We love Shanghai!

We got to Shanghai a day late because we were fogged in at Yichang, the terminus of the river cruise, and could not fly out as scheduled.  Here it must be said that the airport treated the people well--they gave out hot dinner boxes and then finally, when the flight was canceled, put everyone up in a hotel. Much better than the treatment you get in the US! Yichang is a small city (1.5 million, tiny by China standards) with little besides the dam and some chemical and fertilizer factories.  The hotel where they put us overnight, Hongqiao (red bridge), English name "Holiday Inn" (not a real one) was clean enough.  Guest room had book with house rules, including one that said no drunkenness, fighting, gambling or whoring -- existence of said rule suggesting that all these activities are common.

Anyway we still had three days in Shanghai.   SH is like NYC --on steroids.  We had a great time, finding little restaurants in the side streets off Nanjing Rd. East, walking the Bund, etc. We were especially charmed by the people who come out at night to dance and sing in the Nanjing Rd. pedestrian mall.  It's like Times Square but it is also a public space for local  people. We saw line dancing, a big sing-along, and ballroom dancing.  We joined in the line dancing for a bit, but could not follow.

view from hotel room

Pudong, China's shrine to capitalism.

 Went to Xiao Yang's on Huanghe Rd. (off Nanjing Rd. W, just north of People's Square) for the famous shengjianbao -- pork dumplings steamed then bottom fried.  Pretty good, though I have to say they were not as good as the ones at the No. 7 stand on Roosevelt Rd. in Taipei.

Shanghai museum:  square= earth, round=heavens

from 65th floor bar of our hotel

Nanjing Rd East at night

Line dancing on Nanjing Rd East, next to our hotel

The sing-along had about 50-60 people; plus another 20-30 onlookers.  The words were on a big poster board, and there were musicians and an awesome conductor.

We went to Yuyuan in the rain; had drinks at the Long Bar in the Waldorf, formally the Shanghai Club (which was cool though I have mixed feelings about the whole colonial club thing),  and dinner  at Mercato, the new Jean-Georges restaurant at Three on the Bund. Excellent pizza (sausage, kale and pecorino), grilled octopus, and lobster ravioli. Had a great view of the Bund and the party cruise boats on the Huangpu.

Yuyuan

Long Bar

View the Huangpu from Mercato

On our last day, a visit to Din Tai Fung for xiaolungbao, which has several branches in SH.  In fact DTF has grown into an empire, with over 20 branches in Taiwan, HK, China, Singapore, Seoul. (also LA and Seattle--when is NYC going to get one??)  We went to the one in Xintiandi and didn't even have to wait for a table.  Pork and pork/crab xiaolungbao--heavenly.