China - February 18th

Thursday was a day to meet with family. Ying's 3rd brother was hosting a lunch for the family at a restaurant in the financial district of Shanghai. The restaurant was the Dynasty Imperial Court. The food was delicious and our group of about 20 people spent several hours eating and relaxing. Again, first, we were served cold dishes and later in the meal hot dishes were brought to the table. All tables are set up with a glass lazy susan where the dishes can be placed so everyone can move the tray around to serve themselves.

After lunch we were whisked off to the river for a walk and to view the Bund from across the RIver. The Shanghai Bund has dozens of historical buildings, lining the Huangpu River, that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from Britain, France, the U.S., Russia, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the consulates of Russia and Britain, a newspaper, the Shanghai Club and the Masonic Club. This area is a popular tourist area but is presently closed as the governement is moving the roadway to give back room for the park.

Later we walked to the The Jin Mao Tower. It is an 88-story supertall skyscraper in Pudong district of Shanghai. It contains offices and the Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel. Until 2007 it was the tallest building in the PRC, the fifth tallest in the world by roof height and the seventh tallest by pinnacle height. Along with the Oriental Pearl Tower, it is a centerpiece of the Pudong skyline. Its height was surpassed on September 14, 2007 by the Shanghai World Financial Center which is next to the building. We were having dinner at the restaurant on the 56th floor. Our host wanted us to see the lights of Shanghai go on in the evening. Our dinner was at the Western style restaurant so for the first time in a while I had a steak. It was neat to see all of the skyscrapers light up. There also were fireworks around the city that we could see.