We arrived in to Pudong International Airport in the late afternoon. After grabbing a ride from one of the many waiting taxis we began the long drive down town.
Shanghai is a city on the rise. The skyline is dotted with cranes, half finished buildings & high rises. Our hotel was located one block off the main shopping street called Nanjing road. After settling into our room we made our way to the busy pedestrian mall to see what was happening in this so called "Paris of the East".
Nanjing Road is lined with billboards & neon lights advertising everything from perfume & Coca-Cola, right up to the weather & Gucci. As we made our way down the jam packed street, it just seemed to have a vibe. There were fake watch sellers trying to rip you off, men on balconies playing saxophones through loud speakers, music belting from each store as well as Las Vegas style lights that would catch your eye & draw you in.
As we neared the end of the street the lights gave way to a construction zone. After walking a few blocks further we hit the Bund on the Pudong River. This is where the magic happens every night at about 7:00pm. Once the sun has settled behind the pollution & the night has set in, the buildings across the river create a light show which attracts a few hundred people every night. We were a little bit early for this event so we decided to stroll for a little. As we meandered along the waterfront past the children, beggars & the children sent to beg we pulled up a prime position where we could wait for the impending light show to begin. We took a look over the edge & down into the "silty" brown water to be confronted by every type waste known to float. The Pudong is exceptionally polluted but all you really have to do is take a look at the air to realise it's not just the water in China that the problem. China has 16 of the top 20 most polluted cities in the world. This isn't something to be proud of but maybe they will work on that small problem after the 2008 Olympics. I'm sure we won't see any world record set at the track & field events.
Shanghai is a city looking towards the future. You can tell this by simply looking at the buildings. Their futuristic, bold & pushing the bounds of modern day architecture. A really good example of this is the Oriental Pearl TV Tower located across the river in Pudong Park. This was the first building to spring to life with the lights as 7:00pm rolled by. Before we knew it the whole water front was lit up & cameras where flashing. That evening we strolled back to our hotel via Nanjing Road when we noticed that the neon temperature sign was reading 36*C. No wonder we were sweating. It was 9:00pm at night & we felt like we'd been locked in a sauna. Thank god we had A/C in our room & needless to say we had that puppy cranking on high all night long.
The next day we decided to go & see one of China's most famous natural attractions..... the Panda. The only place we could do this was Shanghai Zoo which we read was an OK visit. We jumped in a cab & about 25 minutes later we were at the zoo. Now we didn't really know what to expect & to be honest I was expecting bad but I must say nothing could of prepared me for what we saw. I have never seen a level of human to animal cruelty like this before. The animals that we saw were skin & bones, had no room to move & most of them just stood there in a hypnotised state with the expression of broken & beaten on the sad faces. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse we entered an area where they keep at least one breed of every common or well known dog. They were scared, unable to walk & some of them were clearly ill & close to death. I then saw a German Shepard like my dog back home & was suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of hatred for the Chinese. These animals are merely objects to collect to this heartless, uneducated nation. Most animals are seen as food in China so trying to get it through to them to understand love for nature & the art of being humane is a dead end road. If dad beats & eats the dog then surely little Jimmy can do it to. This seems to be the mindset of Chinese people unfortunately. I saw several animals getting things thrown at them to entice them to move, even if they were unable to. This was enough for us & we decided to leave after our short 5 minute visit.
Before leaving Mel really wanted to see a panda. This is China's animal so we thought it would have to be treated better than the rest. As we strolled past the open fields of flowers, grass & trees & then past the small 1 x 1 metre cement cells that contained Golden Retrievers we came to the Panda enclosure. Someone needs to be shot for the treatment of this supposed national icon. Across from a huge field full of grass & bamboo sat a Panda in a small fully concreted enclosure. The only vision he had was though a dirty glass window that was constantly hit by adults & children to try & make him move. The Panda was spread out on the floor face down with puss running from his eyes & no life in his limbs. There even came a time where he urinated on himself as he was to malnourished to move. I think the world needs to put huge amounts of pressure on China's so called Government to put a stop to this. The only problem I suppose is that they don't see anything wrong with it. Hopefully with the Olympics in 2008 there will be more light shed on this cruelty & perhaps something will finally be done.
That evening we decided to spoil ourselves with dinner at one of the finest & highest restaurants in Shanghai, The Grand Hyatt restaurant. Located across the water in the Jin Mao Tower, the Grand Hyatt starts on the 53rd floor & runs right up to the 87th floor at the top, making it the highest hotel in the world. To get over the other side of the river we had to take another one of Shanghai's tourist attractions, the tourist tunnel. As you head down a very steep escalator on the water front you are herded towards a glass carriage which can fit about 15 people. It then takes off into the long dark tunnel under the river which is where the magic happens. They keep you entertained for a while with all kinds of laser lights, smoke machines & wavy, wind blowing men. Before we knew it we were on the other side & heading for the surface again. We made our way to the Jin MaoTower & took the express elevator to the 54th floor where Mel enjoyed a huge Aussie steak with vegetables & I ate from the tasty buffet. The view from here is amazing but from what I hear, a visit to the 88th floor observatory is much more impressive. We finished the evening with a trip to the top of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower for a view of the Bund by night.
The next day we decided to take some time out & just relax with a visit to one of the local markets. We bought a few of the tourist must haves such as Chinese saxophones, Iraqi most wanted playing cards & framed personalised name writings. The next afternoon we flew out 2:30 pm headed for Brisbane, Australia. China was an amazing place to visit & one of those places that you think ...wow... I've been to China. One day I may go back to see some other sights or perhaps revisit some of my favourites.