The Bund

East Nanjing pedestrian road - breathtaking!!

We went down town the other week looking for some adventure. We rode the metro (subway), it was so crowded we didn't have a place to sit, so we hung onto the metal poles for dear life, swaying to and fro as the train stopped and started over and over again. The children did really well, nobody got sick or injured (except a few bonks on the pole when the train stopped) and quite fun. About 25 minutes later we were at our stop. This was a bigger "train station" than the one we were originally at, probably 3 times the size of Winnipeg airport with numerous exits taking you in every direction imaginable. So, we ventured up to the surface and lo and behold there stood a Starbucks - yay!! Joe and I enjoyed a latte (we reluctantly shared a few sips with our begging kids - ha!!) as we strolled down East Nanjing pedestrian road to our destination - The Bund!!

The Bund is a famous tourist attraction: a mile long walkway along the bank of the Huangpu River exhibiting buildings dating back more than 100 years, featuring various styles of architecture (European art-deco for all you artsy folk), housing the headquarters of many financial institutions operating in China back in the 1800s. However, with the rise of Communism, many of these financial institutions were moved out, the buildings closed or converted for other uses. Only in the past 15 years or so has the Chinese government made a point of restoring this area and promoting it as a tourist attraction, officially re-opening it to the public in 2010. For us, the highlight was going at night and seeing these amazing buildings lit up. It was surreal.

Across the river we see Shanghai's most famous skyline with some of the tallest towers in the world in Shanghai's economic hub.

Our Audience

We paused to take a few family pictures here, and as I was focusing in on Joe and the kids, I suddenly saw flashes out of the corner of my eye and heard giggling. I lowered my camera and asked Joe if others were taking pictures of them from behind me, which he affirmed. Turns out we were as much an attraction as the sights!! Nearly 20 people had gathered around us and began eagerly asking to take pictures of them with our kids. Not something we would ever have experienced in Canada!! The kids were happy to oblige and made some people very happy. They couldn't resist getting a little squeeze in there too. Good thing our kids are such good sports. All in all, we had a blast.

With all the walking that was to be done, I was a little nervous of how the kids would hold up, if they would get tired and miserable, but they did an awesome job. Autumn kept reassuring me she was at 1 million %, and topped it off with "I just love the world!!"

Written by Brenda :)