Our First Time in Red China

China. 

 It was a little strange to be in China.  I've read about China and studied Chinese history, but to actually be there was such a different story.  This was my first time in a Communist country and it was nothing like I expected.  Shanghai was a beautiful, clean, modern city full of life and commerce.    

Our trip to Shanghai was a bonus -- kind of like when you buy a gallon of milk at the store and find out it comes with a free box of cereal.  That's how our trip to Shanghai was for us.  We were planning our vacation to Siem Reap, Cambodia when we realized we had to layover in Shanghai.  We could either choose a short 2-3 hour layover, OR we could schedule a 24 hour one and actually do something.  That was a no-brainer for us!  Shanghai is one of those cities I wouldn't choose to visit when there are so many other places in Asia to go, but since we were flying through anyway, we figured a 24 hour layover would give us just enough time to get a taste of the city.  With a detailed sightseeing agenda in hand, along with city and subway maps downloaded to our phones, we were ready for a whirlwind tour of Shanghai.

We arrived in Shanghai pretty late at night.  We hopped on the subway from the airport.   Here's Emma on the subway.  Notice the man behind her staring.  I think Emma drew even more attention there than she does in Korea.

We had one transfer to make to get to the subway stop that was closest to our hotel. When we tried to make the transfer,though, we found out that subway line closes at 10:30pm.  It was almost 11:00pm by that time.  Ugh!  We broke out our maps, found out where we were, and decided it didn't look too far to walk.  The kids were good sports about it!

Here's Emma pulling her suitcase.  It was actually very interesting walking around the streets of Shanghai.  We saw some amazing sights.  My favorite was the bicycle garbage men.  These garbage men ride around on bicycles and collect the trash.  We saw one bicycle that reminded us of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas after he loaded his sled with all the toys.  That was how high the garbage bags were piled.  I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  I have no idea how he had the strength to peddle that bike, or the balance to keep it stable.  I tried to get the camera out for a picture but couldn't get to it quick enough.  It was beyond impressive.

By the time we hit the hotel, the kids were done for.  Ryan almost fell asleep while we were checking in.

We snuggled into bed for a very short amount of time, and were up early the next day for a fun day in Shanghai. 

Our first stop was the bottle opener.

The real name of the building is actually the Shanghai World Financial Center.  It's the building with the big hole at the top.  The one that looks just like a bottle opener.  The top of the hole in the building was where we were headed.  The tallest observation deck in the world is located there.  

Unfortunately the view from the top was a little disappointing.  The day we were there was completely hazy.  From what I understand, though, this isn't uncommon.  Most days in Shanghai are hazy.  It was still fun, though, to look down through the glass bottom floor all the way to the street below.

Emma didn't think so though.  You see me holding her here.  It was because she was absolutely terrified of the glass bottom.  She was in tears at one point.  Poor girl.  At least she looks happy in this picture.  

After a while she worked up enough courage to take this pictures.  Notice, though, her feet are on the supports between the glass.  :) 

The rest of us had fun taking ridiculous pictures on the glass bottom floor.

 Here we are falling out of the tower

I actually enjoyed the bottle opener more than I thought I would.  The elevator was fast too.  Ryan said to me, "Mom, we went up 100 stories faster than we go up our 5 floors in our apartment building at home."  We all laughed because it was definitely true.  We need this elevator at home.

From here we headed back to the subway.  One of my favorite parts of Shanghai, though, was simply walking between each activity.  The city really is beautiful.  

We actually ran across another bicycle trash man.  This one wasn't nearly as impressive as the guy we saw the night before.  

Finally we made it to The Bund -- the next stop on our 24 hour Shanghai tour.  The Bund was beautiful.  Traditionally this was the major financial center of China.  Because most of Europe had banks in this area, it had a very western feel.  

My favorite part, though, was the contrast between old and new.  One side of the river houses all of the old buildings from the early 1900s like you see above.  The other side (below) contains all the modern buildings from today.  

This picture reminded me of the view of Manhattan from Staten Island.  The skyline was very unique.  We actually found out the other night when we were at our friend Kiho's mom's house for dinner, that his niece is one of the architects working on the building to the right of bottle opener.  It is going to be the tallest building in China.  Kind of fun.

We left the Bund and caught another subway headed to the French Quarter of Shanghai.  Getting off the subway here, I definitely didn't feel like I was in China anymore.  

For lunch we had to have xiaolongbao (soup dumplings).  Apparently these are to Shanghai what chicken wings are to Buffalo.  They are what Shanghai is known for.  I had done a little research on where to find the best ones, and apparently, a lot of other people had done the same research.  The wait was over an hour to sit down at the restaurant.

We decided to get our xiaolongbao to go, and walked over to a local park to eat them.  

And just in case you read the name of the park phonetically, it's pronounced Foo Shing Park.  :)

The park was beautiful.  Truly Asian.

 There were several older men and woman playing different games around the park.

We found a nice, quiet place to eat our soup dumplings.  Here they are:  little pastries of yummy goodness.  They have your normal meat filling, but what makes them different is that they are also filled with delicious soup.  It's like an entire meal wrapped in dough and steamed to perfection.  

This is how we all felt when they were gone.

Seriously, these were some of the best things I've eaten in Asia.  

After lunch, we enjoyed the park a little more before we had to go back to the hotel, pick up our luggage, and start making our way to the airport.

 This was the rose garden at one end of the park. 

Our final adventure was to the airport on the Maglev.  

  My father is a huge train buff.  I grew up watching and helping him building model railroads.  Somewhere along the way his love grew in me.  I remember as a kid my father telling me about trains being developed that could levitate using magnets.  It seemed so futuristic.  And now...here we were getting ready to ride on one.  My only regret was that my father wasn't with me.  He would have loved it.

While we were waiting we made friends with a Chinese family who spoke English.  They were super fun to talk to.

After we boarded the train, they came and found us in our seats.  They gave the kids some miniature doughnuts.  The kids loved it!

Here we are getting ready to move.

 The train maxed out at 301kmh (187mph).  The thing I liked best, though, was how smooth the ride was. 

  Riding the Maglev was a childhood dream fulfilled.

From here we boarded the airplane headed to Cambodia.  Our 24 hours in Shanghai were over.  We were exhausted, but ready for the next adventure.

Thank goodness we didn't get Shanghaied.