After the overnight train which was what is known here a a 'hard sleeper' (cabins that are divided into 6 bunkbeds, top/middle and bottom with no doors) we arrived in Shanghai! We first were taken on an orientation walk with our guide Dodo through the busy streets lined with many western shops including zara and and various watch and sports shops. It was much more humid than Beijing and considerably more Western. People seemed to be more used to seeing people like us there and English was spoken slightly more too. The buildings there were unbelievably tall and all seemed to have an ultra modern deisgn. After visiting the Shanghai museum which had collections of Ming vases and caligraphy we went to a near by starbucks and admired the fashionable looking streets from their balcony with an iced lemon tea in hand :)

That night we all went on a boat trip where we could see the vibrant city lights and the tons of skyscrapers that shaped the Shanghai skyline. The atmosphere generated by Shanghai of a night time was electric and in general it just felt like a cool place to be!

The next day we went as a group to Yu Gardens which was like a city within a city. There were tons of fish ponds with huge Karp swimming around and it was much quiter here! Buried within the gardens there was a tiny teahouse where we got to try lots of Chinese teas and were told of the healing properties of each of them. I brought some tea to stop me getting wrinkles and increase beauty/digestion problems ;)

After a lunch of dumplings, we we headed back to the hotel for a short rest! That nigth we went to see the Shanghai acrobats, I wasn't too sure what to expect but I have to say thatit was really enjoyable. People made mistakes which just made it seem more real so al in all it was worth the visit! Aftee the show, some of the group went to a bar at the top of a shopping centre and the cockatils were cheap cheap! I had a cosmo for the equivalant of 3 pounds.