Shanghai Night!

We went to the Pudong area later that night. Pudong district is where the iconic skyscrapers are located (including the Oriental Pearl), across the Huangpu river from the Bund (a stretch of colonial buildings).

This is the pagoda-looking Jin Mao Tower (designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill):

And this is the skyscraper we went up, the Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC):

The SWFC is the world's third tallest building after Burj Dubai and Taipei 101 (seen them both!) at 492m and 101 storey. It was originally designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox with a circular aperture but after some protests from some of the Chinese (because it resembles the rising sun on the Japanese flag), the hole was changed to a trapezoidal-shaped one. It now looks like a bottle opener - there is even a Shanghainese commercial for a soft drink using the building as one!

Up we go to visit the 3 observation decks (on the 94th, 97th and 100th storey):

The 97th storey's observation deck, called the 'Observatory Bridge'.

That's clear glass for the floor!

I really love the Jin Mao Tower.

Hate the Pearl.

But still take picture...

The other side of the deck:

CKM Studio!

DTS peeps!:

It was past 4pm and we were lingering around hoping they would turn on the Pearl's lights:

Didn't happen... It only happened when we were back down...

I like to ruin pictures for people:

We later had dinner at Xintiandi. Its a collection of conserved 'stone gate' (shikumen) houses on narrow streets and alleys, now serving as cafes, restaurants, bars and stores. Its really 'atas' and pricey. But really romantic and cool with nice relaxing ambience and vibrant nightlife. Most of the restaurants and bars there are owned by Singaporean and Hong Konger businessmen, so expect better service than the best that a Shanghainese venture can offer.