The second time at Beijing South Station we somehow managed to buy tickets for the express train to Shanghai. The category G trains build a nonstop connection between Beijing and Shanghai, a distance of 1.300 km that took us only 4.5 hours.

Shanghai Skyline

When leaving the subway at Yuyuan Garden my first impression was that the city was louder and the climate already warmer. At the exit of the subway something odd happened, we were already “expected” by a mid-aged couple that I would, in retrospect, rate as informers of the communist party. Or why should exactly we, struggeling with backpacks and suitcases, take a picture of them, speak about our travel adventures, letting us explain the way to our hotel? Considering that everyone applying for a visa must send detailled copies of the travel itinerary, hotel reservations and flights it only makes sense that someone proofs the truth. I mean they were nice people and the first ones who spoke perfect English, so nothing to worry about…although a bad first impression of the city.

Early Morning at The Bund

Some of the must sees in Shanghai are The Bund, a long promenade at the river with a beautiful view of the skyline, Yuyuan Garden, an oasis in the middle of the turbulent old town, the view from the World Financial Center or (cheaper) from the 88 floor of the Jin Mao Tower. The bar/restaurant at the top of the Jin Mao Tower does have reasonable prices, a nice atmosphere and a spectacular view – there is no need to go see the skywalk at the World Financial Center. From floor 56 I was not only fascinated by the 32 story high atrium but also by the band which plays modern songs with chinese instruments (e.g. er-hu); they play every night, starting at 7 p.m. After I found out that the hotel sells a CD from “On 56″, I went back and bought it. Actually I liked the unplugged version at the hotel better, where they didn’t use percussion. But it’s still a nice compilation of melodic songs.

Shanghai and Beijing can sometimes be shocking when it comes to people begging for money. Some of them were crippled, making there way through the subway at rush-hour, sometimes walking, sometimes sitting on a skateboard. Some of them were walking through the narrow food concourse in Shanghai – one guy was pushing a kind of hospital-bed through the narrow streets, begging for money for an older man, who seemed to sleep on the mattress. For well situated Europeans like us a scene like this hits you with a brick.

Chinese Man

Old and Modern

The food concourse that I mentioned above is close to the southern end of the The Bund. It is packed with people and gas cookers, with raw meat, tofu things and fish-like meals. We decided to have noodles and rice and a soup, which looked like dishwater. But no things to worry as soon as I learned that the dish was not really washed, but only thrown into a bowl with water where it was waiting for the next customer, it was no longer the soup I was afraid of. After many meals with gristles and bones I was pretty happy with rice and vegetables, although the table we were sitting at was covered with bones…from other people. However I’m still sure that we could have eaten anything as it is always fresh made and tested by a many people.

Food concourse Shanghai

I noticed for the second time that my Fuji X100 shows some odd behavior. It would over- and underexpose pictures when shooting one and the same scene (e.g. Shanghai skyline) with exactly the same settings for aperture and shutter (manual mode). Something like that must never ever happen! Now that I googled the problem I found out that I’m not the only one, the “codename” is sticky-aperture blades and I will have to send the camera in for repair.

The Bund

Chinese Girls

Handcraft in the street

World Financial Center Shanghai

Bar Rouge at The Bund