… China’s financial capital and an immense and modern city of 13 million. We began the day with a thrill ride on the city’s Maglev train, short for magnetic levitation. Using no wheels or tracks, the train floats on an electromagnetic cushion, traveling at high speed along a guided path. Built at a cost of more than US$1.0 billion with cutting edge European technology, the train can travel at 267 mph – the highest speed for any ground transportation in the world. The 20-mile ride from the Pudong district to the airport takes only 8 minutes! It was spectacular to watch the speedometer in the train car go from 0 to 258 mph! The train only stays at top speed for about a minute before beginning its deceleration to pull into the station. On the left, looking toward the arriving train; right, the end of the line! Other photos show the interior of our car and the front of the bullet train.
After our return ride on the Maglev train, we visited the Jinmao Grand Hyatt skyscraper in the Pudong New District. All of the many skyscrapers located there were built in the last ten years, on what was farmland. Like so much of China, every building looks brand new – and it is! We rode an elevator to the 88th floor observation deck for 360 degree views of the city – and a view down inside the center courtyard – this IS a Hyatt hotel – on steroids! Part of our group was lost for a half hour – they followed the wrong corridor leaving the elevator and came up inside a different building. All these buildings are connected by tunnels. The intrepid among us could walk (tethered) outside on a ledge, and lean back over the side of the building. We watched …
After a quick lunch on board, we rode the ship’s shuttlebus to a park with a large statue of Chairman Mao – and a very creative and lovely flower wall. Potted pansies are arranged in a special trellis to create this effect. Our goal was to shop on Nanjing Street. However, it was extremely crowded, many shops were high end American and European designer stores, prices in the other stores were mostly not posted, and it was all a bit of a hustle. So we turned down another road for the walk back to the shuttle, when we saw people dressing in the street. It turned out to be a fashion photo shoot of some kind, with 5 or 6 photographers working with models who were donning outfits out of car trunks and suitcases.
After a quick rest on the ship, we headed out again, this time to the Chinese Acrobat Show at Shanghai Centre, a large performance venue. The 90-minute show featured some of the best acrobats in China (or so they said), doing incredible stunts. The acts were not at all what we were expecting – contortionists, jugglers (7 balls!), and an act which required the troupe to toss large flower pots into the air and catch them behind their heads, or balance them on edge on the top of their heads. (Sorry, the photo is not very good.) There was a very engaging act in which a group of 9 jugglers swapped hats repeatedly and frantically, while balancing on each other’s shoulders, etc. A wonderful show!
Back on the ship, we were treated to the light show that is the city’s skyline.
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