Parks, Gardens, Towers & Shopping
Trip Start
Oct 07, 2009
1
14
18
Trip End
Oct 24, 2009
Shanghai, Shanghai, China
Monday, October 19, 2009
In Fuxin Park we were able to watch all types of activities. There were couples ball room dancing, some doing traditional chinese dances, they were playing with Yo Yo's, flying kites, almost anything goes. It was nice to see the parks so active with loads of folks participating in activies. Of course there were folks sitting and watching all the activities as well. As we were performing we also drew quite a crowd. Not sure what they thought of us, but at least we were able to entertain some people.
After leaving the park we were off to Yu Gardens located in the Old City. This is also where the famous nine corner bridge is located. This is a very busy area of the city. Lots of tourists. We spent time in Yu Gardens which was beautiful. After this we did a little shopping and picked up a few items. We also looked at the Golden Pearls here as we were told Shanghai may have better prices. The prices here were absolutely insane and we didn't purchase any pearls. We will try again in Hong Kong. Still no pearls :(
Lunch was next on the agenda and we were off to the Grand Hyatt for a very special buffet. What is interesting is the Grand Hyatt is located on 53rd-87th floors in the Jin Mao Tower. Brian (one of the tour guides) had been talking about this buffet the whole trip so expectations were very high. Well he was right the food and the views were amazing. They had everything you could imagine on the buffet and the views were spectacular!
After lunch we made a quick trip up to the lobby of the hotel which is on the 56th floor, then we were on our own for the next 24 hours. We decided to go to the 100th floor of Shanghai World Financial Center for views of the city. The SWFC is the tallest building in China (at the moment) and rises 1600 feet. What amazing views of Shanghai! The floor on the 100th floor actually had some glass floor tiles so you could look directly below you. Interestingly this is the world's highest observation deck.
After leaving here we decided to take the Bund Sightseeing tunnel under the Huangpu River. This was an interesting tram-like ride with a light show that connects the Pudong to The Bund.
Next it was Nanjing Road for some shopping. This was an interesting shopping experience -- in the end we found some items we had been looking for so a success it was (but still no Golden Pearls). We ended up shopping for a few hours while walking a few miles. After dark we decided to head back to the hotel. Bob & Ron decided to try the Subway while Maryann & Bonnie took a cab to the hotel.
