Crossing the road from the Bund, you will reach the Promenade (second picture) along the Bund. This is one of the best places to take pictures of Pudong skyline (as shown in the first picture). The Promenade is packed with people and photography booths touting the photography services. And you can enjoy the sightseeing here and the breeze is really comfortable. It is great to take a stroll along the Promenade to see those river cruises and ferries passing by. Nice view, it is a place overlooking the façade of Pudong skyline including the Shanghai Oriental Tower, Jing Mao Tower (the world fifth tallest building - third picture) and also the Shanghai World Financial Centre (the world second tallest building - third picture).As mentioned in my previous blog, I met a lady from Si Chuan Province who came to travel in Shanghai alone at the Promenade. She requested me to take photo for her and she did it for me in return. After exchanging a very brief conversation, we found that we were heading toward the same direction, the Oriental Pearl Tower; therefore we decided to go there together. We took a ferry to cross the river.
It is weird that we have to seat inside the ferry; hence we lose the chance to enjoy the breeze swirling across HuangPu River. After crossing the river, we needed to walk about 15 minutes to reach the Oriental Pearl Tower. We passed by the Jing Mao Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Centre, we paused and took our pictures here. It is nice to meet another couple from Shan Xi province （山西省）. They required us to take pictures for them and it was great to find out that they were heading toward the same destination as us. So we walked together and started our chat till we reached Oriental Pearl Tower.
Pudong means the east side of HuangPu River and the river segregates the Great Shanghai into new and old. Basically, one can barely see any modern building before 1990s in Pudong, it is a vast area covered with numerous villages. But now, Pudong is the area to showcase the prosperity of Shanghai and China, it has the tallest building in China, one of the biggest stock exchanges in Asia, its equivalent to Wall Street LuJiaZui financial district, world class performing art centre, state of the art museums, Pudong International Air Port and many more. This area signifies the future of China that various modern development ideas are being unfolded and materialized.The entry ticket to Oriental Pearl Tower varies depending which part of the Tower we want to go. The Tower consists of Shanghai Municipal History Museum, 360 degree view of the city (provided is a clear day but the day I went is overcast), a restaurant and the Space Mountain rollercoaster ride. The building is 468 meter tall (1535 ft). We only opted for the Shanghai Municipal History Museum and the 360 degree view of the city, which costs about RMB 100 each person. I think this is the most expensive entry ticket I had ever paid (the gigantic forbidden city in Beijing only costs me RMB 80) in my whole China trip.
We spent around 30 minutes taking pictures and enjoying the city view. Then we went to the basement in order to visit the museum. The Shanghai Municipal Museum takes us through the history of old shanghai with audio-visual exhibits.
When we came out it is already 6 pm and the sky had turned completely dark. So we decided to go for dinner but neither the Si Chuan lady nor I knew where to dine (don’t forget it is still the first day of my trip). Somehow, we decided to go to NanJing Road to look for a decent place to dine. The nearest Subway is Lu Jia Zui station, from there we went to the NanJing East Road station.
When we got down at the NanJing East Road station, it was raining. But the rain soon stopped. We came out, turned right and we were lucky to come across a very popular local snack foods street called Wu Jiang Road (吴江路). The street is not very long, but still I had no idea what to eat. It was my first meal since I arrived in Shanghai (I didn’t have anything for the whole day). I remembered I walked up and down the whole street twice trying to figure out what to eat. In the end, we entered into a small restaurant serving “Hu Nan Cai” （湖南菜）. Hu Nan Province is where Chairman Mao Ze Dong from.
My Si Chuan friend had given me a shout for my first meal in China. It is a wonderful night. This is how I find out that Chinese people are passionate and friendly, she even gave me a “YumSeng” and volunteered herself to welcome me visiting China on behalf of all Chinese people. Woow, I was stunned then. We exchanged our contact because she was going back to Si Chuan the next day. After the dinner we farewell with each others.
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