Today I joined a walking tour of the former French Concession neighborhood, arguably one of the prettiest areas of the city. I was surprised to learn that although French rule prevailed, very few French people actually lived in the district. The population mostly consisted of Brits, Americans, White Russians and Chinese. Yet Shanghai became known […]
Organized Tours
Tips for Visiting Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo
Tsukiji Market in Tokyo is the largest fish and seafood wholesale market in the world. The market processes around 700,000 metric tons of seafood each year, worth roughly US $5.5 billion dollars. Every morning at 3:00am, the prized tuna are unloaded and their value is estimated. At 5:30am, the tuna auctions gets underway. Only licensed […]
A Tour of Shanghai’s Fairmont Peace Hotel
Shanghai’s iconic Fairmont Peace Hotel began life in 1929 as Sassoon House, named after its owner Sir Victor Sassoon, a British real estate mogul. While Mr. Sassoon lived in the 10th floor penthouse, the rest of the building was dominated by the prestigious Cathay Hotel. The Chinese government took over the building (and all the […]