Today I went on a cruise along the main river that runs through the city of Shanghai, the Huangpu River. I selected a reasonably priced (AUD10) hour long cruise that I was told had a recorded voice guide in English as well as Chinese.
After twenty minutes in the waiting room watching the guide leader scratch him self and chain smoke, my self and about thirty other tourists boarded a bus that I presumed would took us to the cruise boat. The fifteen minute bus ride took us north along the riverbank and through one of the older parts of Shanghai. It was fascinating to see the old buildings that are unchanged from when they were build in the 1920's and earlier.
Once at the dock everyone slowly piled out of the bus and onto the two-story river cruise boat. I choose a seat outside at the back of the boat so I could more appreciate the scenery. All of the other tourists packed in around me and, of course, being China everyone's first instinct seemed to be to cough and then spit over the side of the boat. I'm pretty sure I'll be reminded of my China trip every time I hear someone purging their lungs of phlegm. It's a sound heard quite often here.
The Huangpu River is awfully dirty and filled with dead vegetation and rubbish. It's really no wonder when I myself have seen absent minded or uneducated locals tossing rubbish into the river without a second thought. I think my awareness of the need for recycling and nature conservation has been boosted since coming to China, as has my appreciation for the beauty of my own home city of Sydney.
As we jugged south along the river, the beautiful building along The Bund came into view. These buildings are strikingly European, although many of them were designed by Chinese architects who were influenced by Victorian and Parisian architecture. There's a very interesting contrast of these older building on The Bund side of the river, and the modern buildings such as the Pearl TV Tower, on the Pudong side. It speak of the history of Shanghai, the western influence and the possibilities for the future.
The cruise was quite relaxing even despite the bitterly cold winter wind. The views were amazing and it's a really good way of seeing Shanghai and learning a bit of it's history.
