The Life Aquatic with Princess Nami

This dangerous looking contraption is firing what are known as Xiābǐng 虾饼, a kind of shrimp pastry. The machine is noisy, and you probably wouldn't want to put your hand in there while it's operating, but my daughter assured me that xiabing are pretty tasty. We saw this thing in the snack area on the first floor of the Shàng​hǎi Ocean Aquarium 上海海洋水族馆, located in Shanghai's futuristic-looking Pǔ​dōng 浦东 area, and which Amber and I visited on this cloudy, partly drizzly and cooler-than-usual Saturday. As aquatic zoos go, Shanghai's is smaller than most others I've visited over the years and could probably be safely skipped if you are sans children, but my energetic youngster certainly enjoyed it, especially the several viewing tunnels, and gave it an enthusiastic thumbs-up. Just be sure to eat outside, where the options are more numerous and presumably more delicious.

She who smiles at the sight of sharks is definitely a chip off the old block

The aquarium is organized into nine different thematic zones, such as "Africa", "Cold Water" and "Sea & Shore". The route inside starts with the "China Zone", and displays endangered native aquatic animals such as the Chinese giant salamander and the Chinese alligator.

As the evidence above indicates, the aquarium is popular with families and young couples. This being China, where you have great numbers of people pursuing a finite number of choices or options, a lot of pushing to get in front was the result, but neither Amber nor I minded much. My daughter, in fact, quickly learned to use her agility and small size to her advantage when it came to seizing prime viewing spots.

Descending deeper into the depths...

It wasn't all fish at the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium, as the above pictures show. Feeding time for the penguins proved to be very popular with the visitors. In China, that is not necessarily such a good thing. 

Amber was fascinated with the jellyfish tanks. She took several photos, including this one. You can see more examples of her work at her own photo blog, Amber's Photo Journal. 

More viewing tunnels, including one full of sharks and all connected by the world's slowest "moving sidewalk". 

"Moving" through the shark zone. If you're wondering what Amber is going on about in this clip, let's just say she was taking the concept of a "school of fish" very literally. 

Feeding time was a particularly exciting moment for my daughter. The diver in the fish tank merely opened a bag of food as the fish swam by, though at one point he had to fend off a hungry sea turtle with his feet, much to the (mild) consternation of the onlookers. The (presumably) same diver naturally had to be more cautious in the shark tank, where he held out a pole with skewered fish at the opposite end, letting the sharks and rays bite off what they wanted from a (hopefully) safe distance. 

Amber strikes a pose with "Fluffy", which we bought in the souvenir shop strategically placed (as they always are) immediately outside the aquarium's exit. You can make out the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium in the photo above as the as the triangular-shaped white building to the right of my daughter. The ridiculous Oriental Pearl Tower  东方明珠广播电视塔 we left for another day - preferably one in which the skies would be much clearer than they were this afternoon.

Speaking of things ridiculous, we had the dubious "pleasure" of crossing the Huáng​pǔ River 黄浦江 on Shanghai's ludicrous attempt to cash in on the publicity generated by the giant inflatable rubber duck that garnered so much attention when it floated in Hong Kong's harbor a few months ago. Only Shanghai's version is more disturbing at it appears to resemble a dead duck, the kind you would find on the dinner table at a Chinese banquet, perhaps. It's also cheaply made, as closer inspection revealed that the "artwork" was nothing more than old newspapers plastered on the sides of the ferry and coated with a brown paste of some kind. The local blogosphere has been scathing in its criticism.

Back on the Bund 外滩 at the end of the day

Labor Day

It's Labor Day today, a Federal holiday back in the States and a day off as well for those us working at the U.S. Consulate in Shàng​hǎi 上海 (one of the perks in this line of work is the observance of both American and local public holidays). Unfortunately, my daughter still had to attend school and my wife wasn't feeling very well, so I had the morning and afternoon all to myself. So I began this day of rest by taking the Metro to Nán​jīng East Road station 南京东路站, and from there walking over to the city's most well-known area, the Bund 外滩. The warm weather and clear skies made for some nice views looking across the Huáng​pǔ River 黄浦江 toward the Pǔ​dōng 浦东 district:

Pudong was where I was headed today. There are several ways to get there, such as by ferry or subway, but I chose the strangest route: the Bund Tourist Tunnel 外滩观光隧道. For the rather steep one-way fare of 50 RMB ($8.20), you step into what can only be described as a capsule that whisks you under the river to the Pudong side. But there's more to it than just that. You are taken through a psychedelic light show that can probably only be truly appreciated with the help of LSD, while announcements in Chinese and English intone such mind-blowing concepts as "Heaven and Punishment" and "Magma". During the two minutes or so I was in the tunnel, I was reminded of the trip Dr. David Bowman took at the end of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The video and pictures posted below can't begin to convey the utter bizarreness of it all:

