China 2009
Shanghai
pop. 18 million

Photos by Ed Hedemann
(click on photo to enlarge)
Shanghai airport terminal swine flu video coming into Shanghai
Just arrived, bleary-eyed, after 13+
hour overnight flight from the U.S. 		Health video at the airport warning about swine flu Shanghai skyline upon arrival into the city
roofs modern Shanghai
Red and blue roofs are common; historically yellow roofs are imperial   Yangpu Bridge over the Huangpu River that cuts through Shanghai
Ruth and lion Pamela and Peter Ruth in straw hat
Ruth and the "lucky" lion in front of
12 the Bund, a 1923 neo-colonial building now the HSBC headquarters 		Pamela and Peter on
Nanjing Road, China's
busiest shopping street 		 
The Bund view from our hotel window
Colonial buildings (built from the 1910s to the 1930s) along the Bund on the bank of the Huangpu River New financial district across the Huangpu from the Bund View from our hotel window the morning before the eclipse when the weather was very promising.
Pearl Oriental TV tower
 at the base of the tower
Another view from our window Oriental Pearl TV tower At the base of the Oriental Pearl
in line to go up to the top river traffic
Long line to ride the elevators up the Oriental tower The view from atop the tower, once the tallest building in China, now eclipsed by several of its neighbors River traffic along the Huangpu
Ruth silhouette
Glass floor at the top of the tower    
Ruth in Shanghai traffic
Lunch stop at a tourist restaurant Bamboo scaffolding all over Shanghai Ruth trying to cross a Shanghai intersection
acrobats foreign stores the old city
Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe Haagen-Dazs and KFC are the tip of the U.S. imperialist iceberg: McDonalds, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, Dairy Queen, among others, abound Part of the restored Shanghai old city, which some tourists call "Chinatown"
     
dragon slayer man with pole
Dragon motif is everywhere in China Dragon slayer  
store selling all kinds of cakes cakes sign detail curious onlooker
Restaurant advertising its "cakes" Close up of the long storefront sign The oldest two of our group are a curiosity to a Shanghai local
Maglev station Maglev train top speed
Shanghai's Maglev is the world's only commercial magnetic leviation train The train takes about 7 min. to cover its 30 kilometer run. Its top speed is 431 km/hr (268 mi/hr) during this trip (see speed gage at upper left corner)
 
Pictured here are about half of the Astronomical Tours group with two of our Chinese guides.    
Zhujiajiao, 1700-year-old water town
  shopping . . . shopping . . . shopping