I caught the ceremonial launch of the World Expo in Shanghai on television like any good Shanghai resident, away from the maddening crowds. It showed spectacular views of the Shanghai skyline, especially an aerial sweep of the Lujiazui financial district, which sits on the edge of Pudong, like a futuristic island only opened to special individuals.
That was when it hit me: Hate or or love it, Shanghai had an incredible urban landscape.
Yet when the fireworks were primed to go off, we dashed toward the river front where teaming masses had been milling around for over an hour.
And when the sky lit up with bursts of golden and red clouds of light, everyone ooohed and aahed. Someone remarked that it was not as heart-stopping as the Beijing Olympics ceremony, but what they hey, kids were screaming in joy and adults were staring in awe. I stood in a sea of outstretched arms, filming the entire display with camera phones. We all shared a moment along a part of the river less frequented by tourists and wished every night was this special.
April 2010
Meghal
The skyline was indeed beautiful and so were the the streets of luizazui district..like a newly decored indian bride.
It was worth more than to be waiting for these sparkles of light that lit the shanghai sky into shapes and colors..
Was a pleasure to meet all these wonderful people from corners of the world assembled at the bund for this panoramic view.
Meghal.
Adam Daniel Mezei
Curious to know which section of the Bund was not being frequented by tourists at the time…
Sue Anne
We were on the Pudong side of the river, not the Bund and a little north of the tourist section. Unfortunately, the fireworks seemed pretty far away, nothing like that you saw on TV.