Intro to Modern Shanghai

One of the best things about going on my AIESEC traineeship was being able to live in one of the world’s largest cities: Shanghai, China’s largest and probably most developed city. With a population of over 19 millions, the metropolis spreads on both sides of the Huagpu river and is probably one of the most fascinating and diverse places I have been to so far.

Shanghai is definitely much more developed that I thought it would be: supertall skyscrapers, brand new subway system, elevated highways, five star hotels and restaurants, gigantic malls, as well as a magnificent light shows during nighttime.



Probably the most representative image of Shanghai is the view of Pudong at night -- the new financial district situated on the eastern part of the river. Thousands of tourists gather every evening on the Bund to take pictures of the skyline of the financial district. The one time that I visited the Bund was the Chinese Valentine’s Day, which meant that the place was overly crowded with not only the regular tourists, but also those in search of a memorable picture together with their loved ones. To get to the Bund, one has to walk down the most famous shopping street – Nanjing Road, which, at 7pm on August 16th was the most crowded place I’ve ever see (maybe except for China’s Pavilion at the Expo).





But it doesn’t have to be Valentine’s for people to be out on the Bund taking crazy pictures. When visiting the Shanghai World Financial Center (492m – world’s thirds tallest building), from the very top we could see the camera flashes from the other side of the river. But I don’t blame them, the view is amazing: SWFC, the Jin Mao Tower (421m, world’s 10th tallest building), the colorful Oriental Pearl Tower, all bathed in colorful lights.

The view from the top floors of these high-rise buildings is also impressive. One of my favorite things I did in China was to watch the city lights turn on at 7pm from the top of the SWFC. You are so high up that you cannot see the people on the streets, but merely a compact shadow that crosses on green.






Seeing the city from above is also spectacular during the daytime. The Oriental Pearl Tower offers a great view of Shanghai and also the possibility to walk on a glass screen, having the whole world not at, but under your feet.






The whole downtown area is full of high rise buildings and modern structures, but one that I particularly liked was the Science and Technology Museum. It’s a huge new construction, hosting the most diverse exhibitions, as well as an IMAX theatre. Also, very conveniently, inside the metro station by the museum there is one of the most popular shopping areas for tourists -- Yatai Xinyang Fashion and Gift Market. This is the place where tourists come for the famous fake items; anything from fake Louis Vuitton bags, Armani suits, to fake pearls and iPhones you can find it there. And you can bargain as much as you want for anything…



Although to these places you can add many more other modern touristic areas worth seeing, I definitely enjoyed much more discovering the less developed parts of town, those that are still keep a Chinese spirit, the places where the locals seem like they feel more at home.