I should have posted these a long time ago, but my PhD research has taken the front seat to anything and everything in my life. But I decided to hunker down and go through my photos from the past year. I hope to at least get an update in a week until I get all caught up. I bring you the extension to my trip in China, our second destination in Shanghai.  I didn’t know what to expect other than the food that my Mother always talked about, but it was a surprisingly metropolis area that reminded me a lot of Los Angeles.  Here is a view of the spaghetti junction that ran like rivers across the area.

We arrived to our destination around Yu Garden and were looking forward to walking around and seeing the City God Temple of Shanghai, but had the plans to eat some lunch before walking around.  We saw a lot of interesting people around the area.  I was still getting used to shooting while being unseen, but sometimes you get caught.

I was intrigued by the area right as we stepped foot into the area. But our quick pace allotted us no time to walk around prior to food. Here was my first glimpse of the area and I quickly had my hunger satiated with my interest in the area.

We walked through a food court as well, while headed to our restaurant.  I really just wanted to get some different street food as opposed to the restaurant food that we were served during our tour here.  My brother and I ended up getting some interesting stuffed, pan-fried “bao.”

And there was so much more for us to try, but we had to also save some room for our already paid for lunch.

My brother and I ended lunch early to have a sneak peak of the area. We were getting restless as the food was taking forever to be served. This was fortuitous for us, but bad for the other visitors. Little did we know, that no one else would have the time to walk around this area. We definitely made the right decision to forgo food and look around.

Yu Garden and the surrounding areas was a really majestic place to visit, even if it is considered a “tourist trap.” These places are always places that you have to see at least once.

“Yu Garden or Yuyuan Garden is an extensive Chinese garden located beside the City God Temple.” This was one place that we actually stopped by to see. Even though we were promised a visit to the City God Temple of Shanghai, we didn’t have time for it. This tour was poorly managed.

As we were leaving, I was able to take a few other photos of the area. The architecture was definitely something special.

Local electrician taking his time with this transformer.

A peep show, but really a gathering around a puppet show.

I spotted some interested ceiling art that you would only seen back in the day, we no longer see much of the craftsmanship from the past

A general view of the area.

A kid, a dad, and his bike.

Tea roaster.

And more views of the area.

I loved this old group of men.

And younger men.

We ended up heading over to Xitiandi to look at all the shops around the area. I didn’t take many photos of this area, but I did get some of these apartments on the way there.

Also I found a fellow taking a break with his smoke.

And a lady after shopping.

Lastly we went over to see the skyline of Shanghai. It’s amazing how futuristic this place looks.

I decided to take a quick panorama of the area.

We ended up splitting up with the group after a long time getting convinced to buy pearls. It was really a waste of time, but we ended up eating great food with great family. I leave you with a few photos of dinner.