Posted Jul 19, 2023, 7:25 AM
|
|
Hong Kong
|
|
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 8,596
|
|
hkskyline's 2023 in SHANGHAI
It's been quite a number of years since I last visited Shanghai, and with the country finally open and quarantine gone, I nervously landed wondering what to expect.
With sunny skies and hot weather, my first stop was to Shanghai Tower, the country's tallest building which was still under construction when I last visited. J Hotel sits at the top part of it. It opened in June 2021 with 165 rooms, including 34 suites.
Shanghai Tower joins many other tall buildings in Lujiazui with observation decks. However, admission prices are not cheap so why not use that for a drink or a snack without having to push through the crowds?
I set my eyes on the hotel's Lobby Lounge at the 101st floor (470m) for a drink. At first, reception on the ground floor informed me due to the pandemic, the restaurants are only open to residents, but upon my insistence, they checked upstairs for a seat and got me a table.
The ground floor lobby already looks grand. You loop around admiring the structure, then go into a dark room with arranged flowers to get into the mood before entering the elevator.
While J Hotel has the tallest view in the city, it is a bit too far away from street level compared to my previous stay at the Ritz Carlton down below. I could barely make out the Bund's historic buildings, although the sunset light was in the way as well.
Staff were very friendly and happy to chat. Upon hearing my interest in the view and the food offering, my waitress took me up to the 120th floor where there is a lounge area with even more spectacular views.
Even the bathroom looks quite neat.
Satisfied with my expensive drink, I was keen to see how the old shikumen neighbourhoods have shaped up after a lot of controversy years ago when the demolition crews came calling.
Zhangyuan was named after Zhang Shuhe, a wealthy grains shipper from Wuxi who bought a piece of farmland here in 1882 from a British merchant, Francis Groom. He built a Western-style garden for his mother. After she passed away in 1885, the garden was opened to the public, and saw a number of firsts, including the first lit electric lamp in the country, the first bicycle race, and first outdoor photo booth. It turned into an arts and culture hub for the city.
While the residents have been removed, the government and developer didn't tear these buildings down. Instead, they are being repurposed into a shopping and eating destination.
2012 photos of the Zhangyuan area : https://skyscraperpage.com/forum/sho...d.php?t=202346
More photos on my website : https://www.globalphotos.org/shanghai.htm
|