Shanghai - the most glamourous city in China, now even more glamourous due to the World Expo 2010. No expenses had been spared to make sure that Expo 2010 will be one of the best and biggest in history, and the hype and publicity surrounding this World Event has been relentless.
The minute you arrive in Shanghai, you cannot escape the Expo 2010 propaganda machine. Posters, banners, LCD screens, product placements, t-shirts, etc. all extoll you to make a visit to the Expo. If you don't go, you are a klutz !
Of course, the Expo was one of our main reasons for visiting Shanghai. We had chosen May as the weather is still reasonably cool. June and July would be unbearably hot, and September and October may see larger crowds rushing to see the "Biggest Show on Earth" before it ends.
I think we made the right choice. It is late Spring in Shanghai, and temperatures are between 19 to 28 degrees. It gets a bit warm during the day, but not unbearable. Still, make sure you bring a hat which covers your face, sunglasses to cut the glare, and plenty of sun-block.
Skyscrapers in Pudong - the new city.
View of The Bund from Pudong.
View of Puxi - the "old city".
The Huangpu River which separates Pudong from Puxi.
Views of Puxi.
Behind the growth a any city, there is always blood, sweat and tears. Shanghai used to be the backwaters of Suzhou and Hanzhou - a small fishing village and trading post relatively minute in importance. Then came the Opium Wars, which was won by the British and foreign forces against the Qing Dynasty. After the lost the Emperor was forced to open up treaty ports for foreigner powers to trade with China - Shanghai included. Due to its strategic location at the mouth of the Yantgzte River, Shanghai prospered and grew into what it is today, the most developed city and financial centre in China. Such is the irony of history.
The minute you arrive in Shanghai, you cannot escape the Expo 2010 propaganda machine. Posters, banners, LCD screens, product placements, t-shirts, etc. all extoll you to make a visit to the Expo. If you don't go, you are a klutz !
Of course, the Expo was one of our main reasons for visiting Shanghai. We had chosen May as the weather is still reasonably cool. June and July would be unbearably hot, and September and October may see larger crowds rushing to see the "Biggest Show on Earth" before it ends.
I think we made the right choice. It is late Spring in Shanghai, and temperatures are between 19 to 28 degrees. It gets a bit warm during the day, but not unbearable. Still, make sure you bring a hat which covers your face, sunglasses to cut the glare, and plenty of sun-block.
Skyscrapers in Pudong - the new city.
View of The Bund from Pudong.
View of Puxi - the "old city".
The Huangpu River which separates Pudong from Puxi.
Views of Puxi.
Behind the growth a any city, there is always blood, sweat and tears. Shanghai used to be the backwaters of Suzhou and Hanzhou - a small fishing village and trading post relatively minute in importance. Then came the Opium Wars, which was won by the British and foreign forces against the Qing Dynasty. After the lost the Emperor was forced to open up treaty ports for foreigner powers to trade with China - Shanghai included. Due to its strategic location at the mouth of the Yantgzte River, Shanghai prospered and grew into what it is today, the most developed city and financial centre in China. Such is the irony of history.
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