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China's largest city enjoyed marvelous history. It became legendary. It’s now reinventing itself after years of neglect and chaotic development. 2009 wasn’t the best time for a visit as it turned into a giant construction site in preparation for Expo 2010. Shanghai was huge! Frighteningly vast! And excruciatingly hot and humid. Had it not been dug out and covered in scaffolding, construction material and ugly fences, including the one at The Bund, which completely blocked the view of the Pudong from one side and the Bund from the other. Utterly disappointing! The only way of admiring the view of Pudong was from a tourist boat, touts of which cruised the riverside streets inviting tourists for the ¥100 ride. As I had that in my itinerary, I decided to go on one but only in the afternoon. But eventually changed my mind and skipped it altogether. Many Chinese asked me why I had come in the middle of July 2009, while it was sticky hot and the construction work aimed at improving the city image for the Expo 2010 ruined the experience. I told them. But they were right. The cranes and inconveniences created for pedestrians were really offputting. Such a large city with many sights, and yet I wanted to leave right away...
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