Visiting the Big City

The officially listed population of Shanghai is around 20 million people…unofficial estimates including undocumented workers run as high as double that amount. I can’t begin to describe the scale of things….from my 28th floor hotel room there were high-rises as far as I could see in every direction. The shot above is the Yangtze river in the foreground, and the waterfront of Pudong in the background. You may recognize some of buildings from Mission Impossible 3 – especially the tower on the left with the big red balls….which all look grey in this picture because it was so smoggy.

I had the excellent fortune of having Matt and Terry with me - two guys that have spent months in Shanghai and give a killer walking tour of the local street markets and sites.
Here’s a shot of old town. In the center of the display on the front of the building is a large rat, announcing that 2008 is the year of the rat...who looks suspiciously like Jerry of Tom and Jerry fame. Directly behind me as I took this picuture was a nearly identical classical architecture...adorned with a large marqee of the colonel and a KFC. I don't know why I'm so suprised a drumstick with 11 secret herbs and spices would so easily transcend cultures

The sheer number of highrises is mindblowing...up until 1985, the tallest building in Shanghai was 8 stories...I'd estimate that there are over 1000 buildings now >40 stories high. They seem to go on forever

The building on the right was previously the tallest building in Asia…the one on the left, currently under construction, is taller

On the other hand, there's more than just steady high-rise construction. It was interesting to see pockets of urban renewal, where older alleys had been converted to upscale, artsy boutiques. There were plenty typical big-city alleys, with hanging laundry and garbage, but there were others that had the feel of Ashland or Cannon Beach, with swanky storefronts for custom jewelry, clothing, and cafes.

One of these galleries had a display of North Korean propagana poster artwork that I would loved to have had a chance to check out

Window washers in China are not likely nominated for safety team awards very frequently. The guy in this shot was sitting on a wooden plank with two ropes on either side, just like a swing at the park. And that was just how he used it, shifting his weight so he could get it swaying side to side in a big arc to clean the sides of the building

Speaking of safety, check out the powerlines at this busy intersection. Positioned for future growth, I guess