Sunday, May 03, 2009
Shanghai Pudong Airport Terminal 2
This is the new Terminal 2 of Pudong Airport. It's extremly big and at the time we were there (late in the evening as our flight left just before midnight) basically empty.
Hongmei Entertainment Street
Shanghai - Hongqiao
Roewe 550
This is the new Roewe 550 (ex Rover - now SAIC).
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A foggy SWFC
Sadly just a very foggy picture of the Shanghai World Financial Center with Jin Mao in the background. The weather was really bad.
Shanghai Legend
This is a complex named "Shanghai Legend" which is directly next to Zhangjiang High-Tech-Park Subway Station. I did house some restaurants when I left Shanghai more than two years ago.
Now it's basically full of restaurants and you can get every kind of food there. There is now also Pizza Hut (and not only Papa John's like before) and of course Starbucks and Subway.
In front of Shanghai Legend you can see the Tram that is currently under construction.
This is the current subway station which is a lightrail station right now. In between the station and Shanghai Legend is the constrction site for the Tram.
They are right now building a new underground subway station which means they will pull down this one in the future. This is done due to the extension of Line 2 to Pudong airport.
Qibao Old City in Shanghai
This is a famous tourist destination in Shanghai. It's one of the areas that really are old (in some parts). Most old city parts in Shanghai are demolished by now.
I guess they will pull it down and rebuild it so that it will look better.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Three videos from China in 1972
Three old videos from China taken 1972 by a US tourist. No audio though.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
New pictures uploaded
PicasaWeb now offers 1 GB free space so I uploaded some more albums - most of them are not part of the blog:
PicasaWeb
Enjoy!
I also added all my pictures from Macau, which now also has a blog (as you may have seen in the comments). Macau is a gambler's haven and now is making even more money than Las Vegas. I'm not a gambler so Macau can get a bit boring when the weather is bad.
I will try to find a better logo for my sidebar link to Picasa...
PicasaWeb
Enjoy!
I also added all my pictures from Macau, which now also has a blog (as you may have seen in the comments). Macau is a gambler's haven and now is making even more money than Las Vegas. I'm not a gambler so Macau can get a bit boring when the weather is bad.
I will try to find a better logo for my sidebar link to Picasa...
Labels: China, Hong Kong, Macau, Pictures, Shanghai
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Shanghai Auto 2007
Swat
Originally uploaded by Shanghai Sky.
Yes this is really a show about cars not some special units.
Labels: Auto Show, China, Shanghai
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Spot the funny thing in the picture
Friday, April 20, 2007
Good and not so good China news
This here is a nice thing - there will be plenty of new taxis and buses in Shanghai very soon. So finally there may not be big black clouds behind buses...
And maybe the chances to catch a very old VW Santana will be very small soon. These old and sh** cars nearly destroyed some of my suits.
These are disgusting news and I guess some people always suspected this to happen. At least it's not the other way round.
And maybe the chances to catch a very old VW Santana will be very small soon. These old and sh** cars nearly destroyed some of my suits.
These are disgusting news and I guess some people always suspected this to happen. At least it's not the other way round.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Jieda or not Jieda :-)
Shanghai
This is the first picture I took when I arrived in Shanghai. It was only two years ago (actually 14. March 2005) but still some many things happened during these months...
Life can go "fast forward" sometimes.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
The Shanghai Metro Future
g5Dlb9cQ
Originally uploaded by jianshuo.
This is the metro plan developed by the Shanghai City Administration. Most lines will be finished 2010, some seem to be finished by 2012. The big green space in this plan is the area for the Shanghai World Expo 2010.
Labels: China, Metro, Shanghai
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Taxi companies in Shanghai
Thanks to this article on Shanghaiist about a GPS unit in a taxi I got to the more and more useful "Live in Shanghai" section of Shanghai Daily. Here you can find some basic information about taxis in Shanghai (they even explain the standard receipt). This page shows the taxi companies in Shanghai. They even have an taxi editor so that you can recognize the different companies. :-)
They also have audio files of the different taxi companies there. :-)
The best taxi company in Shanghai is Dazhong, a big government company with several enterprises in China (they are also in Hangzhou). This is also one of the biggest bus companies in Shanghai.
If you are mainly in Pudong (especially Zhangjiang High Tech Area) then most taxis will be from Qiangsheng Taxi. I drove with this taxi company for more than one year until most of the drivers recognized me. They waited every evening at our company gate. This company is also quite big and reliable.
Try to mind a private taxi (dark red) and the blue union if you can - they can be of very different quality (but as always - the newer the taxi is and the nicer it looks the better your chances are).
If you want to try to order one in English - good luck!
Another article at Shanghaiist was about the great firewall there and a website where you can find out if anyone in China can visit your website.
They also have audio files of the different taxi companies there. :-)
The best taxi company in Shanghai is Dazhong, a big government company with several enterprises in China (they are also in Hangzhou). This is also one of the biggest bus companies in Shanghai.
If you are mainly in Pudong (especially Zhangjiang High Tech Area) then most taxis will be from Qiangsheng Taxi. I drove with this taxi company for more than one year until most of the drivers recognized me. They waited every evening at our company gate. This company is also quite big and reliable.
Try to mind a private taxi (dark red) and the blue union if you can - they can be of very different quality (but as always - the newer the taxi is and the nicer it looks the better your chances are).
