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1997
Route in China (CHINA - Shanghai)
Bec2004-09-19 16:02:49
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Shanghai
Shanghai! The Paris of Asia of the last century had become the whore of Asia when Mao took over in '49. Capitalists fled and it stagnated, international trade going preferentially through Guangzhou and Hong Kong until recently. Now it is being born again and slated to surpass Hong Kong to become the trade and finance center of China and probably of Asia if not of the world in the 21st century. The venerable stone colonial buildings of the Bund shown here, are already dwarfed by high rise office towers behind them.
This sculpture in Huangpu Park at the other end of the Bund symbolizes the city's vigor. The Shanghai Mansions Hotel, seen behind the sculpture, has lost the distinction of being the tallest structure it had when I was here 24 years ago.
Shanghai's is an autonomous region like Beijing (11 million), Tianjing (9 million) and Chongqing (30 million). Its population of 13 million is not the largest but there is more construction there than in the other three combined as the new suburb of Pudong is being built on the other side of the Huangpu river.
By a strange coincidence, the Pujiang Hotel where I had a 7$ dormitory bed was just across the street from the 150$ a night Shanghai Mansions where I stayed the last time! I shared that dorm with interesting travelers, Barry from Wyoming who had travelled in more than 100 countries, Tobias from Sweden who was learning Chinese and Jason from San Diego who was desperately trying to start some export business.
Colourful river boats ply Suzhou Creek which flows into the Huangpu river in front of the Pujiang and Shanghai hotels on the west bank. The central commercial district just south of here is always full of people attracted by several large department stores and a multitude of shops.
This is Nanjing Lu, the heart of the commercial district. It is a good place to observe the milling human crowd if you
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See photographs from:
China Gallery
