My first day in Shanghai starts at 8am with a massive buffet breakfast - but the day is dull, overcast, cold and there is a constant drizzle threatening to rain at a moments notice… So perfect weather for a walk around the downtown areas and along the Bund to get a feel for the central area of the city. Getting off the Metro at Nanjing Rd (East), is like stepping out into an American Street Mall, with a pedestrian area with small electric ‘trams’ sedately cruising for tourist customers (2y a ride) :) I resist the temptation to ride one of these delightful little vehicles with its cheery motifs and instead head for a street near the canal where I can get some great views of the cities sky scrapers - already they stamp their authority on the landscape with their towering edifices dwarfing the surrounding tower blocks… Walking around the streets away from the tourist hot spots you just begin to scratch at the real Shanghai with its industrious people and small businesses working hard along small, narrow streets with electrical cables hanging overhead - all within site of the high life of the cities heart. Stunning. A break is had at Costa’s before further exploration as I am damp and cold through within just 2 hours!!
Returning to the exploration of Shanghai I look for some kind of vantage point and soon sport the Radisson tower - hard to miss towering above all the other sky scrapers next door to the ‘World Centre’ shopping plaza. On entering the grand frontage you a presented with a huge area of marble and gold. Head for the elevators at the back of the lobby and take a ride to the 45th, yes 45th floor and be welcomed to the revolving restaurant/bar by impeccably dressed waiting staff. You do not need to eat here, but can enjoy (as I did) a glass of wine (80y/£8, worth it for the views alone - after all the entry fee to other landmark buildings is equal to the wine here and the view, from a higher vantage point, is free). Sit back and relax on a comfortable sofa while watching the world turn around you - A must do when in Shanghai :) While contemplating the near limitless extent of the cities high rise buildings you catch a glimpse of the 2-3 story housing trapped within its grasp and get s sense of what it must be like to live there in the shadow of giants with very high land values - tempted to sell? Hmm… Also as you look around it is clear that many of the waterfront property has been developed with an eye to individual designer flare and this grants Shanghai its unique character. Overall then, a beautiful city from the 45th floor, a successful architectural experiment and today shrouded in mist, cloaking some of its furthest reaches and leaving one mystified as to the extent of her urban embrace :) Wonderful.