Shang(up)hai: A Little Fist To The Face

[giallo]

Thanks for checking out the view, guys.

Ninties Flava, as The Chemist mentioned, Central Shanghai is really dense, and only getting denser.

montrealman, there's still a good amount of construction happening in the central city (even where I live in the French Concession which is all but protected from new development), but not nearly as much as before. Most of the new projects are happening out in the suburbs. I'd be interested in seeing what projects are going up out there. I don't think I've left the central core in a couple of years for anything other than going to the airport. I live in a bubble.

R@ptor, I asked if there were plans for an observation deck. Sadly, there isn't.

[ChiTownCity]

^ and what a great bubble it is that you live in

As usual, Nice photography and cool vantage points!

[pEte fiSt iN Ur fAce]

Amazing.

Megacities like Shanghai scare the sh*t outta me. I'm not sure I could live there.

p.s. One of your pics looks vaguely Vancouveresque. Weird...

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by giallo

Thanks for checking out the view, guys.

Ninties Flava, as The Chemist mentioned, Central Shanghai is really dense, and only getting denser.

montrealman, there's still a good amount of construction happening in the central city (even where I live in the French Concession which is all but protected from new development), but not nearly as much as before. Most of the new projects are happening out in the suburbs. I'd be interested in seeing what projects are going up out there. I don't think I've left the central core in a couple of years for anything other than going to the airport. I live in a bubble.

R@ptor, I asked if there were plans for an observation deck. Sadly, there isn't.

Yeah, there's a huge amount going on in the suburbs, on all sides of the city. I live out in Minhang and you see a lot more cranes out this direction than you do in the city centre now. Baoshan is the same, as is Qingpu, as is Songjiang.

But of course, there are currently two supertalls under construction in the city centre, and according to SSC there will be a third U/C by the end of the year in Xujiahui, so it's not like development has stopped anywhere in the city.

[flar]

These cities are so huge, I can't imagine living there

Amazing shots, the black and whites are really nicely done.

[giallo]

flar and Pete, Shanghai's visual bark is far worse than it's bite. The city isn't nearly as claustrophobic as one would think. You can find some nice quiet corners of the city surprisingly. HK, for instance, feels way more crowded.

Pete, which picture looks Vancouveresque? Just curious.

Chemist, I went to check out this new Suzhou boat tour in the Putou District on Sunday, and saw a boatload of construction from the taxi. There's a GIGANTIC mall/office complex going up out there. There must have been 8 cranes in total. Not sure the name of it, but it's huge.

edit - found it on SSC: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1018919

The Suzhou boat tour that goes through the city is really nice actually. Give it a try on the weekend before it gets overrun. It just opened.

[The Chemist]

Originally Posted by giallo

The Suzhou boat tour that goes through the city is really nice actually. Give it a try on the weekend before it gets overrun. It just opened.

That sounds interesting. My folks are going to be in town in a month, and I'm looking for things to show them that they didn't do last time they were here. Where do you buy tickets for this, and how much do they cost?

[giallo]

This would be something your parents would probably enjoy. Again, I was surprised by how well run it was. Not the typical half-assness one would normally expect here.

Here's the details about how to catch the cruise and where:

The cruise takes about 50 mins one way, 90-100 mins round trip. Catch it at the Danba Lu dock, close to Changfeng Park in Putuo on 2690 Guangfu Xi Lu, 光复西路2690号. Bus 44 and 766 both end their westward journey at the docks, but it’s probably just easier to take a cab. Or catch it the other way from the Changhua Lu docks at Yichang Lu 宜昌路1250号 . Bus 76 and 105 both end at the Changhua Lu docks, but again, it’s easier just to cab it. Cruises, both ways, start at 1:30pm and go all day until at 8:15pm at night.

Website: <a href=” http://www.sz-river.com/search/ “> website </a>.

Tickets are 80RMB per adult for a one-way trip. It's a bit pricey, but keeps the large crowds away (which I think is the idea).

I took some snaps. May as well post them here.

[MolsonExport]

^I am sold. I will try this on my visit next week.

[Urban Zombie®]

Yoinks! This uncut dope has been up for nearly 2 months, and I'm just now finding it. You even torture me by including my prison cell of an office building in nearly every shot. Raw, sucker!

[Chicago103]

How many miles away is this new hotel from the Pudong skyscraper cluster? It just amazes me how extensive the highrise areas are, a building that tall miles away from the center of the city, it looks more intense than Manhattan as far as highrises are concerened.

[giallo]

Sorry for the late reply, Chicago103.

I'd wager the hotel is about 4-5km from Lujiazui as the crow flies.