06/13/13

It’s been a busy couple weeks of work and travel!  Last week was my first full week of work here in China.  The joys of Chinese rush hour commuting is an experience that will remind me to never take commuting in Fayetteville for granted ever again. 

Each of my co-workers has been very helpful and many of them speak better English than I could ever hope to.  Last week we went to an incredible Roasted Chicken lunch where every part of the chicken was available to eat.  Including the head!

Since the beginning of this week was the Dragon Boat Festival I decided to take the train down to Shanghai to see the city and have a change of pace from Beijing.  Riding on the bullet train to Shanghai led to some incredible views of the rural Chinese countryside as well as the massive ghost cities abandoned half way through construction.

Unlike Beijing, Shanghai is much smaller landmass wise as it is set up much like Manhattan.  This leads to a very centralized downtown with massive skyscrapers and a picturesque skyline.  It’s also a lot like Manhattan because EVERYTHING is very expensive.  We walked down the East Nanjing Rd. which is a very famous shopping area.  Most of the store names I’d never heard of but I’m told they’re popular all over the world.

We also toured the Yuyuan Gardens in the middle of the city.  The gardens were constructed in the 1500’s and have gone through numerous renovations throughout the years creating a wonderful garden space in the middle of Shanghai.  We spent some time walking around and then spent some time at a teahouse situated in the middle of a pond in the gardens.

Overall Shanghai was a great modern city to visit.  More to come next week!