Shanghai: Nanjing Road to Bund Skyline

This is Nanjing Road Shanghai - a wonderful pedestrianised street. Full of shops, people and all sorts of temptations...

There are many places and scupltures for photos. I lost count of the number of times I was asked to take photographs of couples, family groups, groups of friends...

...and and...

This little bit of video captures some street music and informal dancing that just seemed to happen in the street. Though you get the impression after a while that it is all very carefully choreographed... not by the state ... but by groups of individuals creative and keen...

More sculptures and photos...

There are many sights...

A grand entrance way to the Metro Station near the harbour end of Nanjing Road...

...where the much photographed skyline comes into view. It is interesting how both Beijing and Shanghai have adopted Master Planned approaches so that high rise development is not permitted in large areas of each city. This allows older and more traditional buildings to stand tall and proud without being overlooked and dominated by highrise...

The sun was getting low when I got there - the first time...

This is the fabled "Bund". The Bund (simplified Chinese: 外滩; traditional Chinese: 外灘) is a waterfront area in central Shanghai. The area centres on a section of Zhongshan Road within the former Shanghai International Settlement, which runs along the western bank of the Huangpu River, facing Lujiazui landmarks across the river. The Bund usually refers to the buildings on this section of the road, wharves, as well as some adjacent areas. It is one of the most famous tourist destinations in Shanghai. Building heights are restricted in this area.

This is a section of the water front buildings that are on the Bund. These were built in the "International Settlement" area of Shanghai. It began originally as a purely British settlement. It was one of the original five treaty ports which were established under the terms of the Treaty of Nanking at the end of the first opium war in the year 1842. The buildings look a lot like those on the waterfronts at Manchester and Liverpool.

You can see here the Huangpu River - carrying a large barge and a coastal freighter. The highrise area is across the river - Pudong.

And to prove I was there, here I am. It's getting dark but there's still a queue waiting for my photographic services. They all want to know where you're from. Almost without exception their perception of New Zealand is: "...so many sheep..."

Then it was time to go back to the hotel. Join the throng, head across the pedestrian crossing and find the Metro....