Lady or fishmonger

The people of Shanghai are more bustling and more enterprising, which is not surprising given that it's the mainland's financial center.

Outside my hostel, a huge open-air market was underway seven days a week, where women hawked boxes full of ducklings at the top of their lungs.

The architectural blend of the city is sublime. The greenery of the city springs forth amid traditional Chinese buildings, Victorian bungalows, French le-fleur eurcolumns and of course, the mishmash of a thousand modern eccentricities.

There are few more delightful ways to pass the time than to lounge on the Bund and watch the sunset, striking up conversations with old-timers aboutthe change across the river. And what a river it is - how awesome to take a night cruise with someone special.

Shanghai is a city that will wear you out, with its vast districts, hordes of con artists and oppressive heat.

But at the end of the day, it's a place where steaming plates of scrumptious xiaolongbao will fill your stomach and warm your heart; where you can wander the beautiful mahogany bars of the former French concession, then choose to simply dakai some Tsingtaos from the 7-11, sit on the sidewalk and watch the beautiful women go by; and on the way home, be driven along the blue neon highways by a taxi driver wearing a suit and tie and listening to flamenco.

As I returned to Beijing and reflected on my time on the Huangpu, I realized that, no matter what anyone had said, I loved Shanghai for exactly what it was: a most elegant fishmonger.