Rick finally arrived in China. I picked him up Sunday night and we spent Monday morning and afternoon wandering around Shanghai.

Early Monday morning we wandered around Nanjing Lu, Shanghai's pedestrian street -- a true consumer paradise. While Rick enjoyed steamed buns for breakfast, I marveled at the interesting architecture (we don't have much interesting architecture in Hangzhou).

For an hour or two we walked through an old part of town next to the Yu Yuan Market (Yu Yuan Shichang).

The dilapidated houses were contrasted against the brand new highrises that frame the city's skyline. People crowded next to tables at sidewalk food stalls. The neighborhood's residents browsed dried goods booths, live fish shops and vegetable stands.

We walked back to the market and watched people feed the gold fish and went shopping for buddhas. Unfortunately we didn't find the exact buddha Rick wanted, just the ones that are used at altars in Chinese restaurants.

We didn't spend much time there before heading back to Hangzhou, had lots of fun exploring China's southern metropolis.