Shanghai

I made a trip up to central China last week, visiting Nanjing and Shanghai. Unfortunately I was only in Nanjing for a very short time, and was unable to see anything. It's a shame because the city has lots of history and a fabulous city wall. Nanjing means "south capital" in Mandarin, and Beijing means "north capital". Nanjing was the capital of China for many dynasties.

I did get to spend 3 days in Shanghai, however. The weather didn't feel like cooperating much, so I really only made it out on the last day there. My cousin Rebecca lives in Shanghai with her husband Hang Feng. As Rebecca was visiting her family in Canada, I hung out with Hang Feng on Friday night.

Sometimes when you're in a place totally foreign, you crave anything that feels like home. Hence the reason I eat more McD's here than back in the States. Just try counting the McDonald's over here. It's not possible! Sometimes they're right across the street from each other. Other times, you find something even better than McDonalds. On Thursday night I found a HOOTERS!
The wings are exactly like back home. So very tasty. It filled a void I had had for months. You just can't get a good traditional wing here. Unfortunately, there are only two Hooters in all of China. Both in Shanghai.
Enough of that though. On Friday, after much difficulty, I was able to reach my cousin-in-law and get together for dinner. A number of his friends also made it out. We ate at a great restaraunt, with Western Chinese food. Like what is eaten over near Kashi. Mostly lamb kebabs and lamb leg. It was excellent.
No, Hang Feng isn't taller than me. We're just joking around. His friend Sam, however, is a different story. Adam is on my right. He might actually be that short.
Basically we just spent Friday night at a couple of bars and clubs. It was a good time.

Saturday I made it down to the Bund for a couple of hours before my flight. The Bund is where a number of colonial European buildings are located, and was the an early financial hub of east Asia.
Two large structures are visible across the river from the Bund. These are the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and the Jin Mao Building. The Pearl TV Tower is the tallest tower in China, and the Jin Mao Building is the tallest building in China (for now).
I did take a trip up the Pearl TV Tower, even though I read that it is overrated. In the end, it was okay. I think my entire trip over here is just finding tall things and paying to take an elevator up. As you can see, it was pretty hazy on Saturday.
Like I said, the Jin Mao Building is currently the tallest building in China. It will probably be surpassed in the next few years by the Shanghai World Finance Center, being built right next to the Jin Mao Building.
Finally, even Shanghai was getting ready for Oktoberfest celebrations. They had a Paulaner biergarten open and advertising Oktoberfest specials.