Over the course of the entire semester I have been so excited to go to one of Shanghai’s tallest buildings, Shanghai World Financial Center, and see the views of Shanghai from over 1,500 feet up. Because of Shanghai’s climate and current pollution levels, finding a clear weather day to do this has not been easy but I finally got my shot and was so impressed by the view that lay before me.
The World Financial Center stands in Pudong, which is the eastern part of Shanghai (my campus is in Puxi, the western part). What amazes me about Pudong and many of the buildings that you can see in the pictures is that most of them weren’t built until the 90’s, when Shanghai went through a massive period of development that ultimately constructed the city I know today. At the bottom of the WFC there was even a video that showed a side by side comparison of NYC and Shanghai starting from the 1930’s. In the video I could see New York already had many skyscrapers by the 40’s and was continuing to grow, while Shanghai was basically a flat piece of land until the 90’s rolled around! Living in such a modern city now and walking around these streets amazes me knowing that many of the skyscrapers around me are only barely older than I am.
Despite a light layer of pollution brimming at the horizon, the view was absolutely stunning!
