"Cosmopolitan hub of finance and culture " a Shanghai Travel Page by Icemaiden02

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View of the Shanghai city, taken Dec 2002

Introduction

My first visit to Shanghai, China was in December 2002, a few months after my parents had moved there. As a person of Chinese descent, it felt a little exciting and overwhelming to "return home" to the place where my ancestors were from. (My grandparents on one side, and my great-grandparents on the other, left China as children.) I speak an embarassing smidgen of Mandarin but it was such an experience to be surrounded with the sights, sounds and smells that was so inundanted with Chinese culture.

I returned again for Chinese New Year in February 2005. The weather was still frigidly cold and mind-numbing, but flights are relatively cheaper and for me, seeing family members was my priority. If I were to visit China again, though, I am going to pick a month between May and September!

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Skyscrapers of PuDong, taken Dec 2002

Weather

Shanghai starts the year shivering in midwinter, when temperatures can drop below freezing and the vistas are grey and misty. Spring brings warmth; April to mid-May is probably one of the best times to visit weather-wise, along with autumn (late September to mid-November). In summer the hot and humid weather makes conditions outside uncomfortable, with temperatures sometimes as high as 40oC (104oF) in July and August.