Illuminati-R-Us

To save power.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62628544

The view in that photo on the other side of the river, less than 20 years ago, was one of a third-world dump.

So I heard. I first saw it in 1999, when it could be compared to Berlin's Alexanderplatz a decade earlier. The Pearl of the Orient had already been built (we were taken up it) and dominated the area in the way that the TV tower did then.

One small inaccuracy in the BBC report, though. The Bund is only one bank of the river - the one the crowd are standing on. Although it is certainly lit up at night, it doesn't provide a light show. What's shown in the picture, the area Mactep is talking about and the part with the futuristic buildings - is Pudong, across the river. I've been on that embankment a few times - always a thrill and with a definite vibe.

Richard A wrote:One small inaccuracy in the BBC report, though. The Bund is only one bank of the river - the one the crowd are standing on.

Yes, that's right, it's the one with all the European buildings.

I didn't get there until 2005. My 1998 trip was only to Beijing, and 2000/2001 to Hong Kong.

Richard A wrote:Although it is certainly lit up at night, it doesn't provide a light show. What's shown in the picture, the area Mactep is talking about and the part with the futuristic buildings - is Pudong, across the river. I've been on that embankment a few times - always a thrill and with a definite vibe.

There is now the rather odd phenomenon of the "sightseeing tunnel" (how do you sightsee in a tunnel?) that goes under the river.

Yes, I noticed that. I haven't been through it, though. There's a charge to enter it and it seemed a rather odd thing to pay for. So I opted for watching from the embankment for free. Or, once, looking at it from the rooftop bar of the Peace Hotel - which possibly cost more than the tunnel would have done, but at least I got a nice drink as well.

Richard A wrote:Yes, I noticed that. I haven't been through it, though. There's a charge to enter it and it seemed a rather odd thing to pay for. So I opted for watching from the embankment for free. Or, once, looking at it from the rooftop bar of the Peace Hotel - which possibly cost more than the tunnel would have done, but at least I got a nice drink as well.

You get to see lights and projected images and maybe animations (I forget) as you go through.