China Day 1 & 2: Shanghai

We've been spending some time with parents in Shanghai.. The theme of my dad's place is fake Greek pantheon, with classical statuary amid well-tended gardens. We've had a lot of excellent food, courtesy of my parents, and have been enjoying the amenities of my father's apartment.

We've already stopped at one knockoff mall, and I wouldn't be surprised if there were more in our future.

There's something semi-romantic about Shanghai; walking through certain parts, if you squint, the city vaguely resembles an old European capital. But Paris doesn't have skyscrapers on the skyline that flash pictures of kittens.

We started today walking through the shopping areas of Shanghai, and ended up in the Bund, the old European section of the city. The architecture is beautiful in the context of obscenely rich people from the twenties with bad taste. That being said, stepping into one of the old buildings gives you a sense of Shanghai during the twenties.

We strolled down the promenade along the Huangpu river, which offered more great views of the city, to the Bund Sightseeing tunnel, which is notable in the sense that it is COMPLETELY INSANE. You get into a slow moving tram, and are transported through a tunnel in which you are blasted with flashing neon and strobe lights, while a soothing Chinese female voice says things like, "Welcome to hell. Welcome to magma."

The Pudong area of town is notable in that it didn't exist ten years ago. Now it's skyscraper central for the town, and is home to what may or may not be the tallest skyscraper in the world, depending on whether you count antennas as part of a building's height. We visited the aquarium in Pudong, where we wandered through glass tunnels looking at sawfish, sharks, and seals; I also happened to meet my old friends from South America, the Magellan penguins.

We hit the elegant piano bar on the 53rd floor of the Grand Hyatt at the Jin Mao tower, which is a great view of the city, and an infinitely superior way to view the skyline versus the Pearl TV tower. We had drinks and honey-coated walnuts seasoned with sesame.

Then it was off to find the best xiaolong bao in the city. We walked back through the Bund, and found what might very well be the filthiest restaurant I've ever visited in my life. (And once I found a dead mouse under the tablecloth at a restaurant in Prague.) Some nervous discussion about food poisoning ensued, as well as some speculation regarding the rating the Los Angeles Health Inspector would give the place. But then the food arrived. Xiaolong Bao are dumplings stuffed with pork, and a health amount of broth. And they were quite good - sweeter than I've usually had, which may be the Shanghai style. I had some difficulty with the chopsticks,though; the trick to eating the dumplings is to nibble a little bit off the top, then suck the broth out, then stuff the whole thing in your mouth - all without breaking the dumpling. They were quite good, but we'll see if my stomach agrees with me.