We've been Shanghaied!

The word "shanghaied” means to be deceived or tricked and it comes from the 19th century practice of shipping companies hiring unsavory folk to get other men drunk in order to abduct them and force them to work on a ship bound for China. Thankfully, I am not an indentured sailor in China. But, my parents and I did start our tour in Shanghai, the most populous city in China.

The above photo shows a view of the Pudong area of Shanghai as seen from the Bund. Pudong means "east of the (Huangpu) river" and Bund means "riverside, embankment and waterfront." There is a scene in Mission Impossible 3 where Tom Cruise jumps along this skyline from building to building. It seemed a little ridiculous in the movie, and now, having seen the actual size and location of the buildings, it seems even more ridiculous. I guess we were shanghaied after all. Thanks a lot Tom!

We crossed under the Huangpu River (via the cheesy but nonetheless amusing Bund Sightseeing Tunnel) to get to the Pudong side of the city. Our main goal was to have a drink in the Grand Hyatt Hotel's Cloud 9 Bar. We had it on good authority that the skyline views from this bar were unrivaled in the city and were definitely worth an overpriced drink or two.

To achieve this mission, we had to get to the Jin Mao Dasha Building. The photo to the left is a shot of the Jin Mao Dasha Building from the bottom looking up. It was built in 1998 and is currently the third tallest building in the world at 421 meters high. To arrive at the entrance of the building, we had to cross an extraordinarily busy street without the aid of a crosswalk. We followed a crowd of locals and other bewildered tourists into the street and somehow managed not to get run down in the process. An additional benefit to this exercise was that we confirmed the healthy functioning of all of our adrenaline receptors.

Cloud 9 did not disappoint. From the vantage point of the 87th floor, the views of the Bund and the Pudong area were stunning. It was easy to pick out the highlights of the Shanghai skyline like the Oriental Pearl Building and the Westin Hotel. Plus, we got to experience the full Friday brightness of the cityscape. In an attempt to conserve electricity, Shanghai made the decision to turn off all "landscape lights" except on Friday and Saturday nights from 6:30 to 9:30pm. How lucky that we could enjoy the skyline in all its neon splendor.