Shanghai after 4 years

Landed in Shanghai today after a good flight on Virgin Atlantic where I was upgraded to Upper Class. Mmmmm nice seats which nearly lie flat to sleep in - had my best ever sleeping experience on a flight. Horrendous queues at immigration. Looks like everyone is trying to get into Shanghai today. Could also be due to 4 large planes which landed at about the same time. Took about 1 hour to get through to collect my luggage. 1st time I have been to Shanghai since 2000 - lets see how the city of nearly 20 million people has changed.

Always wanted to try the Maglev from Shanghai airport. Basically its a "train" that floats over a track through magnetism and gets to a maximum speed of 420kph, making a 30km journey in 7-8 minutes. Amazing experience seeing the world go by at that speed on the ground. Unfortunately it does not get you to the centre of the city but instead ends at Longyang Road metro station. Changed over to the clean and efficient metro and got to the Renmin (People's) Square station in about 15 minutes. There are now 3 metro lines in operation with another 4-5 in construction / planned.

Went out for dinner with a couple of friends on mine to what they say is a restaurant serving typical Shanghainese dishes. Nice food with a few interesting bits - goose's feet, for example.


Shanghai by night from hotel window

Location 31°N 121°E