If you want to try to order one in English - good luck!
Another article at Shanghaiist was about the great firewall there and a website where you can find out if anyone in China can visit your website.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
"Shanghai Daily Photo"
There is a blog that publishes a daily photo of Shanghai.
Today's photo is this one:
Enjoy! I'm very sure my wife would love to eat this again...
Today's photo is this one:
Enjoy! I'm very sure my wife would love to eat this again...
Friday, February 02, 2007
OBI China
These are "historic" pictures. OBI is a German company which had some stores in China (DIY shop). They gave up in the year 2005 and sold their Chinese business to B&Q.
Hungry!
Who would have thought that my wife misses this???
We can get "real" Italian pizza here and she misses the American style pizza...
This is Shanghai
The last picture shows the entrance of the metro station next to the Maglev station.
Labels: China, Metro, Shanghai
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Market
These are pictures of an illegal market next to the metro station entrance/exit nearby our apartment. The vendors arrive there at around 6 pm and tend to run away quickly when there's police nearby. They come back 5 minutes later then.
You can buy everything you need on this market - food, CD's, DVD's and handbags. :-)
Update: Changed the code that was wrong.
Labels: China, Metro, Shanghai
Some impressions from Shanghai
Construction next to our apartment. They closed a road to construct a tunnel. Luckily we moved out just before they started. This can be noisy for at least two years.
Added safety:
I took these pictures with my mobile phone camera. I finally uploaded them last weekend.
Chinglish II
This is a quite famous sign in the Shanghai Underground. I saw it when I arrived in Shanghai, but then they sticked some white paper on it to "cover up". After a year somebody took off the paper again.
Labels: China, Metro, Shanghai
A bit of Chinglish
This is a sign at the airport restaurant in Shanghai/Pudong.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Some facts about Shanghai Metro
Some interesting facts and pictures about the Shanghai Metro can be found on their new English homepage.
There is also a "Shanghai Transportation Blog" with some interesting pictures.
I love to take the metro - though sadly there is none at all nearby my current home. Especially the Shanghai Metro is developing rapidly. During my time in Shanghai two new lines opened (4 and 5) and many more were under construction. The extension of line 2 (to the domestic airport) just opened and the extension of line 3 opened a short time ago.
I hope I can still recognize some things when I go back (possibly this year).
There is also a "Shanghai Transportation Blog" with some interesting pictures.
I love to take the metro - though sadly there is none at all nearby my current home. Especially the Shanghai Metro is developing rapidly. During my time in Shanghai two new lines opened (4 and 5) and many more were under construction. The extension of line 2 (to the domestic airport) just opened and the extension of line 3 opened a short time ago.
I hope I can still recognize some things when I go back (possibly this year).
Labels: China, Metro, Shanghai
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Shanghai Metro Announcments
I found something nice at Shanghaiist - Shanghai Metro Announcments as mp3-Sounds.
You could use them as a phone ringtone. :-)
If you can't find the download I could upload them to my server...
You could use them as a phone ringtone. :-)
If you can't find the download I could upload them to my server...
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Car Presentation
This was a car presentation during the Shanghai Auto 2005:
Jackie Chan as Superhero
On the Shanghai Auto Show:
I have to say that the car he was promoting is a flop in China.
I have to say that the car he was promoting is a flop in China.
Shanghai Auto 2005
I just uploaded all pictures from last year's Shanghai Auto to Picasaweb. I will add some videos to YouTube too.
You may see some cars that you never saw before and (hopefully) will never see again:
You may see some cars that you never saw before and (hopefully) will never see again:
Labels: Cars, China, Shanghai, Taxis
Monday, September 18, 2006
Flying Back Home
I'm currently flying back to Germany and do some "in-the-air-blogging" (SAS offers Internet Access by Connexion during the flight - though it didn't work in the beginning). My time in Shanghai ended now and we will continue our life in Germany.
So officially this blog can't really have the name "Pictures from Shanghai" - though I will continue to post some pictures I took during the last two weeks (my vacation).
I will think about a new name for this blog.
So officially this blog can't really have the name "Pictures from Shanghai" - though I will continue to post some pictures I took during the last two weeks (my vacation).
I will think about a new name for this blog.
Friday, September 08, 2006
The Swedish Ship Goetheborg
Huangpu River Cruise
I took a nice 1 hour river cruise - quite interesting. You can still see a little bit of the old industry here. The ones on the pictures will be pulled down in weeks/months. A Hong Kong Company bought the area to build some new towers.
Labels: China, Shanghai, Vacation
The Pudong Shangri-La
River views from the TV Tower
Nice and brown. :-)
This thing at the mouth of the Suzhou River is the People's Monument.
This thing at the mouth of the Suzhou River is the People's Monument.
Labels: China, Shanghai, Vacation
Views from the TV Tower I
The view can be excellent without clouds and haze and smog. We actually had quite a few days without all that this year so this was the right time for a trip to Shanghai (if you can stand the heat and humidity here).
This is a view up the Huangpu River direction Yangtze:
This is the famous Bank of China Tower:
You may know this tower if you watched Mission Impossible III (did anyone?).
Here you can see a view into Puxi. You actually can see some small old houses in there. I'm sure they will be vanished in a few month's time.
This is a view up the Huangpu River direction Yangtze:
This is the famous Bank of China Tower:
You may know this tower if you watched Mission Impossible III (did anyone?).