It was with some relief that I exited the Bund Tourist Tunnel. The whole experience is such an exercise in kitsch (there's even a Believe It Or Not museum on the Pudong side) that I was glad to get back to reality. Reality in Pudong means the Oriental Pearl Tower 东方明珠广播电视塔, which dominates the skyline: 

It's an eyesore, but an impressive one at 1499 feet (457 meters), and it isn't even the tallest building in Pudong. That honor belongs to still-unfinished Shanghai Tower, which will stand 2073 feet (632 meters) high when finished next year and is already the world's second-tallest:

My purpose for coming to Pudong was not to go to the top of the Oriental Pearl Tower, but to visit a museum that would not be suitable for those under the age of 18. In other words, I wanted to take advantage of having a day off while my daughter was at school to check out the China Sex Culture Exhibition. However, I was to be denied the opportunity to see such items as the "saddle with a wooden stump for punishing adulterous women", according to my copy of The Rough Guide to Shanghai. The museum was not where my guidebook said it would be, i.e. close to the exit from the tourist tunnel. I searched in vain, but couldn't find it anywhere, and it wasn't listed on any of the area maps. Actually, I wasn't surprised, as the fact the museum wasn't mentioned in Lonely Planet's Shanghai guide (a more recent edition than the Rough Guide book) led me to suspect that it had either closed up shop or moved to a more discreet location. In any event, I was too shy to ask anybody for directions. 

Fortunately, though, one museum was where the guidebooks said it would be, at the base of the Oriental Pearl Tower. The Shanghai History Museum 上海城市历史发展馆 turned out to be very interesting, and worth the 35 RMB ($5.70) admission fee. There were displays on transportation, such as this model of a public bus from the 1930's...:

...as well as more traditional modes of getting around, such as sedan chairs and wheelbarrows:

Dioramas abounded,  such as this one of a pharmacy...:

...and this one of a teahouse, which didn't have very many customers...:

... probably because most of the townsfolk were at another teahouse, watching a performance of Chinese opera:

There were also depictions of typical street scenes...:

...and a few mementos from the days of the International Settlement, like these boundary markers:

...and this bronze lion, which once stood guard in front of the old HSBC building on the Bund:

All told, the history museum was very informative, well-captioned in English and would be an entertaining place to bring the kids to see.

Leaving the Shanghai of the 1930's, it was time to re-emerge into the 21st century:

I spent the remainder of the afternoon strolling along the riverside promenade Bīn​jiāng Dà​dào  滨江大道. The buildings of the Bund were visible this time on the other side of Huangpu, including (going from left to right in the photo below) the Fairmont Peace Hotel 和平饭店, the Bank of China and the Industrial & Commercial Bank of China:

At one point, the promenade provided an unexpected sight in the form of a small marsh with wading birds looking for food in the none-too-clean river water:

I continued along Binjiang Dadao, stopping for a raspberry tea break at Starbucks and looking at more of the buildings along the Bund. In the photo below, the building on the right is the old Customs House 上海海关, completed in 1927 and which has a chiming bell tower. Next door on the left is the original Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank headquarters, in front of which stood the bronze lion seen earlier in the history museum:

Time for a self-portrait:

Eventually I arrived at the ferry dock, where for a mere 2 RMB (30¢), I bought a ticket and boarded a ferry for the short trip across the river back to the Pǔ​xī 浦西 side. Pulling out into the Huangpu, we had a clear view of the Shanghai Tower:

The view from the stern:

Looking back at the Pudong side as we got closer to Puxi:

The view from the bow:

The Bund welcomed us as the ferry pulled up to the dock:

Looking back at the ferry after getting off at Puxi:

While it would've been nice to have had the family along today, at least I didn't have to listen to anyone complaining about having to actually use their legs for the purpose of locomotion. It's been a relaxing three-day weekend, but work beckons tomorrow. From Wednesday of next week, however, I'll be on holiday for two weeks in Japan and Taiwan. In the meantime, there are a few more attractions in Pudong that might be worth further exploration...

Socialism with Chinese Characteristics on parade

Just another building along Nanjing West Road 

I dragged my eager daughter and less-than-impressed wife today on a walk along Shàng​hǎi's 上海 Nán​jīng West Road 南京西路, the area where my workplace is located, and where the city's nouveau riche (which basically means almost everybody who has been doing business here since 1990) go to see and be seen. We started out around noon on the coolest day by far since we've been in Shanghai by exiting the People's Square Metro station 人民广场站 and looking for somewhere to have lunch. I'd hoped to introduce Pamela to a restaurant called Yīchá Yīzuò 一茶一坐 that served Taiwanese-style dishes, but as soon as she discovered there was a branch of the Taiwanese steak chain Tasty two floors higher, I knew I had lost the lunch battle (so much for saving money).

