More Shanghai Photos 10/22/06

Here we are with our fabulous hosts and tour guides, Stacey's family members from her mom's side of the family. From left to right they are (front row): Uncle Bob and Auntie Margaret, who were visiting from San Francisco; Auntie Helen, who graciously allowed us to stay with her; (back row) Cousin Isbrand, who put together the best 3-day tour you could possibly imagine; and Isbrand's son Spencer, who was nice enough to hang out with us "old folks".


The picture above and the two below were taken at Xintiandi, downtown Shanghai's newest, most upscale neighborhood. This 2-square-block pedestrian mall is the hottest venue in Shanghai.


The cafe and boutique development has restored the late colonial architecture known as shikumen, row houses with courtyards and stone gates. The architecture is an artful blend of native traditional and ultramodern Western.


Xintiandi, meaning "New Heaven and Earth", is famous for its trendy restaurants and international shops and after dark its bars and lounges attract Shanghai's wealthy and hip...like the two seen above ;-)


A shipyard on the banks of the Huangpu River


Some of the never-ending traffic on the river


This boat, with its enormous television screen, can be seen cruising back and forth in front of the Bund advertising everything from watches, to electronics, to anything else you can imagine.


Nanpu Bridge, spanning the Huangpu River, was the first to connect Pudong to the city center. It opened in 1991 and handles 45,000 vehicles per day over its 2&1/3-mile expanse.


Shanghai's People's Park (Renmin Gongyuan) is essentially the city's "Central Park". It is built on the site of colonial Shanghai's horse-racing track and it has 30 acres of trees, ponds, rock gardens, amusement rides and this guy...who just laid a giant egg. For more photos of the park see our 10/28/06 posting titled, "More Faces and Places".