Here you can see a view into Puxi. You actually can see some small old houses in there. I'm sure they will be vanished in a few month's time.
Labels: China, Shanghai, Vacation
The Oriental Pearl TV Tower
I'm a real tourist now for some days here in Shanghai.
As a real tourist I had to seize the one (and only) nice day in this week to go up the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong. You can go up to 263 meters if you pay 85 RMB. You can also pay more and get higher into the sky capsule (but that takes time). So this is the tower in it's whole "beauty":
This is one elevator inside the tower:
As a real tourist I had to seize the one (and only) nice day in this week to go up the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong. You can go up to 263 meters if you pay 85 RMB. You can also pay more and get higher into the sky capsule (but that takes time). So this is the tower in it's whole "beauty":
This is one elevator inside the tower:
Labels: China, Shanghai, Vacation
Some random art in Zhangjiang
The Zhangjiang Center features some random art cramped in a little yard.
I will leave China on the 18. of September and will go to Hong Kong and Macau next week. I want to see the new Wynn Casino there.
Else everything else is going well in some way and we just applied for the residence permission for my wife. Being married feels not very different Wil - it is not even one month now. :-)
I will leave China on the 18. of September and will go to Hong Kong and Macau next week. I want to see the new Wynn Casino there.
Else everything else is going well in some way and we just applied for the residence permission for my wife. Being married feels not very different Wil - it is not even one month now. :-)
Labels: China, Shanghai, Vacation
Big Supermarket Opening
We had to move out of our nice apartment by the end of August so now we're staying at a friend's apartment.
This apartment is in "Koreatown", which basically means that everything is written in Chinese and Korean (bad for me) and most shops are owned by Koreans.
The supermarket next door opened just now and they had a big party. This basically meant that a guy was singing Karaoke for several hours in the early morning. He had support by a giant music system. Very nice...
This apartment is in "Koreatown", which basically means that everything is written in Chinese and Korean (bad for me) and most shops are owned by Koreans.
The supermarket next door opened just now and they had a big party. This basically meant that a guy was singing Karaoke for several hours in the early morning. He had support by a giant music system. Very nice...
Labels: China, Shanghai, Vacation
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Satellite Dishes
Just a little news item - maybe this helps a bit to understand some things here in China.
The main point of this article is:
Satellite dishes are legally allowed only in hotels above three stars, office buildings and apartments designed for foreigners.
We have satellite programs but our compound is designated for foreigners. This is one of the main differences between an apartment designed for foreigner (expensive) and a normal one (really cheap).
Another news item from yesterday was the ban of foreign cartoons in TV from 5 to 8 pm to "protect the Chinese cartoon industry".
And we also shouldn't forget the fact that not more than 20 foreign movies per year are allowed in Cinemas. And quite a few of these are really bad and cheap movies.
The main point of this article is:
Satellite dishes are legally allowed only in hotels above three stars, office buildings and apartments designed for foreigners.
We have satellite programs but our compound is designated for foreigners. This is one of the main differences between an apartment designed for foreigner (expensive) and a normal one (really cheap).
Another news item from yesterday was the ban of foreign cartoons in TV from 5 to 8 pm to "protect the Chinese cartoon industry".
And we also shouldn't forget the fact that not more than 20 foreign movies per year are allowed in Cinemas. And quite a few of these are really bad and cheap movies.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
The ferry to ShiLiuPu.
A picture from the "The Big Question" evening.
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
The last one for today.
The picture before showed the famous "Hairy crabs", these here are scorpions (deep fried).
Monday, July 17, 2006
Look at the most expensive apartments of Shanghai
You can buy the most expensive apartments of Shanghai in these three (there should be a fourth one in the back) towers.
One square meter costs 120.000 RMB (at around 12.000 Euro), which is the highest price in Shanghai. Even Villas are much cheaper. Other apartments in this area cost at around 25.000 RMB per m².
Number of apartments they sold: 0
They try now some international offers (according to Shanghai Daily). I'm sure the apartments are not that bad but they are simply totally overpriced and they are still simply apartments (big ones though).
One square meter costs 120.000 RMB (at around 12.000 Euro), which is the highest price in Shanghai. Even Villas are much cheaper. Other apartments in this area cost at around 25.000 RMB per m².
Number of apartments they sold: 0
They try now some international offers (according to Shanghai Daily). I'm sure the apartments are not that bad but they are simply totally overpriced and they are still simply apartments (big ones though).
River Views
Take a look at the beautiful Huangpu River:
This is the Puxi riverside promenade. It will be extended until ShiPuLu Ferry Station in the near future.
This is the entrance of the normal ferry station ("Bund ferry" from the Bund to DongChang Lu Ferry Station). A ride costs 0,20 Euro (2 RMB).
This is the Puxi riverside promenade. It will be extended until ShiPuLu Ferry Station in the near future.
This is the entrance of the normal ferry station ("Bund ferry" from the Bund to DongChang Lu Ferry Station). A ride costs 0,20 Euro (2 RMB).
"The other side of the river"
I took the ferry to the other side of the river yesterday. This is basically what I look at from my balcony:
They pulled down all old houses there and it is basically a bus park and mainly a heap of rubble.
YuYuan Garden is nearby this and I guess this is connected to the extension of this. You can see on the last picture above how nicely they decorated the outside.
