Our morning destination was the Xi 'An city wall. The original city limits are enclosed within a massive wall that is roughly 50 feet in height. It is quite enormous. The wall is mostly intact, with a few exceptions made to allow greater vehicle traffic in and out of the city.

I have never seen so many bicycles before. This country really has some interesting transportation. Many of the bicycles have been converted into trikes, to allow a pickup bed on the back. Most of the bicycles appear to be over 15+ years old.

It is also common here to see people selling home cooked food on the sidewalk. They simply have a steaming pot and serve with a spoon. I doubt there is any type of food safety standards. No one seems to mind.

Also, the amount of pollution is quite visible. It appears foggy much of the time. It is also extremely common to carry water, as water is not as accessible as in the US. Free water is rare (I have only seen it at the airport). American restaurants never charge for water. Chinese restaurants always do.  'Bottomless' drinks do not exist.

We have boarded our flight to Shanghai. I am again impressed with the efficiency of Chinese air travel.

We have a limited amount ot time here in Shanghai, so we set out immediately for the 'old city' and the Bund waterfront. The markets are just like in the movies. Millions of people, billions of tiny business deals. I got some wonderful pictures. We ate random food on a stick.  It turned out to be sugar-coated crab apples.  They were pretty good.

(Tourist Ship, Shanghai Bund)

This city is huge. Much larger than NYC. From what I've been told, Shanghai is almost as large as the entire state of Delaware.  Yes, I said state.

The concept of a single family home is almost unknown here in China. To afford one, a person would need to have an unthinkable amount of money. Something in the ballpark of several million US.