Favorites from China: Shanghai and Suzhou

China is one of the most amazing places on the planet. I love the people, the culture, the food, the language (Mandarin Chinese is a hobby of mine), and the scenes. Here are a few photos from a brief trip to visit some friends a while back. Bonus tip: If you are coming to China, be sure to see my page of tips for survival: Surviving in China (a work in progress).

Neon lights at the entrance of a shopping center in an industrial park in Suzhou. China, what a country!
Shanghai's beautiful Oriental Pearl telecommunications building in Pudong, on the Bund.
Two buildings on the west side of the Bund, including the building where I work: the Bund Center on the right.
You can say it with flowers, or you can say it with LED lights on the face of a 70-story buildiing. Either way, I agree with the sentiment: I love Shanghai. This is a view of the East Bund from the west side. May 2011.

Shanghai's most famous and most photographed bridge, it's first steel bridge, the Wai Bai Du bridge on the Bund. May 2011.
Qibao, a beautiful old part of southwestern Shanghai on a canal.
Doorway to a shop in Shanghai near the Bund on the west side, taken in the evening in May 2011
Bus on the Bund, May 2011.
Expensive ginseng, beautiful and mysterious, from a Shanghai ginseng shop near Yu Gardens. The shape of each root is supposed to be related to its individual health-giving power. Cooler shapes result in higher prices. May 2011.
A scene in the cricket market of south Xizang Road, near the Dong Tai Antiques Market, where vast numbers of large, noisy crickets are sold, each in their own little cage. May 2011.
Yu Yuan or Yu Gardens, a beautiful and historic area near where I live. One of Shanghai's most interesting spots to visit.
Inside a shopping area at Yu Yuan.
Fire lantern being lit (illegally) near a lake in Suzhou, China.
Goods being sold at a bazaar in Shanghai.
Goods being sold at a bazaar in Shanghai.
Stairway over a canal in an industrial park in Suzhou, China.
Pearl: Scene at the Cheng Huang Temple in Shanghai.
Cheng Huang Temple (Chenghuang Miao) in the heart of Shanghai, showing traditional Chinese architecture, including the famed DQ sign.
Woman selling zhongzi, triangular packs of rice and other ingredients wrapped in banana leaves and steamed. Inexpensive and delicious..
A little emperor poses at a court in the Cheng Huang Temple. Photo taken with the parents' permission.
Tall building on Huai Hai Road. I think it's the Hong Kong Center.
Night view of the Bund showing the famous Bund Center, where I work. .
A building in old Shanghai with hanging textiles out to dry, 2012.