Travel Log: Shanghai in October

Hello and happy Friday!  My week passed quickly as I caught up from being out of town for three weeks.  My trips were a mixture of work and play, but today I want to share with you some photos from the work portion in Shanghai.  The last time I visited Shanghai in June, the air quality was terrible and a constant haze blocked the sunlight from ever hitting the ground.  You can check out the photos here: Traveling the World: Shanghai.  This time, however, was the complete opposite!  I landed in Shanghai a few days after Typhoon Fitow passed through with heavy rain and flooding.  The rain and wind cleared the air, and I was lucky enough to enjoy clear blue skies and 75 to 80 degree temperatures!  Check out some photos below from my weekend, where I had some time away from the office to sightsee and shop.

This first photo is the iconic Shanghai Pudong skyline from the Bund promenade.  There isn't a cloud in the sky!

I had the chance to visit Xintiandi on Saturday morning.  Xintiandi is a neighborhood in Shanghai made up of narrow pedestrian alleys, shops, and restaurants.  It's a fun area to wander in and out of shops, as well one of the popular places to hang out at night.

Another view of one of the alleys in Xintiandi.  The narrow alleys make it feel like you are in a maze!

This view is looking back at some of the old European buildings from the Bund Promenade.  Notice how every one has a Chinese flag at the top!

Here is another view of the promenade.  This photo reallly shows how wide it is - it's perfect for strolling on a nice day.  There are even vendors selling snacks and drinks if you get hungry or thirsty along the way.  This photo also shows the HSBC building (to the left of the clock tower), the Shanghai customs house with the clock tower, and the Bund Financial Center (the building behind the clock tower that looks like it has a crown on top).

 Another photo of the Pudong side across the Huangpu river.  You can see the Pearl Tower and the World Financial Center (the building on the right that looks like a bottle opener).  The World Financial Center was the tallest building in China until the Shanghai Tower to its right (still under construction) crept higher.  Upon completion next year, the Shanghai Tower will have 121 stories and a dizzying view, I'm sure.

I also had a chance to visit the Shanghai Museum during the weekend.  The building has a symbolic design, with the round top representing heaven and the square bottom representing earth.  I thoroughly enjoyed browsing the museum's eleven permanent galleries with priceless jade, wood furniture, ceramics, paintings, bronze sculptures, coins, and more.  The museum is large enough to spend a couple of hours working your way through its four floors of galleries, but not so big as to be overwhelming.  One of the most interesting facts that I learned was related to the coin gallery.  I was amazed at how many rooms of coins were present, but then I learned that every time China changed rulers (even within dynasties), new coins were made.  I think coin-making would have been a secure job in ancient China!

Here you can see the lions outside of the museum entrance.  Each lion represents a different dynasty, so each has a very different look according to the sculpture style of that dynasty.

More lions on the opposite site of the entrance.

Finally, I leave you with this gorgeous nighttime skyline view from Mercato.  Mercato is a fairly new Italian restaurant by famous French chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten located at Three on the Bund, and I had the opportunity to dine here my last evening in Shanghai.  The sky was still very clear, and when I saw the boat cruise all lit up heading down the river I just had to snap a photo.

I hope you enjoyed this set of photos from my trip, and if you are considering visiting Shanghai I highly recommend October!  I was told that autumn is short but lovely in this city, and I was so happy to have the opportunity to do a little sightseeing outside of work to enjoy the beautiful weather.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for reading!