Bustling cosmopolitan metropolis though it is, Shanghai doesn't seem to have that much to offer the solo backpacker. Its tourist attractions are relatively few. What makes it stand out from China are precisely the things of least interest to me right now -- shopping and nightlife.

I'm staying at the Captain Hostel, just half a block from the Bund, Shanghai's famous European waterfront. Built by the Europeans who transformed Shanghai from a fishing village into the Paris of the Orient after winning it as a Treaty Port, the Bund is a stretch along the Huang Pu river dominated by old European-style buildings. While it's odd and interesting to see such a stretch of buildings in one of China's foremost city's, it's hard to stay interested for long in buildings that look just like the ones at home. The hostel itself is very clean and nice. It's too new to be in Lonely Planet, but other travelers had clued me into it and told me where it was.

I also visited the Yu Gardens today, which are one of Shanghai's more famous attractions. It's a beautiful Chinese garden originally built during the Ming dynasty and reconstructed after being destroyed by various bombardments of the city. Surrounding the garden is a bazaar full of antique and not-so-antique Chinese paraphenalia -- silk, Buddha statues, paintings, jade and everything else. If Shanghai ever leads you to doubt that you're really in China, have a walk through here and the shouts of "Hello, have a looka" will remind you where you are.

Tomorrow I think I will go to Suzhou, about an hour north of here, which is home to a number of famous Chinese gardens.