Shanghai, part 1: Arrival

We've now been back from China longer than the time we were there, so I guess I better get telling you all about it, right?

Starting with the airplane. We flew Hainan Airlines, which is a Chinese company. The planes on the Seattle to Beijing run don't have individual air vent controls. The Beijing to Shanghai flight had air controls for each seat, but they didn't change much. A little air circulation is nice, I've discovered. Chinese culture seems to disagree, however, when it comes to interior spaces.

I slept most of the flight down to Shanghai. On our landing, Chunlin spotted fireworks on the horizon, but I could barely crack open my eyes to see. Probably a wedding. I was told that many weddings have big fireworks displays.


This sign is the name of the airport, by the way. With all the signs throughout town written in Chinese (with a little English thrown in), it felt like I was in Chinatown. But Shanghai is much bigger...


Chunlin was happy to be back in China.

We had resevered a room at a hotel near the airport. I thought it was the Xingong Business Hotel. When the taxi driver got us to the address, the hotel had two names: Shanghai Gold Hotel and Eastern Business Hotel, neither of which match the name on the internet. Correct hotel, though.

Our room had a nice view of the airport, a major arterial street, and a giant golf ball.




Welcome to Shanghai!

More photos on flickr.