Killing Time in Shanghai

Since I cancelled our tour to Suzhou, we ended up with an extra day in Shanghai. If Beijing had a long list of must-sees, Shanghai had a list of might-dos. The one thing I did want to do in Shanghai was to take a boat ride on the river to see the famous skyline. Lonely Planet’s map showed a possible boat dock, but when I queried the hostel staff, no one quite knew where to go, as the Bund was a mess--undergoing a facelift for the city’s selection as site of the World Expo in 2010.

There was construction everywhere, all along the riverside, making it difficult to see if there was a wharf for the tour boats or whether everything had been closed. We made our way along the muddy streets, constantly asking people about tour boats.

Finally, we stopped a European couple who had just gotten off of a boat and they pointed us in the right direction. Hope at last! After more walking and a lot of backtracking, we finally found the tour boat wharf and were able to see the famous Shanghai skyline. My only regret was that we were a bit too early and did not get to see it lit up at night.

Afterwards, we took a long walk home along Nanxing Road for some shopping and dinner. A fitting way to end our stay in Shanghai.