On Friday night the boys took me out to dinner and then up in the Pearl Tower. It's the 3rd largest tower in the world... but no longer the tallest structure in Shanghai. It is a bit of a cross between Brussel's iron atom and Toronto's Canadian National Tower. Those are my points of reference anyway.
These are the boys (from left to right): Hunter, Larry, myself, and Allen. They are all really nice guys. The picture reminds me that I'm going to need my beard trimmed soon. Since none of the barbers will speak English this might end up being my last picture with facial hair.
This is the Jinmao building, the tallest in Shanghai... but not for long. There is another one planned near it that will be taller. You can't tell from the picture, but it is a very pretty building. I might go to the restaurant on the top some time next week. Despite the fact the Jin means shiny and Mao is the country's ex-leader, the boys insist that the building's name does not mean Shiny Mao. I believe them.
From the Pearl Tower you could see the Bund and Nanjing road quite clearly. Unfortunately, my picture is anything but clear. Look closely and see that the foreground is filled with Western style buildings along the river. The brightest strip of neon lights in the center-right of the photo is Nanjing road right where near my hotel (and the Howard Johnson's!). I love the fact that I live right by the HoJo's.
This is a photo of Nanjing road from 100 years ago. The photo was taken standing just outside my hotel. Some of the buildings in the background are still there.
This is an old man drying fish. Yum! The museum in the basement had a bunch of dioramas of what life was like in the olden days. The dioramas started off life size, but as you progressed through the museum (which was quite large), all of the people began to shrink and the dioramas grew smaller. It seems that the life-size models were just too much work or the builders realized they were running out of room.
My intent was to pass the photos off as real people in shops, but you can pretty much tell the scenes are fake. Which surprised me because they looked much realer in person. These are some people shopping for cloth. The streets are still lined with tiny shops specializing in one type of good. On my walk to work I pass a small shop selling nothing but bolts, and another selling nothing but nuts. But no one wears the traditional dress, it's all parkas and other warm jackets. Oh, and one shop sells nothing but cooked duck heads. Yum.
This is me at the Great Wall. It was so big!
