TALLEST TOWER AND FASTEST TRAIN OF SHANGHAI -CHINA JOURNEY

 After our lunch we went to the world's second tallest building - the Shanghai Tower a 128-storey 2,073 ft tall skyscraper. 

Because we were a small group, we could get a closer parking to all our sightseeing places in China. In a large group tour, parking is available quite far away and there are instances of people getting very tired after walking to and from the buses while sightseeing in China, actually before we book a tour to China, 

We were informed about the long distances one has to walk for sightseeing in China and that is the reason everyone needs comfortable walking shoes when traveling

We got down from our van and walked for quite a distance and arrived at the base of the tower 

On craning our necks, we could just see the tip of the tall tower, it looked very much like a tall tree gently growing up into the sky

 It was designed by international design firm Gensler and owned by the Shanghai Municipal Government 

Construction work on the tower began in November 2008 and topped out in August 2013. 

As our tickets were bought in advance, we all went in and entered the foyer area where all the details about the tower were under display

Its tiered construction, designed for high energy efficiency, provides nine separate zones divided between office, retail and leisure use. 

The tower takes the form of nine cylindrical buildings stacked atop each other and its total 128 floors, are all enclosed by the inner layer of the glass facade. 

Between that and the outer layer, which twists as it rises, nine indoor zones provide public space for visitors.

Each of these nine areas has its own atrium, featuring gardens, cafes, restaurants and retail space, also providing panoramic views of the city. 

Both layers of the façade are transparent, retail and event spaces are provided at the tower's base. 

The design of the tower's glass façade, which completes a 120° twist as it rises, is intended to reduce wind loads on the building by 24%.

Finally the much awaited moment of going to the observation desk on 118th arrived, this has been open to public since April 26, 2017  

We stepped into the elevator, there were three of them, and the world's second fastest elevator took us up at a top speed of 20.5 meters per second (46 mph) 

In 2017 Guangzhou CTF Finance Center, with its top speed of 21 meters per second (47 mph) beat the record of the Shanghai tower elevator.

We were enthralled and surprised at the speed and indeed had to swallow hard several times to avoid our ears from popping

 

The tower had 114 elevators, can accommodate as many as 16,000 people daily and its sub-levels provide parking spaces for 1,800 vehicles.

Quite in a daze we stepped onto the 118th floor, the first ever time we had gone up so high in a skyscraper, the observatory tower was shaped like dough nut and there was plenty of space to walk full 360 degrees around the top of the tower 

We could get great views out across Shanghai and the Huángpǔ River, (the last significant tributary of the Yangtze River before it reaches the East China Sea).

There were binoculars for observation and information boards too to enlighten what we could see from the observation desk

 

Oriental Pearl Radio and Television tower a very attractive structure was clearly visible along with the CTF Financial center and other skyscrapers, the view would have been much more attractive at night with the whole city of Shanghai lit but we were on a guided tour and so had to be satisfied with the day vision

We left the tower and drove in our van to the Longyang Road Station to see the Shanghai Maglev, Trans rapid train which is a magnetic levitation train

The train is the oldest commercial Maglev still in operation and is the first commercial high-speed maglev with cruising speed of 431 km/h (268 mph). It is also the fastest commercial electric train in the world.

The train line connects International Airport and Longyang Road station,

It cost $39.759 million per kilometer to build and apparently its balance of payments has been in huge deficit since its opening.

We took the tickets and stepped into the train when it arrived. 

All of us were excited to be traveling at such fast speeds 

The journey took 7 minutes and 20 seconds to complete the distance of 30 km. We were keenly observing the screen in our compartment where we could see the speed . 

When we looked out of the window we could see the other vehicles which appeared to be traveling at snail’s pace

The train reached 350 km/h in 2 minutes, and a miraculous speed of 431 km/h thereafter.

I really loved traveling in the train, it's interior was very spacious and had ample luggage space as it begins from the Pudong airport 

The ride was very smooth and fast, the train uses magnetic levitation, does not run on tracks like conventional trains, it runs suspended just above the track. I literally had a feeling of floating just above the tracks

Our guide told us to be ready when our train would cross with the opposite train, and yes there was a sudden boom and our train slowed just before passing the other one so that neither of them are blown off the track 

I was keenly watching a cup of hot beverage a passenger was having, the train was running so smoothly that the cup didn’t even shake

We took the train back as we had taken a round ticket. We were all thrilled after riding the fastest train in the entire world, I was just trying to imagine a future where in our country we would have such trains and journey timings would drastically be reduced between major cities

Speculation that a line would be built from Shanghai to Beijing was there but didn’t materialize due to the cost factor involved

Construction of the line began on March 1, 2001 and train was manufactured in Germany by Siemens-Thyssenkrupp JV

 

The Shanghai Maglev has a length of 153 metres and can accommodate 574 passengers

The line runs from 06:45 to 21:30, with services every 15 to 20 minutes. A round-trip return ticket costs ¥80 and VIP tickets cost double the standard fare.

