China: Shanghai

We were barely in Shanghai, less than 72 hours for a cousin's wedding. It has been quite a few years since the last wedding in Shanghai. This one is rather special. The bride is a favorite cousin and is 37 years old. I had almost given hope of her ever getting married. It was a truly joyous occasion for all the families.

















China has been relaxing visa rules to attract tourists. We went on the free 240-hour transit visa. While that might be the intention of central government, China continues to feel unwelcoming:

• The Great Firewall is more formidable than ever. None of the free VPNs I tried worked on my phone, though I could get through using my eSIM. It was easier to get through two years ago. Psychologically I felt cut off from the modern world.
• All airport "free wifi" requires phone or passport registration. There is no anonymous surfing.
• At Shanghai Hongqiao Airport I couldn't send verification to my US number, and there was no passport registration machine inside security. I asked a few passengers at the gate to get me a code using their phone number and was turned down. People have no trust and they are cowered by government surveillance. I was horrified - the US could be heading this way.

We rode the High Speed Train from Hangzhou to Shanghai. Smooth.




The wedding was at the very 5-star Anandi Hotel. First below is the view to Suzhou Creek from our 10th floor room. And see also a similar sunrise view. Not to forget the amazing restaurant.






We made a short stop at our old haunts on Nanjing Xi Lu: to visit Jo Ma (an Aunt on SL's mother's side), to eat vegetarian at Jing'an Temple, and take a photo of the Art Deco Eddington House apartments.