Caught the "G" train out of Suzhou station on Friday afternoon and took it to the central Shanghai station. We waited about 20 minutes in the cab line to get a taxi to the Marriott Courtyard. What an exciting ride. It began quickly when the driver turned the wrong way down a one-way avenue when we left the station garage. From there, it was pretty wild, changing lanes and slamming on the brakes until we got to to the hotel. The guy was talking to himself most of the way. Not sure what was going on but it was a good thing traffic was slow and heavy to temper his speed except in a few stretches.

Checked in at the hotel (whew!) and caught the subway to the Hengshan Road neighborhood. The area has tree-lined streets and is full of bars, restaurants, and shops. We had dinner at a little place called the Abbey Pub where I had what I must say is the best burger I've ever eaten in China. After dinner, we walked back to the hotel - about a 30 minute stroll through a very interesting neighborhood (in a good way). Obviously, for the young Shanghai crowd, the night was just beginning.

Saturday morning I slept in a bit and had a room service breakfast. I met Doug and his friend John in the lobby and we went off to a luncheon. I wasn't quite sure what this was going to be. Turns out, John, who has a degree in metallurgy from Xi'an University, was meeting with several students from his university who were hosting an honored professor for a celebratory lunch. The professor came in from Xi'an and students came from as far away as Beijing. We met at a hotel in Baoshan, on the north side of Shanghai. About 26 people gathered to honor the 75-year old professor and his wife, including Doug and me.

The lunch was quite interesting. Many of the students had graduated with each other over the course of about 20 years. The gathering started relatively quietly but became quite boisterous as the Mautai baijiu (distilled rice liquor) flowed freely. There was much toasting and laughing. It was quite a site. Adding additional interest were two young children, a girl about 8 and a boy about 10 who were there practicing their English. The little girl was a real pistol.

When the luncheon ended, three carloads of us headed off to the grounds of the 2010 China Expo in PuDong. It took over 90 minutes in very heavy traffic to cover about 15 miles in the dreary, rainy weather. Arriving at the Expo grounds, where only some of the dozens of exhibits still remain, we stood around in the wet drizzle while a long negotiation to get discounted tickets carried on between some of our group and a few "tour guides". Most amusing was the anger of one of the competing guides who lost out because he'd quoted too high of a price to begin and another lady guide undercut him, capturing our group's business. The shouting match was quite a show. It would've been more amusing had it not been so cold and wet outside.

We finally got in and toured the Saudi Pavilion, which was quite impressive - especially the video surround show. See the pictures posted in the Shanghai album. The group broke up, and John drove us back to the Xujaihui neighborhood where we met several of Doug's former colleagues for dinner.

Lucy, Robin, Homa, Danny, and John, together with Doug, had quite a good time telling stories and toasting each other with beer. It was a fun evening, and we closed the restaurant - although at that restaurant, closing was a little after 9 PM. They were glad to see us go, however, since the rest of place had long since emptied.

About 10 Sunday morning we met Doug's former colleague Andrew who took us on a tour of the Pudong area and then People's Park in central Shanghai. After a stroll down Fujian St, where the streets are lined with booksellers, calligraphy shops, and paper stores, we had lunch a couple blocks from the Bund.

We walked back to People's park and Doug & I toured the Shanghai CIty museum, which had several interesting exhibits explaining the history and future plans for Shanghai. The work done so far, and the plans for the future, are very impressive - and necessary for a city of over 20 million.

Off to Wuhan tomorrow,