We were then taken for an early dinner at an Indian restaurant, we had been informed by the tour agent that our dinners would be early ones but eating regularly at 6pm was getting on our nerves

The final stop on our day in Shanghai was shopping in A.P Plaza, our guide told us that we could get gift articles here to take back home, he was asking us whether we were good in bargaining as every good needs to be reduced by a big margin

 When we entered the shopping plaza I was reminded of many of our local markets, it had many small shops selling almost everything on earth from handbags, wallets, trainers, t-shirts, jewellery ,toys etc 

I noticed many shops selling suit material and promising a quick delivery of stitched suits, plenty of shops selling watches, shoes and spectacles could be seen

We also observed a group of students being coached by their teacher probably about marketing techniques

I particularly liked a shop run by a mother and daughter, they were so sweet specially the mother, they reduced the price and we purchased few small items to be taken home as gifts

THE BUND AND THE YU GARDEN - CHINA JOURNEY

 After seeing the Jade temple we went to the Bund also known as Waitan, a waterfront promenade with a raised platform ,it is a designated section of Shanghai’s port along the Huang Pu River ,the Bund stretched for a mile .

The flower displays on the walls of the river walk were beautiful 

The minute we walked up the bund, to our delight we saw a cute and young couple dressed in their wedding finery taking wedding pics with help of a photographer

We could see the sparkling river Huang Pu and a long series of well preserved, century-old buildings, indeed it was an impressive sight to behold

The Huangpu River splits the city into two districts Pudong and Puxi. The Pudong skyline looked like an ultramodern woman decked up with differently designed modern buildings all proudly rising above the riverfront 

As we walked across the Bund we could get a taste of old Shanghai architecture ranging from 1860’s to 1930’s on the Puxi side

The Bund houses 52 buildings of great and varied architectural styles predominantly Eclecticist, but with some buildings displaying Romanesque Revival, Gothic Revival, Renaissance Revival, Baroque Revival, Neo-Classical or Beaux-Arts styles, and a number in Art Deco style. 

Our guide told us that Shanghai has one of the richest collections of Art Deco architectures in the world.

Walking on the Bund would be great at night with the beautifully illuminated architecture and the fabulous Pudong Skyline with the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Financial District buildings, whoever wants to walk along the Bund or take a ferry have to be aware the lights are turned off at 11pm

 We were very lucky to have a sunny, clear day and as we had gone quite early there wasn’t much crowding by public.

As our time was short , we couldn’t go through the sightseeing Tunnel a fun way to travel between the Bund and Pudong.

We then went to the Yu Garden or Yuyuan Garden located in the northeast of old city of Shanghai, it abuts Yuyuan Tourist Mart and Bazaar. 

This was a traditional Chinese garden ,we as Indians are used to see green trees and lovely flowers and fruits in our gardens but there we found interaction of the main elements of Chinese gardens - buildings, rockeries, water and plants conveying hidden meanings. 

Yu in Chinese means pleasing and satisfying. 

The Yu Gardens were first built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty by Pan Yunduan for his parents for their old age. Pan Yunduan’s appointment as governor of Sichuan postponed construction for nearly twenty years until 1577. The garden was the largest and most prestigious of its era in Shanghai, but eventually its expense helped ruin the Pans. 

Pan Yunduan took 18 years to complete his ambitious garden, but it took only minutes to destroy it  ,sadly again, and again. In the Taiping Rebellion and Opium War of 1842, the gardens sustained heavy bombardment, and the British army took over the garden and used the Huxinting teahouse as a base of operations.

 After the destruction followed by the Small Sword Society rebellion, the whole of the grounds were essentially ruined. The gardens were once again rebuilt and renovated by the Shanghai government between 1956 and 1961, but were once more damaged during the catastrophic cultural revolution , the garden has now been restored again.

It had very pretty gardens, ponds, a rockery dating from the Ming Period and a dragon wall. 

Just outside the entrance of the garden was a manmade lake, on which the beautiful Huxinting teahouse appears to float. Built in 1784, it is considered one of the oldest restaurants in Shanghai and is famous for hosting foreign dignitaries including the Queen of England.

It is also supposed to be built without using a single nail. To get there we came across a quaint bridge the Jiuqu Bridge (the Bridge of Nine Turnings) which had many turnings . According to Chinese myth, evil spirits would not be able to cross a bridge if it had so many angles. This bridge was indeed crowded with everyone trying to have a look .

 

The entire Yu Garden compound consists of more than 30 halls and is divided into six regions by tall white walls. Each region is separated by “dragon walls” iconic rolling gray-tiled ridges of scales ending with an ornate dragon’s head. 

We found everyone clicking feverishly at a rock, a tall one riddled with holes and fissures. This was the Exquisite Jade Rock, Shanghai’s most famous stone. 

As per the legend the Jade Rock was originally commissioned by the Huizong Emperor, However, the ship that the rock was traveling on reportedly sunk in Huangpu River and the rock was later retrieved by Pan Yunduan. 

This stone is noted for its elegant edges and interesting facade, and its pockets of dents and crevices make it possible for incense lit at its bottom to send smoke flowing from every opening.

Pan Yunduan loved this rock so much that he built a study to look directly out onto it

On leaving Yu Gardens there was a huge Bazaar called the Yuyuan Tourist Mart covering many streets. 

The shops were very colorful and sold the various types of touristy items.

 In addition there were many different types of restaurants serving tea ,meat balls and  dumplings made in front of our eyes and served hot, they were very delicious 

 By now we were very hungry and wanted to have a tasty Indian lunch . While going out from the bazaar we saw a dismal picture of a man sitting tiredly with a cat sleeping

As usual the streets were full of bicycles and e scooters 

We were taken to an Indian restaurant where we had sumptuous Non vegetarian food , very well prepared.This gave us energy to go around once again

While going into the restaurant I noticed a small boy playing happily with the water sprays, I thought kids are the same everywhere

Near the restaurant there was statue of a person sitting in a pensive mood which impressed me a lot