At last we venture out into the city secure in the knowledge that whatever happens there is tea and toast waiting for us back in the apartment now that the long awaited toaster has arrived… more on shopping later.

Kevin likes to travel by metro (underground) where possible as it is cheap, efficient and we can figure out where to go usually without have to ask anyone. The Shanghai metro is vast and very clean. Fortunately there is a brand new station about 10 minutes walk away from us and a journey into the centre takes about 20 minutes for a cost of 45p.

The trains are spacious but need to be as it is fairly crowded. I haven’t managed to get a photo of it but as you travel through the tunnel there are adverts playing on the dark walls through the windows. It’s pretty snazzy and hi tech.

All the metro stations are accessible with lifts and beautiful flat surfaces so that’s good.

Downtown Shanghai is the financial district and the skyline is the iconic symbol of the city with its plethora of high rises.

This is the view from The Bund (which means embankment but as this is an Arabic term the Chinese have their own word which translates as ‘Outer Beach’ but any sand is loooooong gone)

Behind me is the Shanghai world financial centre, or the bottle opener as it is fondly known.

Walking around Underneath these buildings and admiring the architecture from ground level gives you a crick in the neck but the angles afford some great perspectives

The twisty tower is called the Shanghai Tower and it twists 1 degree per floor to offset the winds at high altitudes because of the frequent typhoons which hit the region. The tower has an inner glass structure and an outer one, like two tubes and contains 149 elevators!!!

The middle building is the Jin Mao Tower but it’s quite boring as it just offices and a hotel. However at the top is a glass walkway without rails called ‘wander in the clouds’ which I will NOT be attempting!

Some are clearly ‘no expense spared’ structures

We traversed the spiraling skywalk above the traffic fumes which gave a different view of the buildings.

This one with the balls is the Oriental Pearl Tower which is owned by China television. Apparently you can have a buffet meal in the revolving restaurant at the top for £35.

We were mega impressed by the rubbish bins on the skywalk (we are easily pleased) which were plentiful, one every few hundred yards and each one beautified with a plant beside the ash tray. They wouldn’t stay there for very long in the UK!!!!

All in all we walked for 8 miles only dipping into the ground floor of the buildings for a drink or some relief from the heat and humidity. In one tower we saw some shops and were impressed by the benches in the opticians. We thought it was an optical illusion, but, they really do float!

And I like the top of this tower. Why be boring and square when you can have petals.