Best fall travel destinations, Part 2 |
I first stepped ashore in Shanghai, China, in September 1945, when my Navy troop ship docked there to pick up just-released American, British and Aussie POWs from World War II. We then took them back to Manila for medical air and flights to their homes. Although the old city was a bit worse for wear from combat and bombing, Shanghai was still the charming international city it had been for a century. That time I was armed with a Navy backpack, a carbine and .45 pistol. I returned several years ago, armed only with a carry-on suitcase and camera, and was absolutely astonished at the super-modern 21st Century city Shanghai has become, now even more so than Hong Kong, and still growing at an amazing pace. High-rise buildings abound on the main street, Nanking Avenue, and the colorful Bund prominade along the Yangtse River frontage.
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