Pearl Tower

There are few things in Shanghai that elicit more opinions than the Pearl Tower. More Chinese seem to dislike it - but there is no denying it is a memorable building. A recent piece of architecture - it has become the symbol of the new China. Towering 365 meters above the rest of the city - it truly is a sight to behold. A few of my friends and I had a chance to tour the tower a few days ago - and had quite an experience. The pictures below show the view we had - a 360 panoramic view of Shanghai - but the true experience was in the elevator on the way down. Leaving the third pearl - a mere 15oo feet above the ground - we were jammed into a small elevator with about 20 other people. The elevator operator calmly pushed the button to go down - and the whole elevator jumped, as the cable slipped slightly. Needless to say, the look on everyone's face was wide eyed shock as I, for a brief second, contemplated what the last few seconds of my life were going to be like - standing torso to torso, face to face with a Chinese man. The elevator operator maintained her cool - and without a look of strain on her countenance, she opened the elevator door and motioned two people off - and we finished our ride down to the ground without further incident.

There is also a great Chinglish sign in these pictures - this is the sign by the main entrance to the Pearl Tower - a place that everyone passes - so a crowd of waigouren(foreigners) had gathered to read the sign, all of us with bemused looks on our faces.