The first night in Shanghai went really well and I slept like a baby. Since our morning was not starting until 10, I woke up early to get a workout in the nice fitness center as well as grab something to eat at the amazing complimentary breakfast area. Following the usual morning run through, I met up with Liliana, Gabi, and the others in order to get the day going. The first thing we did was get on the subway and head towards Tianzifang. Tianzifang is a market area in Shanghai which extends for a couple blocks and was one of my favorite parts of the trip so far. It is filled with local artisans as well as the normal souvenir shops and restaurants. We spent a solid 2 hours in the market area looking through shops and interacting with locals in the area. I loved seeing the stores that had the printed and hand painted fans the most because they were absolutely gorgeous.
Following a few hours of shopping, we then headed back to the subway to travel to the downtown Shanghai area. Once downtown, we were greeted by some of the largest skyscrapers I have ever seen. The buildings ascended far into the clouds and were absolutely breathtaking. It was amazing because we also learned that all of the downtown area had been built in the past 30 years and before that it was all rice farming. This was shocking because the city area stretched on forever and the amount of labor needed for such a rapid expansion was had to be absolutely insane. After walking through the city, we finally arrived at the Shanghai Tower: the tallest skyscraper in Asia. We then went through the museum located at the bottom to learn more about the historic building. I was shocked to find out that the Shanghai Tower, standing at 632 m, would tower way over the Empire State building which only stands at 381 m. The tower also twists as the building ascends up, with the twist totaling 120 degrees. We then took an elevator to the 118th floor at a wild 40 mph which caused my ears to pop the whole way up to the top. Once we reached the top the view was crazy! Although it was hard to see very far out into the distance, the view down was breathtaking. It was also really cool because all around the floor there were basketballs signed by Kobe Bryant, AI, Yao Ming, Steph Curry, and more which was awesome to see.
We soon made our way back down from the Shanghai Tower and experienced the excessive ear popping yet again. Next, we made our way to the Pearl Tower to meet up with the rest of the group. The pearl tower is the most recognizable building in all of Shanghai and the one you often see on souvenir models and plates even though it is much smaller than that of the surrounding skyscrapers. We then traveled inside to take a tour of the Shanghai history museum and learned all about the history of the city and how it has evolved into the financial capital it is today. There were numerous other groups inside the tower lobby and they were very excited to see foreigners in China especially a group of Monks who took pictures with some of the students on the trip for almost 5 minutes.
Following the tour, we then made our way to dinner where we had a typical large-scale Chinese dinner. The dinner was brief as everyone was excited to head over to the boat tour through the heart of Shanghai. Once we arrived, we all boarded on a boat, similar to the gateway clipper in Pittsburgh, and headed off on a cruise through the heart of Shanghai. The view was one of the most amazing we had seen on the whole trip and everyone aboard the boat crowded along the sides in order to take as many photos as they could of the bright and vibrant city. Just looking at the city you once again could tell the difference between Shanghai and Beijing as Shanghai resembles much more of an American city than Beijing which made me feel a little more at home. Although we just arrived, I already love Shanghai!