Getting ready for Bengbu

Emma and her mother only had an evening in Shanghai before we were bound for a train to Bengbu.  It was difficult for me to consider how to show Emma around a town of 23 million people.  I have been visiting this place for nearly 20 years, and I barely know the place.  How can she possibly get a taste in just one night??


She and her mother did have the option to rest in preparation for the big trip ahead of us, but instead decided to push through the jet lag and take a short trip with us on the subway and see the financial district at night.  Shanghai didn't let us down, and with a reasonably clear night, we were able to have a wonderful view of the buildings lit up at night, and have a light meal in the Financial Tower at the famous Din Tai Fung.

Emma and her mother would later learn that this was "extremely uncrowded" subway scene.

Cellphones were doing their best to capture the grandeur of the massive skyscrapers

The JinMao tower in the forefront (I remember when it was the tallest building in town), the Financial Tower just behind it to the left, and the new Shanghai Tower to the right, which is the 2nd tallest building in the world.

 The entrance to the JinMao Tower

DinTaiFung restaurant at the Financial Tower.  One of my favorites, serving a wide array of dumplings.