Oh and yes, there are people living in the building that you can see on the first picture. I didn't take a picture of them.
They pulled down all old houses there and it is basically a bus park and mainly a heap of rubble.
YuYuan Garden is nearby this and I guess this is connected to the extension of this. You can see on the last picture above how nicely they decorated the outside.
Oh and yes, there are people living in the building that you can see on the first picture. I didn't take a picture of them.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Bar/Lounge at the Bund
Shanghai Shenhua - Qingdao
The game finished just now and Shanghai Shenhua won with 2:0. That was at least the result when we left (2 minutes before the end) to catch the last metro home.
Not very busy but it was Sunday night...
Not very busy but it was Sunday night...
Bad weather, nice buildings
Metro Station
The new stations of Line 4 still look strangely clean. It looks like in a clinic or something similar. The glass doors are adding up to the floor, because of them you can't see the normal tunnel walls anymore. These screens here ususally show when the next train comes and they show ads and information videos:
Strange Hyundai Bus
This kind of buses is never seen in Germany. But I saw this special design for the first time now.
World Financial Center Shanghai - Status
It is funny to say but it really grows very fast. The edges are getting bigger now, so that you can see the design better. You can also see now some effects in the new windows.
Electronics Market in Baoshan Lu
We went to the electronics market next to the Baoshan Metro Station again. We had to sell some stuff (old laptop, old memory from my last upgrade) and we of course wanted to buy something.
The advantage of this market is the extensive second hand market. Most shops buy and sell second hand stuff of all kind. Many have wide ranges of used laptops from all kind of brands.
It is very big with some hundred stalls (they also sell watches, shoes and other stuff) spreaded over a building and "outside" stalls like these:
The whole area is basically full of shops selling all kind of electronics. The ones above are specialized on DVD players. The brands are named "Sany", "Panesanic" or something like that.
I also saw my mobile phone, a SonyEricsson W550c. It looked the same but the brand name was "SanyEricsson". ;-)
The advantage of this market is the extensive second hand market. Most shops buy and sell second hand stuff of all kind. Many have wide ranges of used laptops from all kind of brands.
It is very big with some hundred stalls (they also sell watches, shoes and other stuff) spreaded over a building and "outside" stalls like these:
The whole area is basically full of shops selling all kind of electronics. The ones above are specialized on DVD players. The brands are named "Sany", "Panesanic" or something like that.
I also saw my mobile phone, a SonyEricsson W550c. It looked the same but the brand name was "SanyEricsson". ;-)
Friday, July 14, 2006
This is just insane
I just found this story at Shanghaiist about a woman currently at trial in Shanghai. She actually has a good chance to get a real Darwin award due to the death penalty in China (no more public executions though but there is an execution van).
I just can't understand how she could get that far and how she even could use his passport to board a plane in the States. They will check everything when I go there next week but of course I didn't kill anyone...
What kind of fancy necklace is she wearing there on the picture?
I just can't understand how she could get that far and how she even could use his passport to board a plane in the States. They will check everything when I go there next week but of course I didn't kill anyone...
What kind of fancy necklace is she wearing there on the picture?
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Super Brand Mall
A view of Super Brand Mall...
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
A view to Zhongshan Park Station...
Relaxing
It is hot outside and this can really help sometimes.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
Another construction site. This one is on Nanjing Road, nearby Jing'an Temple.
Impressions from Baoshan Lu (II)
Impressions from Baoshan Road (I)
You could say it is an old-style road. There are mainly old houses with little shops. But as you can already see in the first pictures these buildings will vanish soon (some shops there are closed with temporary walls, apartments are empty):
Here some parts of the house are already missing:
Here some parts of the house are already missing:
Metro Station Baoshan Road
I went out to search for an electronics market nearby this metro station. I found it but it was closing for the day just then. This is the metro station itself (for line 3/4):
It is one station after Shanghai Railway Station, so there is still some railway maintenance around:
Some housing and new construction in the back:
It is one station after Shanghai Railway Station, so there is still some railway maintenance around:
Some housing and new construction in the back:
Shanghai Global Carnival Ad. Started yesterday and is nearby the F1 track in Anting.
Sushi Time
We went for sushi (and other stuff) yesterday. We luckily saw a shuttle bus to Super Brand Mall and decided that this would be better than walking to the next restaurant. We have a VIP-Card for this sushi restaurant (10% off and you get it when you spent more than 300 one time) and use it quite often.
I don't really know the name of this restaurant (all in Chinese :-)) but it has a boy with a plate in the logo. Quite nice and when it's as full as yesterday the stuff is extremely fresh.
I don't really know the name of this restaurant (all in Chinese :-)) but it has a boy with a plate in the logo. Quite nice and when it's as full as yesterday the stuff is extremely fresh.
Friday, July 07, 2006
Construction Housing
Construction workers usually live on the construction site due to the fact that they come from the countryside and can't afford anything else and it is also not really wished.
They live (sometimes for years) in buildings like these - basically some fast and easy to build containers or similar. Every room hosts at least 4 people in bunk beds (can be a lot more - depending on the company). I also saw some constructions sites nearby where the workers live in partially finished apartments/offices on site.
Another construction site next to the one above with basically the same housing. They normally have no aircon. It seems only the manager's office has an aircon. Some seem to privately pay an a/c (like in normal apartments - the first thing people buy when they have money is an a/c).
