Shanghai: Day Two

We were able to sleep in this morning which was great because we were exhausted and it is still pouring (it has only stopped raining once since we've been in China). We visited the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition, which was actually pretty interesting. The exhibition contained models of old and new developments as well as photographs of the old city of Shanghai, which was a small fishing village. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a huge scale model of the city of Shanghai, they even included buildings that hadn't been built such as a skyscraper next to the World Financial center that is sure to be either the first or second tallest building in the world. We went into a small theater room next to the model that seems like you're flying through the Shanghai of the future, from the airport to their world expo buildings to their skyscrapers.

After the exhibition we wandered through the tunnels underneath the People's Square (the site of Shanghai's municipal government headquarters/a large public square). There were hundreds of vendors and shops in these tunnels, we felt like ants, it went on for miles.

We ate lunch then wandered the city. We met up with our tour group to go to dinner at an older Asian couple's home. They led us up incredibly steep stairs to a self-made 2nd story where we ate dinner. Dinner was the best yet (most likely because our Chinese guide was able to order for us : ). We had vegetables, sweet and sour chicken, peanut chicken, etc. The ceilings were so low that David's head nearly touched the ceiling.

After dinner we took the metro with a couple other people to the Park Hyatt at the Shanghai World Financial Center, which is the tallest building in Shanghai and shaped like a bottle-opener. We found our way up to the 93rd floor for cocktails and the view. The bar was incredible. The definition of first-class according to David, mostly because of the toilets haha. As you walk through the stall door the toilet cover automatically opens. The seat is heated (sorry for the intimate details). Anything you could imagine a toilet doing - it did. Even wash and dry... So anyways, we ordered drinks and sat in the lounge overlooking the city. We were high above all the buildings and the lights were beautiful. Next time we are staying there! :)

Tomorrow morning we are heading to a small water town about a hour and a half away, Xitang.

Zai-jian!