Shanghai.

So I arrived in Shanghai on Thursday by plane.
Despite my fears in Chinese's planes, the flight was really nice. The only trouble I had was that I forgot my Swiss Knife in my handbag and thus had to put it in the trash... I was so sure it was in my luggage...



Shanghai... I don't know how I can put it simply. It's just the most impressive city I've ever seen. I now think that you can't say you've visited China if you didn't go to Shanghai.
It's so different from, say, Beijing.
Of course, there isn't much to see from the "China's history/relics" point of view. It's just that Shanghai is the symbol of what China really is today: the biggest economic player in the world.
Money is everywhere, from the ultra-modern subway system (magnetic cards, flat screens everywhere...) to the 200 feets long wide screens that sails on the Bund river and not omitting young people wearing Versace, Gucci, Chanel, and others everywhere you can look at.
It's as if you were in those futurist science-fiction movies.

I found a Guardian's great article on the subject (Shanghai and modern China), smartly entitled "The great leap forward", and I advise you to read it as it describes very well what I've come to feel while visiting China.



Speaking about my trip now, yesterday I went to the Shanghai equivalent of the "Champs Elysées", namely Nanjing Rd. and then made a little trip on the Bund.

Today I went to the French concessions and because history matters, I visited Sun Yat Sen's former residence. For those lacking culture, he was one of the main Chinese's revolutionists and was the one leading the revolution against the Qing dynasty to establish the Republic of China in 1912.

I finished the day by walking on the other side of the Bund.



Oh by the way, it's just so good to walk in Shanghai's streets while savoring a Starbucks' Banana-Coconut Frappuchino...

No video for the moment, maybe the next time :)

Stay tuned!