Completely unrelated is this public toilet next to both sites. You may see that the last door here looks different. This is the door to the room for the service person/"toilet manager".
They live (sometimes for years) in buildings like these - basically some fast and easy to build containers or similar. Every room hosts at least 4 people in bunk beds (can be a lot more - depending on the company). I also saw some constructions sites nearby where the workers live in partially finished apartments/offices on site.
Another construction site next to the one above with basically the same housing. They normally have no aircon. It seems only the manager's office has an aircon. Some seem to privately pay an a/c (like in normal apartments - the first thing people buy when they have money is an a/c).
Completely unrelated is this public toilet next to both sites. You may see that the last door here looks different. This is the door to the room for the service person/"toilet manager".
New Construction in Lujiazui
There is currently another construction project running in Lujiazui (next to Century Avenue). It seems to be a relatively big shopping mall project with a park and so on.
They are currently doing the ground preparation:
This preparation will take a long time due to the fact that this all was basically a swamp some time ago and the ground moves very easily.
One building is already finished and the restaurant is open for some weeks now:
"We are open":
They are currently doing the ground preparation:
This preparation will take a long time due to the fact that this all was basically a swamp some time ago and the ground moves very easily.
One building is already finished and the restaurant is open for some weeks now:
"We are open":
Super Brand Mall
Most people that visited the Super Brand Mall at least one time should have realized that something goes wrong there. It is a giant shopping mall and due to the poor guiding concept I regularly get lost in there. Escalators are not logically placed and often enough I could see the shop/restaurant from downstairs but I couldn't reach it via the stairs.
There are only very few elevators and it takes up to 10 minutes or more until one arrives at your floor (and then it normally is full already). I also dislike the Lotus supermarket downstairs because I realized one time that the advertised price and the price I had to pay for something had a difference of 200 RMB (I only realized that later and it took them more than 30 minutes to finally pay me back the money).
This shopping mall is also having the same problem like a lot of other shopping malls in Shanghai. They decided to go the "famous brand" way, which means only expensive brand shops are there. A result of this is a basically empty shopping mall.
This is happening similar in the Oriental Shopping Mall in Xujiahui. This one is basically empty (not more than 20 customers on 5 floors) while the normal shopping mall next door is packed with people. You could hear the wind blowing in there...
So now they try to improve their situation by getting more restaurants and popular shops in. I saw similar things happening in other malls. One very exclusive mall for example opened bargain shops in the underground section and it then got busy. Others spread restaurants on every floor (e. g. Raffles City, Nextage and Pudong Times Square) so that more people are actually on these floors. Pudong Timese Square was also one of these malls where I was one time and only met sleeping sales assistants and another customer searching for something interesting in this building.
Xin Mei Union Square (next to Nextage on Pudong Times Square) spreaded from the beginning restaurants all over the floors. The shops are still relatively empty but at least it doesn't look so empty.
There are only very few elevators and it takes up to 10 minutes or more until one arrives at your floor (and then it normally is full already). I also dislike the Lotus supermarket downstairs because I realized one time that the advertised price and the price I had to pay for something had a difference of 200 RMB (I only realized that later and it took them more than 30 minutes to finally pay me back the money).
This shopping mall is also having the same problem like a lot of other shopping malls in Shanghai. They decided to go the "famous brand" way, which means only expensive brand shops are there. A result of this is a basically empty shopping mall.
This is happening similar in the Oriental Shopping Mall in Xujiahui. This one is basically empty (not more than 20 customers on 5 floors) while the normal shopping mall next door is packed with people. You could hear the wind blowing in there...
So now they try to improve their situation by getting more restaurants and popular shops in. I saw similar things happening in other malls. One very exclusive mall for example opened bargain shops in the underground section and it then got busy. Others spread restaurants on every floor (e. g. Raffles City, Nextage and Pudong Times Square) so that more people are actually on these floors. Pudong Timese Square was also one of these malls where I was one time and only met sleeping sales assistants and another customer searching for something interesting in this building.
Xin Mei Union Square (next to Nextage on Pudong Times Square) spreaded from the beginning restaurants all over the floors. The shops are still relatively empty but at least it doesn't look so empty.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
More Traffic Fun
This is really funny. What I especially like is that they stopped her because she drove a bike on the motor lane. She should have been driving a car on a bike lane, because that is OK. Also OK is a scooter with full speed on a pedestrian walk. It is also OK to beat a red light and honk so that the pedestrians "vanish".
But this week I saw for the first time ever a policeman actually stopping a car when pedestrians were passing the street. It really was the first time ever!
But this week I saw for the first time ever a policeman actually stopping a car when pedestrians were passing the street. It really was the first time ever!
Impression from the People's Park. No it's not raining, this is a sun umbrella.
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Summer Fashion in Shanghai
Sad that it is blurry but I think you can still see the "half-shirt" fashion style here.
Goods Transport
The Shanghai Metro is used for many things - not only as MRT. Quite common is the transport of express mail via the metro and the delivery of parcels etc. via metro. You can see many people sit in the metro station (inside the station, without passing the exit gate) waiting for their counterpart who delivers mail and receives mail.
But you can also find some normal goods transport:
I actually think that is used for the vending machines. It seemed to be quite difficult because the wanted to transport all at once.
