First...Did you know that Kentucky Fried Chicken does more business in China than it does in the USA? There is a KFC on almost very block here, it seems!
Did you know that Pizza Hut is considered an UPSCALE "fine-dining" experience by Chinese? People literally wait in line for an hour to be seated by a maitre'd, and then brag that they've been to Pizza Hut for a night out?
"On Cloud 9"Just to give you an idea how Shanghai is truly "reaching for the stars" - check this out. This is the Jinmao tower, currently the tallest in Shanghai at 90 stories. Shawn and I had cocktails in the posh bar called "Cloud 9" on the 88th floor.
The architecture is wild! Sometimes fun, sometimes gawdy. (As perhaps in the case of this, the Oriental Pearl Tower in the Pudong New area.
Levitating Bullet TrainBut my most awe-inspiring experience in modern Shanghai was simply taking the train to the airport. But this is no simple train - it is the world's only commercial MagLev bullet train! As it pulled into the station, there was no sound - just a "whoosh" of air as the train slid sliently by - it's magnets levitating it just a hair above it's concrete track.
I was pressed back into my seat as the train quietly and gently accelerated - up to over 430kph! That's nearly 280 mph! Can you believe that? That is the fastest I have ever traveled while still on the ground! (Although, technically, we were floating just above the ground.)
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