Shanghai: French Concession & The Bund Revisited

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Mom went back to rest at the hotel, while Annie and I explored the French Concession district. This was the area that the French controlled during the colonial period, which has gone through several renovations and which has arrived at a fashionable blend of modern commerce and historic architecture. We visited the Shikumen Open House, which preserves one of the distinctive houses from that period. The furnishings were a reminder how much both East and West influenced Shanghai's culture during that time.

At my friend Terry's recommendation, we visited Sun Yat-Sen's former residence, and got a glimpse of this revered figure's role in China's history.

Haagen-Dazs break! Expensive (Y60), but you can get China-fied updates of basic shakes that you can't get in the States. This was our apricot and mango shake, with rosemary!

The evening was a bit of an adventure. We set out to eat dinner at a restaurant near our hotel named Factory, which was recommended by Lonely Planet. Turns out that you cannot completely trust a four-year old tour book, because Factory no longer existed. The doorman outside the industrial-looking complex where Factory should have been assured us, however, that there was a very good restaurant on the third floor that we should try. He was right.

From the gleaming glass and fire entrance, we were concerned that we had stumbled upon some place way outside our price range. But, while several items on the menu were priced from Y400-500, we found a number of reasonably priced cold and vegetarian dishes. We managed to cobble together a very tasty meal for Y121 (approx. $20 for three people . . . not bad at all).

We made a mad dash for the last cruise along the Huangpu River, which offered amazing views of both the sparkling modernity of the Pudong district and the elegant history of the Bund.

After dropping Mom back at the hotel, my sister and I attempted to get a drink at the bar atop the tallest building in Shanghai. Alas, it closed with the entire building at 11pm, a strange practice for a bar. But we managed to snap some neat pictures of the gorgeous building. You can't tell from this profile shot, but the building is shaped like a bottle opener, with observation decks lining the top and bottom of the opener.