I'm not really sure why the didn't use the elevator next to this entrance...
But you can also find some normal goods transport:
I actually think that is used for the vending machines. It seemed to be quite difficult because the wanted to transport all at once.
I'm not really sure why the didn't use the elevator next to this entrance...
Lotus Flower Season
We had our Sunday Brunch at Barbarossa in People's Park and next to the restaurant/bar/club is a lotus pond.
It's the lotus flower season now - it started last weekend in Shanghai and it should be fully there next weekend:
It's the lotus flower season now - it started last weekend in Shanghai and it should be fully there next weekend:
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Shanghai World Financial Center - Status in July
The new World Financial Tower is rising and rising. It will catch up with Jin Mao soon.
You can see now a bit of the design:
Let's just hope they have enough money and don't have to stop like several others in this area. There are quite a few half-finished towers in this area and that doesn't look so pretty.
Maybe they can do it the Pakistani way then - several towers there were not finished but the lower floors were already in use.
You can see now a bit of the design:
Let's just hope they have enough money and don't have to stop like several others in this area. There are quite a few half-finished towers in this area and that doesn't look so pretty.
Maybe they can do it the Pakistani way then - several towers there were not finished but the lower floors were already in use.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Even More Restaurants Around
They are currently finishing the shops for some more restaurants around the corner (behind the Shanghai GM building). Most are still under construction.
There is also another Papa Johns outlet - just some hundred meters away from the other one nearby Times Square:
There is also another Papa Johns outlet - just some hundred meters away from the other one nearby Times Square:
WM Quarter Finals in the German Centre Shanghai (IV)
Party after Germany won:
WM Quarter Finals in the German Centre Shanghai (III)
WM Quarter Finals in the German Centre Shanghai (II)
Some pictures from the crowd after Germany won:
Over all a very nice thing to watch it there on the big screen with a lot of German fans. Though some went a bit too crazy about the win so that my girlfriend got hurt by a chair thrown around. Some had a bit too my beer I would guess.
Over all a very nice thing to watch it there on the big screen with a lot of German fans. Though some went a bit too crazy about the win so that my girlfriend got hurt by a chair thrown around. Some had a bit too my beer I would guess.
WM Quarter Finals Germany - Argentina in the German Centre Shanghai (I)
Some pictures from the quarter finals public viewing in the German Centre in Shanghai:
My mobile phone camera is quite bad - sorry for the bad quality.
My mobile phone camera is quite bad - sorry for the bad quality.
A new 3D ad monitor in the metro - very cool.
Afternoon impression on my way home.
Christmas is soon...
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Pictures from the new Shanghai South Railway Station
Here you can see some nice pictures from the first round railway station in the world.
I will try to take some myself soon. There is also an amusement park nearby.
I will try to take some myself soon. There is also an amusement park nearby.
Monday, June 26, 2006
First Time To Use The Oven
I used the oven for the first time and I used some easy-to-make mix from the States. I never used an oven before to bake something so it was quite interesting. :-)
Anyhow - this is the stuff:
It is all "imitated" and "artificial" but anyway it was worth a try.
This was the result...
Anyhow - this is the stuff:
It is all "imitated" and "artificial" but anyway it was worth a try.
This was the result...
Sunday, June 25, 2006
This is a picture taken just before the start of a plum rain. It gets dark within minutes and a storm starts and distributes all the nice dust from construction sites all over town. This is the time when I start to run and try to hide in a metro station.
Back in Hangzhou
I have been in Hangzhou again - this time for a company event.
These are some pictures taken from the hotel room.
These are some pictures taken from the hotel room.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Shanghai Metro Plan
A property agent offers a nearly complete metro plan, including a lot of the planned metro lines and their stations.
I think it gives a good overview of what we can expect in the future.
I think it gives a good overview of what we can expect in the future.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Empty streets for SCO...
Hengshan Road in Shanghai
This is a view of Hengshan Road last Saturday.
You can see a lot of "Bud"-Umbrellas here - the whole street is branded like this. It's the US Version though and not the original.
This here is a Tibetian Bar/Restaurant next to the metro station Hengshan Road. They also have a big TV outside during the championship (the traffic is too loud though).
This whole area looks very nice with all the trees at the road. This is actually the old "French Concession", one of the nicest areas of Shanghai with a lot of old European houses.
You can see a lot of "Bud"-Umbrellas here - the whole street is branded like this. It's the US Version though and not the original.
This here is a Tibetian Bar/Restaurant next to the metro station Hengshan Road. They also have a big TV outside during the championship (the traffic is too loud though).
This whole area looks very nice with all the trees at the road. This is actually the old "French Concession", one of the nicest areas of Shanghai with a lot of old European houses.
Sunday, June 18, 2006
I'm waiting for them to come back...
I'm eagerly waiting for the V8 Supercars Challenge from Australia to return to Shanghai.
This was the best race I ever saw - forget MotoGP (it rains every time they are here) and forget F1 (too fast to look at).
Austrailians are much more relaxed and much cooler - we also got a very cool Pit Stop walk through.
There we saw cars like these:
And things like that:
And the weather was perfect:
And the girls were nice:
;-)
This was the best race I ever saw - forget MotoGP (it rains every time they are here) and forget F1 (too fast to look at).
Austrailians are much more relaxed and much cooler - we also got a very cool Pit Stop walk through.
