Shanghai Museum, Bund and Yangtze River Walk

Shanghai is the world's largest city by population with 24 million.  It is China's financial center and busiest port in the world.  The Bund is the old financial district established by the European colonial powers.  The land across the river from the Bund was farmland until 40 years ago.  The city has rapidly grown and modernized within the past 40 years.  Of the 5 tallest buildings in the world, 3 are located in Shanghai.  At night, the lights on the buildings along the riverfront are lit creating a scene which is a mash of Las Vegas and Times Square.  Brightly lit boats cruise the river at night giving the tourists a spectacular view.  The weather was perfect for our walk along the waterfront.

Chinese Canoes

We visited the Shanghai Museum which contained exhibits of ancient Chinese art in many forms.  Exhibits which were particularly interesting were those on clothing worn in different provinces; money; furniture; jade, bronze and ceramic works.  We wish we had more than the couple of hours available to see more of this marvelous museum and its precious holdings.

The Bund

It was a long bus ride to Shanghai and we were glad to get to our hotel.  Our room was on the 22nd Floor and we had a wonderful view facing toward the financial district.  Immediately adjacent to our hotel was one of the few remaining longtangs in Shanghai.  These residential districts covered the majority of the city prior to the modernization which began about 40 years ago.  The buildings on the Bund where the tallest buildings in the city prior to modernization .  The large sky scrapers were constructed on land which was farmland and thus open for quick development.  It remains to be seen how long the longtangs exist.

Longtang in Shanghai

Longtang in Foreground - Financial District in Distance