Anja Tufina

There are those architectural urban icons that you know so well because you grow up with their visual presence in movies, news, holiday pictures from family and friends. You have stopped being amazed by their grandeur and beauty and they don’t surprise you anymore. Then you get to have them in front of you and the feeling of disbelief kicks in, you have to pinch yourself to realize this isn’t a movie, you are actually there. A feeling that you get when you see the Colosseum in Rome, the Tour Eiffel in Paris and in this case the Pudong skyline in Shanghai. The Shanghai business district is a new urban icon but it has entered the imaginary representing the city and its fast growing economy and development.

Having dinner at The Peninsula Hotel’s Sir Elly’s restaurant overlooking the breathtaking views of the Pudong made it difficult for me to concentrate on the food. I was too busy following the play of lights and the Aurora Plaza skyscraper with its Guinness World Record screen that displays the famous I Love Shanghai ad and a few more. Imagine a 63 meter high billboard.