Huan ying!

Over the Christmas and New Year break of 2009/10, I visited Shanghai (again), Ningbo and Hong Kong (again). I also spent two weeks in Taiwan. My first and only other visit to Taiwan was when I was eight years old. I'm sure Taiwan has completely transformed since then, and I don't remember much about that trip anyway, so this was like the first time.

Expo 2010 preview

16.12.2009 Shanghai 上海

Braving the cold and climbing the Lupu Bridge 盧浦大橋, one can enjoy a preview of the 2010 World Expo site as well as views over the Shanghai metropolis.

Vibrant Shanghai

Ever so lively and colourful, Christmas or not:
Raffles City 來褔士廣場

People's Square 人民廣場

Opposite CITIC Square 中興泰富廣場

Nanjing Road East 南京東路

All crab banquet

Steamed crab 大閘蟹 at Ling Long Ge 凌瀧閣 with Kevin and Peter.

I was a pepperoni pizza

A thoroughly bizarre experience of public bathing: nibbled by little fish, scrubbed down with salt, and scarred by vacuum cupping at Dalang Taosha 大浪淘沙.

Tales of the city

17.12.2009 Shanghai 上海

The Oriental Pearl Tower 東方明珠塔 in Pudong houses the Shanghai Urban History & Development Museum 上海城市歷史發展陳列館.

Taikang Road

Taikang Road 泰康路 is populated with funky shops, restaurants and bars.

Art appreciation

As everyone knows, contemporary Chinese art is all the rage. Moganshan Road 莫干山路 is one of Shanghai's art precincts where many art galleries and studios can be found.

Bright lights

Shanghai is so sparkly. On Huaihai Road C 淮海中路 and Xintiandi 新天地.



A coffee at Paul Patisserie.

The birth of communism

18.12.2009 Shanghai 上海

The site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China 中共一大會址, where 13 men met in 1921 to form the national communist party.

The Cool Docks

The Cool Docks 老碼頭 is a new development similar to Xintiandi, with shops, restaurants, cafés and nightclubs. It seems very quiet though, at least during the day.

1933

1933, a former British abattoir with art deco industrial architecture, has transformed into a very unusual retail and event venue.

SWFC

Waiting for Kevin to finish work opposite the Shanghai World Financial Center 上海環球金融中心.

A 1,300-year-old office in Ningbo

19.12.2009 Ningbo, Zhejiang 浙江 宁波
The ancient county government office 古縣衙 (Guxianya) in Cicheng 慈城 was in use from 738 to 1954.

City God Temple

The area around the City God Temple 城隍廟 has been set up as a DIY crafts attraction.

Baoguo Temple

Baoguo Temple 保國寺 dates back to the Eastern Han dynasty, with the oldest existing building dating back to 1013 (Northern Song dynasty).

An old library

Fan Qin 范欽 (1506-1585), the owner of the Tianyi Pavilion 天一閣, was a book lover who collected over 70,000 books and stored them here.