Looking from the old colonial part of Shanghai across the Huangpu River to the new part of Shanghai, which is the skyline that is memorable to modern day visitors to Shanghai. Pudong means "East Bank", which is geographically correct, and perhaps says something about the culture. Call it like it is seems to be the norm rather than the exception. The Pudong area is about 500 square miles, but 20 years ago it was mostly fields. I think it is a reflection of modern China that in a very short time the Pudong's population outnumbers the population of the older Puxi section of Shanghai. The sheer magnitude of the engineering and construction feats that have been attained in a short time are also reflective of China today.
We had an interesting time one night in this building which is known as "the bottle opener" and houses the Hyatt hotel just under the opening. On Wednesdays the hotel bar serves very reasonable quality champagne free for all women. In order to get in on that deal, my sister-in-law and , along with my nephew who acted in the role of guide and cultural translator, rode the elevator to the top in order to enjoy the view. It was not really my cup of tea in terms of ambiance, but the champagne was good and the view was incredible. Shanghai after dark is impressively and colorfully lit, but at 10:00pm it all goes dark and it was time to go home.
While the Pearl is the most imractical looking building in the skyline of Pudong, it is also my favorite.
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