Shanghai June 2004, TV-Anytime Forum

My first visit to Shanghai, was as a delegate at a TV-Anytime Forum conference. Luckily, I had a few days to wander round the city....it's a truly amazing place, lots of colour, sounds, smells (some not so wonderful!!), friendly people, and full of culture and history!!

Shanghai, is also one of those cities where, the seemingly very rich live alongside the seemingly very poor, with ease. Everyone is friendly, and even when I got lost in the backstreets of the old town, I still felt very safe.

Well, enjoy the pictures, If you want copies of the pics, or would like some info on any of them, e-mail me.

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The Pearl TV Tower....looks great.....but, if it's hazey, and it almost always is, probably not worth the money to go up it. There is a fascinating museum of recent Shanghai history in the base that is worth the visit though!
A couple of items in the Shanghai museum, I really didn't know Chinese culture was so old, some stuff here is c31st BC
The front of the Shanghai Museum, I have a feeling there's some significance to its shape, couldn't tell you what though!
Some of the old architecture has been renovated, as is being preserved as tourist shops and markets
Mmmmmm....lunch!
And you shouldn't forget, Shanghai is a working port
The old gent himself
and our hotel....very nice, in an oldy worldy sort of way. It was built as an add-on to the French Club, called the Garden Hotel, it has quite an intersting history itself......there are some friezes of naked women on top of the pillars in the Grand Ballroom, that were hidden behind wooden panels for years during the cultural revolution.
Here's a selection of the ladies and gents of the TV-Anytime Forum, waiting for the Chinese acrobatic show to start. A big thankyou to Philips for stumping up for the tickets!!
And here is a selction of those acrobats, quite a show.
No vist to Shanghai would be complete without a trip on the world's fastest train, the 430Kmh Maglev from Shanghai to Pudong International Airport. A round trip cost a few quid, and provides 16 minutes of anorak heaven!
Spot the rickshaws in the bottom right, it really is a city with a huge range of technologies and living standards. It's worth pointing out, that unlike many places where you see rickshaws, these are for everyday work, not for fleecing tourists for tourist trips.
Bikes are everywhere, it made the dutch in our party feel very at home :-)
This was taken from the top of our hotel, and shows the mixture of old and new.
This, obviously, is the old.......there's quite a subculture in building attic rooms, I wonder if they need planning permission?
And here's the local equivalent of the AA. A new wheel on my wagon please!
That's bamboo they're using for scaffolding
MMMMMmmmm...more lunch....actually, we figured these were some sort of Chinese remedy, but quite honestly, we were too scared to ask ;-). Thanks to Chris Hibbert for pointing me in the direction of this delightful shop.
At night, the character of Shanhai changes, it may not quite be a 24hr city, but when the lights come on, it is a very impressive sight.
Well, I hope you enjoyed the brief tour, I certainly enjoyed my time there, and would reccomend a trip to anyone.

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