Two years ago, Shanghai became one of my favourite cities. This second three-day visit has done nothing to change my mind.

We stayed again in the Narada. I think the prices have gone up, but you still get a nice set of amenities. How many other hotels provide dried okra snacks or okra flower tea? This time round the deal came with breakfast, and we particularly appreciated the vast array of vegetable dishes, the roast duck, the scallion pancakes, the yoghurt (complete with diced fruit and all kinds of other things to stir in), and the avocado-and-banana smoothies.

Our three days were slightly truncated this time round. Our flight from Manila was delayed, so we reached the hotel at 2.45 in the morning (not compatible with an early sight-seeing start). We had various functional missions to accomplish. These included doing my tax return, collecting onward rail tickets, buying replacement trainers, and buying the second pair of Nigel sunglasses in less than a month (don't ask...). And although I'm now technically on annual leave, there has still been some work to finish off.

Despite all this, we had a good time.

Objectives:

-- Jingan Sculpture Park. This is a lovely place for a stroll, especially when the tulips and the blossom are doing their gorgeous thing.















-- The former Ohel Moshe Synagogue and Shanghai Jewish Refugees' Museum. This is a moving reminder of the thousands of Jews who took refuge in this area during the Second World War, many of whom testify to the welcome they received from their Chinese neighbours. Depending on opportunity, they set up businesses or did menial jobs. Some even inter-married with locals, although Jewish custom apparently made this unusual. Across the road is the recreated version of the White Horse Inn (the original, set up by some refugees in memory of home, was demolished a few years ago). Here you can enjoy a coffee and a croissant (albeit at prices that would have made the refugees' eyes bulge).









-- 1933. This is a bit grisly, since it's a former slaughterhouse. And indeed, as you follow the maze of galleries, ramps, staircases, and bridges, it's hard not to think of the fear and stench and gore that would have formed a daily part of this building's working life. But the structure has a strange functional beauty. And it's been rehabilitated as a site where graphic designers, film producers, creators of jewellery and fashion, and the like have established their premises, intermixed with an array of restaurants and cafes (including a dog cafe...) Outside the business premises, gorgeous young things walk the once-blood-slick corridors, taking atmosphere-laden photos, while chefs mill around the bridges, enjoying smoko.















-- A walk round Eileen Chang's Shanghai. The life of this local author (1920-1995) seems encircled by all the caricatures of the age, from opium-addict father through cosmopolitan mother to Japanese-sympathizer first husband. Our little tour of Chang-relevant spaces took us to bits of Shanghai I'm sure we'd never have discovered otherwise. Traditional longtang (neighbourhoods centred on a network of laneways) sit cheek by jowl with glitzy mall areas. The unpretentious abuts the up-and-coming arty. Art deco rubs shoulders with glass and steel. We walked, stared, and revived ourselves half-way through with fine coffee and almond croissants (again at vast expense -- this kind of thing is not cheap in Shanghai).











-- The Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall. This offers a meticulous chronicle of the city's development, a huge 3D model of urban Shanghai, and (at the moment) an exhibition of African art, including (very nostalgically) some pieces from Cote d'Ivoire.









Appropriately, perhaps, as it's nearly Easter, food experiences have included bread (I can't find the technical term, but it was flatbread stuffed with meat, and cooked on the side of a clay oven) and wine (the Changyu label, a little patronizingly described here, but far from the worst bottle I've ever drunk).

We also had a great final dinner at Gourmet Noodle House (although how we managed to eat each other's orders I'm not quite sure...)



And, as we already knew from last time, Shanghai is a great place to walk, and we've racked up impressive numbers of paces, with all the corresponding richness of views.









We have just left Shanghai, on the train that is eventually (God willing) going to take us to Xining.

So after all these months on the coast, we're heading inland, to the heart of China.