Steve Madden
My first New Year’s Eve alone was a little lonely, except for the millions of Chinese shoppers taking advantage of Shanghai’s New Year’s sales and mobbing the city’s modern malls where foreign products are more expensive than in the United States, even after the currency conversion of 6.8 Yuan to 1 USD. It was disappointing to see the shoppers flock to American brands.
Nanjing Lu
Whenever I request recommendations for places to see in Shanghai, people ask, “have you been to Nanjing Lu?” With the expectation of Chinese markets, Chinese culture, and Chinese people, I took the metro to West Nanjing Road (Nanjing Dong Lu), but was disappointed to see modern glass buildings, expensive Western name brand stores, and only the richest shoppers. Wrong part of town for me. The lighted red lanterns on the sidewalk were pretty, though.