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I actually did the “tourist” experience of Shanghai near the end.� I sort of dread crowds, and China is crowded!!

First of all, let me give you a recommendation for a reference, if you ever go there … Beijing & Shanghai, by DK Eyewitness Travel was indispendable.� We had others, but didn’t use them.� A map is a must have, too.� You will NOT find one in English within China.� The fold out map Shanghai, China Regional Map, by Periplus TravelMaps is really good.� Make sure to get the newest map you can find.� Shanghai changes very fast.�� Please note that cabbies cannot read English maps.

We started our touristing by heading towards the Yuyuan Gardens and Bazaar.� We were told if there was a place to get ripped off, this was it.� We buried our money in our clothing layers (no, not there), and made a pact to only buy what we had pre-determined to bring home as souvenirs.� The Yuyuan Gardens and Bazaar are on the Puxi side of the Huangpu River, and�are circled on the map of central Shanghai below.

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As I had mentioned before, learning to communicate with the cabbies is important.� So I gathered an itinerary of the places I would like to go, and how to say them, as well as their bordering streets.

I really, really wanted to visit the textile mall.� It was rumored to be four floors!!� The great thing about shopping in Shanghai is that you can negotiate the price of (just about) everything!!� It’s basically a back and forth with a caculator, so you don’t really need to know how to say numbers in Chinese, but you should learn.� If you speak Chinese, they are less likely to screw you over in pricing.� Needless to say - I didn’t have to pay more than I thought something was worth, and in many cases, I paid much less than I was willing to pay.� It’s really easy to forget that Chinese Yuan is far less valuable than�a dollar …

Here are some photos from the South Bund Textile Mall. (more…)

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Yawn…� It’s been a long time since anything has happened here, huh?? I’ve received a few notes here and there from some of you expressing concern.� To answer Lucelu - yes, I’ve been very, very busy!!� I have much to write about in the weeks coming, but I will start today with my trip to Shanghai! (Donna H - you know I still haven’t written about my trip to Paris and London this summer!!)

�I have to say, I love, love, love Shanghai!� The people are very friendly (albiet hard to understand), and they really love Western culture.� The city of Shanghai is very modern on the Pudong side, with lots of mish mash on the Puxi side.� The Pudong area is the “downtown” area of Shanghai, and is China’s central banking and financial district.� From what I understand, this area was all farmland about a decade ago… The pictures below are from the hotel window, overlooking Pudong.� You can see all of the construction.� Shanghai is to host the 2010 world fair, and they are working hard to create a modern, beautiful city.� There is poor air quality, but there are aggressive plans in place to clean it up before then.

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