Leaving Hong Kong for Shanghai on the overnight train (some 25 hours, which passed quickly and comfortably), I arrived in to 2 or 3 degree temperatures, fading sunlight, and more neon than Hong Kong.

Shanghai is certainly a dazzling city, and the downtown area seems packed with skyscrapers and oddly designed buildings that would make any large city envious. The streets are clean, and free of graffiti, there's no smell that permeates the air of some Asian ... (more)