There we saw cars like these:
And things like that:
And the weather was perfect:
And the girls were nice:
;-)
Line 3/4 And The Rest Of The Evening
For stupid foreigners like me the metro company uses a colour system.
Line 3 is yellow:
Line 4 is purple:
Both lines use the best trains of the Shanghai metro - much better than Line 1 or 2.
This is a blurry picture from inside the Shanghai Stadium Station:
And this is what we did that night - we watch the championship in the Irish Pub. It even had an English comment, because they showed a South African channel:
Line 3 is yellow:
Line 4 is purple:
Both lines use the best trains of the Shanghai metro - much better than Line 1 or 2.
This is a blurry picture from inside the Shanghai Stadium Station:
And this is what we did that night - we watch the championship in the Irish Pub. It even had an English comment, because they showed a South African channel:
Metro Line No. 4
There are currently 5 Metro lines operating in Shanghai and No. 4 is the newest one. Yes Line No. 5 came before 4 - I explain why later.
This is a plan of the current metro system:
(Red: Line 1, Green: Line 2, Yellow: Line 3, Purple: Line 4. Line 5 is not visible because it is in the suburbs after the end of Line 1)
Metro line 4 is a circle line, which means it goes around and around...
It would if it would be finished - but obviously it's not. The reason for that is an accident some years ago where a building vanished in a metro construction site nearby Nanpu Bridge. Obviously some calculations went wrong and because of that the whole construction got delayed. So it is a 3/4 circle or something like that. I live next to Dongchang road station of Line 2 and the interchange to line 4 is the next station - DongFang road. But this station is closed at least until October.
That much about good planning.
Anyway - we went to the Zhongshan Park Station to catch a train that would get us to a Line 1 interchange. This is the staion of Line 3 and 4 (Line 3 is also named the "Pearl Line" because it is above ground). The station for Line 2 is seperate and underground. Line 3 and 4 share quite some tracks.
(Yes he is just spitting onto the tracks. ;-))
This is a plan of the current metro system:
(Red: Line 1, Green: Line 2, Yellow: Line 3, Purple: Line 4. Line 5 is not visible because it is in the suburbs after the end of Line 1)
Metro line 4 is a circle line, which means it goes around and around...
It would if it would be finished - but obviously it's not. The reason for that is an accident some years ago where a building vanished in a metro construction site nearby Nanpu Bridge. Obviously some calculations went wrong and because of that the whole construction got delayed. So it is a 3/4 circle or something like that. I live next to Dongchang road station of Line 2 and the interchange to line 4 is the next station - DongFang road. But this station is closed at least until October.
That much about good planning.
Anyway - we went to the Zhongshan Park Station to catch a train that would get us to a Line 1 interchange. This is the staion of Line 3 and 4 (Line 3 is also named the "Pearl Line" because it is above ground). The station for Line 2 is seperate and underground. Line 3 and 4 share quite some tracks.
(Yes he is just spitting onto the tracks. ;-))
HongQiao
We went to HongQiao on Saturday, which is basically the other end of the town. Pudong is our "end of town". On both sides of town is an airport. HongQiao is the old airport and is used for domestic flights only. Pudong is the new one and is used mainly for international flights.
Anyway - the (currently) last station of line two on the way to HongQiao is "Zhongshan Park", which is also an interchange with Metro Line 3 and 4.
Carrefour opened a new store in a shopping centre directly at the metro station a short time ago:
When I came to Shanghai one year ago Carrefour (a French chain) had a lot of imported food that suits Europeans. This changed by now and the stores don't offer more than a small "imported food" corner.
Metro on the other hand offers now a lot more imported products and it is nicer to go shopping in there.
Normal apartment buildings in Shanghai look like this - check all the a/c exhausts:
A big Korean BBQ restaurant:
There are plenty of these in town.
I'm still not sure what the English sign means - maybe "Jawbreaking"?
Anyway - the (currently) last station of line two on the way to HongQiao is "Zhongshan Park", which is also an interchange with Metro Line 3 and 4.
Carrefour opened a new store in a shopping centre directly at the metro station a short time ago:
When I came to Shanghai one year ago Carrefour (a French chain) had a lot of imported food that suits Europeans. This changed by now and the stores don't offer more than a small "imported food" corner.
Metro on the other hand offers now a lot more imported products and it is nicer to go shopping in there.
Normal apartment buildings in Shanghai look like this - check all the a/c exhausts:
A big Korean BBQ restaurant:
There are plenty of these in town.
I'm still not sure what the English sign means - maybe "Jawbreaking"?
It Is So Hot!
It got hot this weekend. It's currently only 32 degrees but the humidity is very high again. We decided to use the a/c now regularly. :-)
It is really not so much about the heat - it is the humidity that is annoying. This also is the cause for a little lake on our balcony (one part of the balcony is only for the outside parts of the a/c).
Most people here have at least one a/c at home and most taxis have one too, though some taxi drivers don't like to use it because of the fuel consumption.
So even the buses need some extra cooling now:
The external a/c spill a lot of water on the streets and you have to watch up that you don't get blown over by the hot air they create on head level.
The scooters you see here are actually all electric or LPG scooters. Only these are allowed - scooters that use normal gasoline are illegal.
