As Seen by TV

Xintiandi (新天地; xīn tiān dì), or XTD as I call it, is an area of restored shikumen, traditional stone houses and alleyways.  It is the hot-spot in Shanghai, mostly aimed at tourists, with restaurants, bars, cafes, a shopping mall, and even a jazz club.  I had previously blogged about an area called Tianzifang, similar to XTD only not as touristy [yet]… the locals still live there washing their dishes in the alleys surrounded by small artsy boutiques and quiet restaurants.   Whereas XTD feels fake and incredibly pretentious, and if you happen to walk into one of the restaurants or cafes in XTD and see your bill, you’ll completely forget you’re in China.  

XTD holds a personal record with my Most Expensive Beer Ever, from the Paulaner Bräuhaus… a whopping 138RMB (US$ 20.29) for a 1L mug of micro brew.  There is also a Starbucks (obviously), and a steakhouse which serves a 500RMB (US$ 73) porterhouse, which might not seem like all that much, but if you know anything about Shanghai, you’ll know of the various Brazilian BBQ spots that serve all-you-can-eat steaks for 20% of the price. 
But then again, who cares when the company is paying. 

I also stumbled upon a park located just east of Xintiandi, called Taipingqiao.

And once again I must apologize for my slow posting… seems the Great Firewall of China struck again, taking out the proxy I was using before to access this blog.  Now I am forced to use an alternative, UltraSurf, which is available for free here.