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Welcome to China : We flew to shanghai from Delhi.
We hurriedly exchanged some USDs at the authorized booths in the airport, but
later on learnt that we get better rates outside the airport with city
moneychangers, hotel desks, etc. We could take night cruise on the River
Huangpu instead of the day cruise. Thus started the first day of the tour. WE
took the wonderful magnetic-levitation Maglev train ride from Shanghai Pudong
Airport to the Shanghai Metro. We headed for the Bund area for an exciting one-Hour night
cruise on the Huangpu River.
The cruise is a witness
to the changing face of shanghai and an excellent way to unveil
the two faces of the city, the old and new shanghai. We saw the river run
beautifully between
the eastern and Western sides, bringing out the brilliantly lit skyline of shanghai
rife with
futuristic glittering skyscrapersOn the eastern bank and the mesmerizing stately old colonial
edifices
along the Bund on the west bank. With music in the background we enjoyed the
magnificent display of
lights from the buildings along the bank and from other vessels as well. It
was an electrifying experience.
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2nd Day: Shanghal dreams: we started our tour of the
city and passed through the 4 km
shanghai renmin Road underwater tunnel, under the Huangpu River, which connects
with urban
core areas on Both sides of the Huangpu River. Its colonial era architectural styles
are dwarfed
by the looming Space-age skyline of the city. Shanghai’s impressive skyline is meter
20 years
old and it is hard to believe that New Shanghai was a quiet fishing village in the 90’s.We saw
the emblematic 468-metre
high orient pearl TV Tower,The highest observation deck in Asia,
where we had a photo stop, the soaring modern art-deco Jin Mao Tower and the yet-to-World,
completed 101-floor world Financial center.
The People’s Square.
Once know as a gambling houses, this square is now a political,
commercial and cultural centre of shanghai’s downtown area, with the most famous
monuments in it being the Shanghai city Hall and the shanghai science and Technology
Museum. A
large green lung in the middle Of the city, it is a large public park with fountains,
sculptures and
gardens with spectacular open space, Adjacent to the square, we visited the
century Park, the largest park
in shanghai where we saw several Walkers and cyclists.
In the evening it was
time for ERA intersection of Time, an Acrobatic intersection of Time,
an acrobatic extravaganza. Not only were we amazed by the acrobats’
control and precision,
but were enchanted by the world that is created through the use of multimedia
technology
and much more.
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3rd Day: Morning started with a visit to the pearl
factory in shanghai to the pearl factory in
Shanghai (ocean of Aquarium), where we witnessed the interesting art of
removal of pearls
from the Oysters and then again some temptation bought some gold coloured unique
pearls
from the outlet. Our Wallet was getting lighter by the day. Further, we ascended the
graceful
pagoda-like jinmao Tower (88 floors and 340 meters high), where We got-eye Jinmao Tower
(88 floors and 340 meters high), where we got a
birds-eye of the scenery along the Huangpu
River and that of the sharp roof of the Oriental
Pearl TV Tower. Viewing into the hotel lobby of
the shanghai Grand, Hyatt Hotel, the world’s tallest
five-star hotel in terms of distance from the
88th floor was a wonderful experience! This
building, which is a combination of traditional
Chinese architectural style and the world’s modern architectural
technology, represents the
young and Vibrant shanghai.We drove to Zhujiajiao,
the venice of china, an ancient water town,
and proceeded on a wonderful and exotic boat tour of the town. Unique old bridges across
bubbling
streams, and houses with Courtyards attached to them transported us to a brand new
world full of
antiquity, leisure and tranquility. We witnessed the villagers, mostly elderly people,
leading
simple and peaceful lives in the old houses, which are preserved to give a taste of
Chinese architecture
and culture.
Day
4: Always been to try
to try out new modes of transport, we opted to forgo out
usual choice of
flying and wanted to experience the Bullet Train instead from Hongqiao
station (shanghai) to Beijing South railway station. The waiting lounge was
comparable to the
ones available at any airport. The Waiting lounge was
comparable to the ones available at
any airport. This train takes
roughly 4 hours and 45 minutes, to cover a distance of 1463 km
with a top
speedof 301 kilometres per hour.
Post Beijing,
which can hold a million people at a time. It was interesting to see the
square and
hear Our tour guide talk about the history of this vas space, without ever
mentioning anything
about the Huge protest and massacre that happened here in 1989.
I very naively asked our guide about the Student unrest (the incident as
the Chinese
calls it) and her tone immediately changed and In an indifferent voice she government
said she knew nothing about it! This solemn place presents its
distinctive characteristics by its
surrounding scenic spots –Tienanmen Town
(Gate of
Heavenly Peace ) is the symbol of
modern china and features on the emblem of
the peoples. Archway hangs a large portrait of
Mao Zedong,with two giant placards reading “Long live the people’s Republic of China and
the resting Place of Mao Memorial Hall is the resting place of Mao Zedong , chairman of the
politburo ofthe communist party of china. The Monument to the People’s Heroes stands in the
center, a square building. The Guards here are as rigid as a Bee feater of London but they
could not help turning their heads all the Time to indulge in a bit people-watching while on the
job.
Post the Golden Water Bridge we entered
the well-preserved imperial palace complex,
It was forbidden for anymore to enter the
palace without the emperor’s
permission and hence
the name “The Forbidden City”.
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