Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

I went all over Shanghai today. To the older neighborhoods, where legions of traditional Sino-fied shops sell antiques, cheap trinkets, and dumpling with straws in them, and to a dynastic garden dried still by the cold weather. I saw the city's skyline still smoky from the ashen air, and then envied a group of foreigners eating a fresh cheese pizza, where soon after I had a diminutive cup of tea that cost $3. I rode the escalator up seven stories, in perhaps Shanghai's largest book store, only to see a small section of English books the size of my apartment. Later I sat hungry, watching a roasted Peking duck sliced and carved in front of me.

Then we went to the Bund, a scenic spot in the city.

The pictures tell all. Shanghai has a river flowing through it. On one side, where I stood and walked, there were old buildings that looked like they belonged to the English Parliament or a Mary Poppins movie. On the other side, is Pu Dong, where many of the new skyscrapers in the city are being built. The so-called futuristic slideshow I saw on Chinese TV was shot there. One building looks like a rocket ship. Another is giant bottle-opener. Then there's one that looks like a glass pagoda. Whatever side I looked at, I thought it was spectacular. The old and the new. Yet all very foreign and modern looking.

I continue to see more foreigners than I ever have in China. Tonight I was even asked by a Chinese woman, and I think two Middle Eastern men to take a picture for them. I replied in English, feeling this was a bit awkward. They were probably surprised I spoke English.