Man, I miss it.

SHANGHIGHSPEED. Beautiful film by Tiny Carousel.

On Friday night headed to Pudong to wander around Century Avenue. Here are some pictures of the Financial Tower (the worlds fourth tallest building!) by evening and by night (with extreme Instagram effects).

Shanghai World Financial Tower from near Century Avenue  |  上海环球金融中心从世纪大道附近

18th May 2012  |  2012年5月18日

Slightly bored of learning characters today, I took a two-hour cycle to get to the banks of the Yangtze, on Shanghai's northern periphery. Passing through the shipping ghetto, Fudan University's puzzlingly empty-but-beautiful new campus and many scary highway junctions, I made it to a nature reserve on the banks of Asia's longest river. This is the mouth of the river: from what I can glean from Baidu Maps, it's about 15 km to the opposite bank.

Yangtze River, Baoshan District  |  宝山区长江岸边

15th May 2012  |  2012年5月15日

We did go to Thames Town while we were there, and I was pretty impressed overall.

Thames Town  |  泰晤士小镇

12th May 2012  |  2012年5月12日

On the weekend RA and I took a trip to Songjiang, in the far south of Shanghai, to see what is sometimes described as the original settlement of the city. Highlights include a 15th-century pagoda and Buddhist temple, the oldest mosque in Shanghai (14th century) and the Zuibaichi, or Drunk White Pool. I'm not sure where the latter got its name. Beyond the historic sights, Songjiang District is also home to the famous Thames Town. RA took this photo at the Buddhist temple.

Near the Xilin Pagoda  |  近西林塔

12th May 2012  |  2012年5月12日

Xi’an City Wall  |  西安城墙

2nd April 2012  |  2012年4月2日

View from Xi’an City Wall | 从西安城墙

2nd April 2012 | 2012年4月2日

View from Xi'an City Wall  |  从西安城墙

2nd April 2012  |  2012年4月2日

Great Mosque of Xi'an  |  西安大清真寺

2nd April 2012  |  2012年4月2日

About a month ago, Verity came on a bit of a visit and we took a trip to Xi'an and Beijing. Aside from the inevitable accidental 20-hour sitting train-ride, where I quizzed a Salar couple about their lives and faith in Qinghai, we had quite an excellent time seeing the Terracotta Warriors and other sights. This was taken at the Great Mosque of Xi'an, the oldest mosque in China, founded 742 (although the existing buildings are from the turn of the 15th century).

Great Mosque of Xi'an  |  西安大清真寺

2nd April 2012  |  2012年4月2日

Some of my favourites at the Propaganda Centre included two Great Leap Forward posters entitled "十五年内超过英国" (Shiwu nian nei chaoguo Yingguo)—or, "Exceeding Britain within fifty years". Prescient indeed.

Ben, for some reason I feel you would like this.

On the second leg of the prestigious Ian-Wanho cultural exchange program, currently hosting my excellent Seoul guide back in Shanghai. Highlights have included a trip to the bohemian art world of 莫干山路/Moganshan Road and the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre (spelled "centre"!), a slightly unorthodox but fascinating gem housed in the basement of a French Concession apartment building.

Strange things that happen when you're far away from old Blighty #37: using various circuitous routes to find out the Chinese names of classic English novels with which to watch BBC television adaptations on Baidu.

Pride and Prejudice: 傲慢与偏见

This aeroplane also stands at the southern end of campus. I'd be able to make this post far more exciting if I could remember anything written on that white plaque.

Feeling slightly feverish yesterday, I decided to walk rather than cycle to the metro station. Result: I actually got to take in how nice my campus is for the first time in quite a while. Here's the old south gate. The palm trees, and this warming Instagram effect, give the impression that it might be quite tropical here in February Shanghai. That would be a LIE.

F.A.O. Elle R.: some great maps in the National Museum of Korea.

My last post was a bit of a lie because I'd already returned from Seoul when I posted it. Excellent city, made even better by excellent friends to show me the ropes. And take me climbing, in the snow, without any proper equipment, on one of Korea's coldest February days recorded in 30 years. Genuinely excellent. (Wanho: this is equivalent to the highest thank you.)