Several hundred kuài 块 lighter and several pounds heavier, we began our walk along Nanjing West Road. Between People's Square and Jìng'ān Temple Metro stations 静安寺站 there is little of interest for the sightseer, but plenty to get the shopper salivating. And what better place to engage in some Chinese-style  retail therapy than by visiting this place:

Han City Fashion & Accessories Plaza is four floors of violations of intellectual property rights. Bags, clothes, electronics, shoes and watches can all be had there, and not a single item is the real thing. Walking through the narrow corridors on each floor meant running a gauntlet of fake goods hawkers tossing out the only English words they knew - "Armani", "watches", "Lacoste", "luggage", "Ralph Lauren", "souvenirs", "Hello Kitty", "jerseys" and so on. 

I wanted to document the whole experience on film and in pictures, but I got the feeling the vendors would not have appreciated my need to record all of this. The best I could do was this pic of Amber standing next to some colorful lights moving around on the wall, and in the background you can see the shop workers eying us warily. It was time to move on, especially as my wife didn't particularly like seeing this side of China's economy (she couldn't understand, either, why there were so many foreign shoppers there).

As we continued westward along Nanjing Road, things became progressively more upscale, and we soon encountered a series of shopping malls. First up was the Westgate Mall 梅龙镇广场:

Like all the shopping centers along Nanjing West Road, the Westgate isn't exactly a "mall" in the American sense of the term - Chinese malls in this part of town are dominated by luxury brand names such as Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton. And while the adjoining Isetan Department Store 伊勢丹 was filled with Saturday afternoon shoppers, the stores in the mall itself were largely devoid of customers. This is a scene replicated in virtually all of China's high-end shopping plazas - outlets for name-brand goods where the staff outnumber the shoppers. It seems the more well-off among the population save their rénmínbì 人民币 for shopping vacations overseas (welcome to America!), while the less well-heeled bargain hard for the fakes at places like the above-mentioned Han City.

The benefit of there being an Isetan at Westgate meant there was a decent food court in the basement, ideal for sitting down for a spell while enjoying that special sugar rush that only be brought on by a custard-filled taiyaki 鯛焼き.

The next mall along Nanjing Road was CITIC Square 中信泰富广场, smaller than Westgate but filled with the same sort of retail outlets...and the same lack of consumers.

Actually, that last statement should be qualified: there were plenty of people inside, but not many of them spent much time inside the stores, buying the merchandise. There were, however, plenty of security guards to keep the proletariat out (Nanjing Road has a surprising number of beggars and trinket sellers). China, in fact, has a disturbingly high number of private uniformed goons to keep an eye on things, which is why I ended up taking this picture of the inside of CITIC Square as surreptitiously as possible.

Amber poses in front of the next mall, Plaza 66 恒隆广场. More of the same...

Last up in the tetralogy of high-end commerce was Shanghai Centre 上海商城 and arguably the most interesting of the four. Inside there are cafes, restaurants, a five-star hotel, luxury apartments for expatriates, an imported foods supermarket and the Shanghai Centre Theatre, home to nightly acrobatics shows that sound like something worth seeing sometime in the near future. 

I can't speak for the rest of China's booming coastal cities, but in Shanghai, at least, there is no better place to witness China's abandonment of the Communist Party's core principles...er, I mean "socialism with Chinese characteristics" than the section of Nanjing West Road that the three of us walked along today. And yet just across the street from Shanghai Centre is a relic of that recent Marxist past holding its ground against the high-rises springing up all around it: the Shanghai Friendship Exhibition Hall 展览馆. It was built by the Russians in 1954 in glorious Stalinist architecture, and was originally called the Palace of Sino-Soviet Friendship. The building has managed to survive the Sino-Soviet split, the border conflict of 1969, the collapse of the Soviet Union and Dèng​ Xiǎo​píng's 邓小平 determination that getting rich was somehow the "glorious" way to bring about a worker's paradise, and is now used as a venue for trade shows, including a recently-held book fair.

It's hideous, monstrous and oppressive. And I wish Shanghai had more examples of structures like this one.

This heroic constructor of socialism looks out across a largely empty square to an elevated road clogged with BMW's and Mercedes', and high-rise apartment buildings and bank towers. What would Chairman Mao make of it all?

Red stars like the one in the picture above are in short supply in Shanghai. The East is red, but only because that's the color of the 100 RMB banknote.

The dusty and moldy rooms of the Friendship Exhibition Hall were largely empty today, much like the ideology underpinning the Chinese Communist Party's political legitimacy. 

Sunset over Shanghai, from the platform of the Zhōng​shān​ Park Metro station 中山公园站