We arrived in Shanghai on Tuesday 9th October after a 15 hour overnight train journey. I wasn't looking forward to the journey but it turned out to be great fun, despite being in dormintory style compartments on the train (6 beds to each little cabin area) and about 100 beds in each carriage. We had some beers, played games and eventually went to bed about midnight (although the train lights went out at 10pm when all the chinese travellers went to bed). I think we must have pissed some of them off because we were a bit noisy!

I actually managed to get some sleep (probably about 5 hours) and we arrived in Shanghai about 9am and went straight to our hotel via taxis to freshen up and shower. We then rested for a while before being taken on an orientation tour of the city. In the evening some of us went to see the Shanghai Acrobatics show. It was the best show I have ever seen and the performers defied what I thought was possible in terms of flexibility of their bodies and the stunts that they they performed. Truly worth seeing if in Shanghai.

I like Shanghai a lot more than Beijing because it is more of what I expected from a Chinese city as it has great charm and character. Beijing has been virtually rebuilt and is very new and clinical. I was staggered to learn that Shanghai has a population of about 16 million and is one crowded city.

I've spent less time sight seeing at temples and the like and have just been wondering around and soaking up the atmosphere of the city. There are some amazing side streets shopping areas and other places of interest (including the famous Pudong and Bund areas and the French quarter). The skyline at night is out of this world. Today, I travelled on the Maglev train which is the fastest train in the world (travels at 430 km per hour). It was an amazing experience and takes you from the centre of Shanghai to the Airport in 8 mins (I'll post some pics and video soon).

This evening we all went to dinner to celebrate one of our group (Helen's) birthday. We then went to the viewing gallery of the Shanghai Jinmao Observatory on the 88th floor of the skyscraper. Going up in the lift was an amazing experience as it travelled at 9.1 meters per second (gets to floor 88 in 45 seconds). My ears popped like mad but it was great. The view of the night skyline was breathtaking and we stayed there taking photos until being kicked out at closing time. I will post some pics as soon as I find an internet cafe in China that will allow me to upload my photos.

Tomorrow we leave for Xian (another 15 hour train journey!).