Hotel Garden in Suzhou #1

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Hotel Garden in Suzhou #2

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Master of Nets Garden #1

The Master of Nets Garden in Suzhou was initially constructed in 1140 by a minister in the Southern Song Dynasty, but fell into disarray after his death. It was restored in 1785 by a retired government official of the Qing Dynasty. The site (along with other gardens in Suzhou) is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Master of Nets Garden #2

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Venice of the East #1

Suzhou is also known as "Venice of the East", and with good reason. This district has a lot of businesses (including restaurants/entertainment) directly on the waterway, with gondolas used to move from place to place.

Venice of the East #2

Gondolas in service through a lit waterway.

Venice of the East #3

Paper lanterns illuminate some sections of the waterway.

View of the Pudong district from The Bund

Pudong sits along the east bank of the Huangpu River and contains several iconic skyscrapers, and is a financial hub for China. This part of Shanghai has over 5 million residents, or about 1/4 of the city's population.

Bund Center behind HSBC Building

The Bund is an area in Shanghai along the western banks of the Huangpu River. From the 1860s to the 1930s, rich and powerful foreign establishments operated a treaty port here. The HSBC Building (Municipal Government Building) in the foreground was designed by a British architecture company and built in the early 1920s. It currently houses the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. The Bund Center tower in the background was completed in 2002 and is used as an office building with multiple tenants.

Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower, seen from The Bund

The Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower was built in the early 1990s. As the name implies, the structure is used to broadcast radio and television programming. The tower features 11 spheres, with the two largest (50m diameter for the lower and 45m diameter for the upper) seen prominently here.

Climbing the Ladder

Shanghai acrobats are known the world over, and do indeed put on a marvelous show complete with acrobatics, a bit of comedy, and magic.

3 Acrobats Sharing a Bicycle

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Acrobats #3

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Lift off!

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Pyramid

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Imposing Towers

Shanghai Tower on the right is the tallest building in China (2nd tallest in the world), flanked by the Jin Mao Tower (which, at the time of its completion in 1999, housed the highest hotel in the world). Behind the Jin Mao Tower is the mostly-obscured Shanghai World Financial Center.

Shanghai Tower Pointing to the Light

Considered a "super tall" building, the Shanghai Tower reaches for the light through the clouds.

Jin Mao Tower #1

View of the Jin Mao Tower from the Shanghai Tower.

Jin Mao Tower #2

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Shanghai World Financial Center, with City View

Some nick-name the building the "bottle opener"

Shanghai World Financial Center

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Shanghai From the Top

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