Electric bikes are the most common transportation way:
You will realize that these pictures have been taken in Pudong because of all the trees and wide streets. It's an older part of Pudong and only very few foreigners are there.
This is a typical neigbourhood convience store:
There are thousands of different little shops in town and quite a few are open 24/7. Normal shops are open until 10 pm 7 days a week.
I also must admit that we went to a German restaurant today again for brunch. :-)
It is named "Max und Moritz" and is on Pudong Avenue nearby Dongfang Road. It is better and cheaper than the Paulaner Restaurants and it also has much less drunk Chinese tourists. It also looks like a normal German restaurant. The brunch price is 188 RMB but it is "buy one, get one free" and the variety is nice. Beer is not included though...
It is really not so much about the heat - it is the humidity that is annoying. This also is the cause for a little lake on our balcony (one part of the balcony is only for the outside parts of the a/c).
Most people here have at least one a/c at home and most taxis have one too, though some taxi drivers don't like to use it because of the fuel consumption.
So even the buses need some extra cooling now:
The external a/c spill a lot of water on the streets and you have to watch up that you don't get blown over by the hot air they create on head level.
The scooters you see here are actually all electric or LPG scooters. Only these are allowed - scooters that use normal gasoline are illegal.
Electric bikes are the most common transportation way:
You will realize that these pictures have been taken in Pudong because of all the trees and wide streets. It's an older part of Pudong and only very few foreigners are there.
This is a typical neigbourhood convience store:
There are thousands of different little shops in town and quite a few are open 24/7. Normal shops are open until 10 pm 7 days a week.
I also must admit that we went to a German restaurant today again for brunch. :-)
It is named "Max und Moritz" and is on Pudong Avenue nearby Dongfang Road. It is better and cheaper than the Paulaner Restaurants and it also has much less drunk Chinese tourists. It also looks like a normal German restaurant. The brunch price is 188 RMB but it is "buy one, get one free" and the variety is nice. Beer is not included though...
Thursday, June 15, 2006
Difficulties
There could be some problems with my blog at the moment because I'm playing around with server-paths etc.
I hope I will solve my own problems soon. :-)
OK I switched now my main domain witt-24.de to the subdirectory that I used for this blog. Now all my domains are directing to this one blog and nothing else.
I also got me some new domains tonight - it was a special offer because soon 1 Million .de-Domains will be registered. They don't work at the moment because it will take some time until all DNS-Servers know them.
Negative effect is now, that I have to move some directories right now because of the changed master domain...
I hope I will solve my own problems soon. :-)
OK I switched now my main domain witt-24.de to the subdirectory that I used for this blog. Now all my domains are directing to this one blog and nothing else.
I also got me some new domains tonight - it was a special offer because soon 1 Million .de-Domains will be registered. They don't work at the moment because it will take some time until all DNS-Servers know them.
Negative effect is now, that I have to move some directories right now because of the changed master domain...
Fireworks
Yesterday was the official firework for the SCO-Meeting. Due to the haze the result was not very good and it was shorter than the testrun on Monday night.
Hopefully another one will follow, because I didn't get it very well on video. This also because the police closed the whole area around the firework.
More here:
http://shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/06/15/283212/Barrage_of_fireworks_greets_SCO_leaders.htm
Hopefully another one will follow, because I didn't get it very well on video. This also because the police closed the whole area around the firework.
More here:
http://shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/06/15/283212/Barrage_of_fireworks_greets_SCO_leaders.htm
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Surprise - It's Raining Again!
Surprisingly it's raining again and this also brings wounderful haze...
Anyway - no ferry service anymore due to the SCO-Meeting.
Instead some fancy little police ships are on the river with flashing lights. Also every street corner and house is guarded by police now.
Anyway - no ferry service anymore due to the SCO-Meeting.
Instead some fancy little police ships are on the river with flashing lights. Also every street corner and house is guarded by police now.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Busy Tonight
If you ever wonder what I'm doing tonight (not that anyone would care) - I'm watching the Korea - Togo match in Chinese TV (CCTV5, the state sports channel). I don't really understand the comments though...
Fantastic Night View
I have a fantastic night view today:
It was never so clear and bright before - the view is perfect.
It was never so clear and bright before - the view is perfect.
Sunday, June 11, 2006
Streched Hummer
Even in Shanghai fancy limousines can be found - though the import tax must make them extremely expensive.
This one was parked in front of the Jin Mao Tower/Grand Hyatt Hotel.
You can see the driving range with some restaurants in the back. There is also a nice "Tony" restaurant where you have a view to Jin Mao.
This one was parked in front of the Jin Mao Tower/Grand Hyatt Hotel.
You can see the driving range with some restaurants in the back. There is also a nice "Tony" restaurant where you have a view to Jin Mao.
Historic Street of Shanghai
This "historic" street scenery of Shanghai is under the Urban Planning Musuem. It looks quite OK but the ads in there destroy a bit the looks.
You can find it under People's Square and it seems as if it will be expanded soon.
You can find it under People's Square and it seems as if it will be expanded soon.
"Ferrari" Sina
This is the Fiat Sina in the "Ferrari" Edition.
Price is around 80.000 to 90.000 RMB.
Thursday, June 08, 2006
SCO Security
As promised here is the paper:
I sadly have neither name or phone number of the policeman in charge so that I can't contact him.
I sadly have neither name or phone number of the policeman in charge so that I can't contact him.
