just a sneak peak!

"Nihau" -- from Shanghai! Yeah, just took a little "weekend-trip" across the Japan Sea to have a look around this city of 17 million (give or take). . . and what a trip it was!! It was absolutely fascinating to see (what little I could in that time) a tiny bit of where the culture resembles, and also how completely different it is from Japanese society. There were other places where it reminded me of home too. . .
This is a picture of the "new Shanghai" a view across the big river that runs through the city. The big tower with the bubbles (Oriental Pearl Tower) is a look-out tower that we also went up, and a very small segment of the rows of skyscrapers lining the horizon. The downtown is packed with them, and new ones being built like crazy. Glass covered concete masses reaching up into infinity, and cranes everywhere you look -- soon the tallest tower in the world will be completed here -- somewhere over the 500 metre tall one in Taipei. Amazing, eh?
A night view -- these pictures were taken from "Old Shanghai" on the opposite side of the river, an area filled with buildings of historical significance from a city with a long and colourful past. Apparently before the war, there were many more foreigners living here, especially British and French, than there are now.
The city definitely spends a lot on lighting for their buildings, driving through downtown was amazing as almost everywhere was lit up, and you could see huge advertisements flashing across the sides of buildings. You can also see the night cruise ship taking in the view. There are so many people who frequent this riverside walk that they are making the most of it, and during the afternoon we saw a ship with a HUGE plasma screen, we're talking 50 meters across, showing the latest cell phone ad. . . the cutting edge technology was amazing!
There are two very different perspectives of this city -- looking up, it is a city of the future, one in which humans almost don't even "belong", and when you look down, you are brought back to the stark reality of daily life. Life of transportation, by bike, motorbike, cars, buses, and all of those weaving their way in what at first seems to be complete chaos, but when you look close enough, you can see how everyone knows their place in the system, plays by the rules and it works, in an uncanny way. Since, according to our guide, Shanghai drivers hate stopping (well, that's probably universal, but exaggerated a bit more here), it is amazing how they will cut in between groups of people crossing the street, and wedge their way past slower cars. Lane markings, and especially turning lanes seem to have no meaning in most cases. Pretty fascinating to watch our driver -- you could tell he was experienced!
A visit to what we hear is one of the most famous sights in Shanghai. This traditional garden was filled with walls, small doorways and buildings in the traditional Chinese style with tiled roof, and spires bending upwards on the corners. The red colour, combined with the shapes, small bridges over the water, and rocks set in the garden brought out the beauty of Chinese architechture. These round doorways are so neat!
Junko and I. Junko is one of my students -- it was her first time overseas, which was really exciting! We had a really great time at this marketplace, checking out the little shops and just taking in the sights all around us. (with more to come. . .)