able to spend a considerable amount of time in Shanghai, so perhaps my perceptions are skewed, and the city is actually everything I have heard it is. That's definitely possible, and I do know there is no way you can accurately grasp the concept and magnitude of any city in two days. Every city has so many aspects to it that many people who themselves live there never see everything there is to see. I'll just have to go back and do my own investigating :)

Outside the city, we visited an international school, and were able to sit in on a few elementary and middle school-level classes. One part of the student population is made up of Chinese children taking English classes for the summer, the other part is comprised of non-Chinese children learning Chinese (many students' parents have moved to China for work/business). All the children learn in classroom environments, and have a full day of Chinese (for all children), art, math, English (for the Chinese children), and sports. I think we all learned something new just sitting in on the Chinese classes!

During the weekend, we were also lucky enough to see a temple in Shanghai (although it started raining halfway through), a river cruise with some gorgeous scenery and fish ponds, and Dr. Chen's brother's factory in neighboring Hangzhou.

Another whirlwind weekend, so much to see and do, but we managed to fit in one last kareoke night!!