Shanghai

We touched down in Shanghai after an overnight flight from Phnom Penh, Cambodia in transit to Los Angeles….and eventually, back home. Our layover was eight hours and neither of us wanted to sit (or sleep) in the airport for that amount of time.
Luckily, China started issuing free 72 hour Visas for transient travelers a few years ago. We arrived at 6:00 a.m. and hoped to board the fast Maglev train to New Pudong.

 The first train, however, wasn't until 7:00 a.m. and since we cleared immigration so quickly, we waited in the cold train station shivering at the difference in temperature from our last stop in Phnom Penh only a few hours earlier.

Once on the train, it was a quick 10 minutes to Pudong where we transferred to the Shanghai subway. The Maglev travels as fast as 431 km, or 267 mph.  It was Thursday morning rush hour and I had never seen so many people at a subway station in my life.  At every stop a crowd of people pushed like a wave to enter and exit the subway cars. Inside, I was crushed up against other bodies, not even able to raise my arms to hold onto anything for balance.
We reached our destination, the famous Bund (meaning embankment) historical district. The European styled buildings along the western bank of the Huangpu River were once the business headquarters of Shanghai. Across the river is Pudong or New Pudong, with its shiny new skyscrapers.

After stopping for a hot cocoa, we crossed the river and headed for the Shanghai World Financial Center and its observation tower. It was a cloudy day, and the clouds passed below us impeding our view of the city. In between clouds, I was able to catch a photograph of the modern Oriental Pearl TV Tower and its landmark onion-shaped tower. 

 We were the only visitors at the observation center that morning probably because it was cold, cloudy and early. After embracing the view and snapping some photos, we returned to the Maglev and the airport and were on our way for the rest of the long journey home.