I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium and, after visiting a few underwhelming zoos in Asia, had some trepidation about the conditions I’d find. For all of Shanghai’s glitz and glamour, China is still a developing nation and animal conservation doesn’t always seem to be a high priority (Giant Pandas excepted). […]
Shanghai
Snapshot: Shanghai’s Perilous Carts
The sight of carts, bikes and trucks piled to overflowing with precarious cargo loads is relatively common in China, even in modern Shanghai. Capturing footage these gravity-defying feats of packing can be a bit of a challenge as you often don’t see them until they are already passing. Several times I found myself standing open-mouthed […]
Goodbye Shanghai! What I’ll Miss and What I Won’t
Leaving a place you’ve lived is a bittersweet feeling, at least for me. While excited for the adventure that lies ahead, there’s a sentimentality for the experiences and people who shaped my life there. We have just departed Shanghai, after two pretty incredible years. This was my first stab at living abroad and I think it […]
Lao Beijing: the Best Peking Duck in Shanghai
Peking duck is one of China’s most famous dishes for good reason. Specially-bred and fattened ducks are glazed and hung in a wood fire to roast until the browned skin is crisp and the meat succulent. A specialty of Beijing, roast duck was first mentioned in a cookbook for the royal kitchen in the 14th […]
Pearl Tower and the Shanghai History Museum
Shanghai’s skyline may not be as famous as that of Hong Kong, but I think it’s almost as striking. The tallest, at least for the moment, is the Shanghai World Financial Center, but the most easily identifiable building is Oriental Pearl Tower, the city’s 468 meter TV tower. It’s punctuated with purple globes of varying […]