2018-08-23

【Aiden in English】

        Shanghai was fun while it lasted, and two days certainly does not do it justice. That is also why mom furiously pushed the exploration of Shanghai yesterday and today. Luckily, we covered a good bit of the touristic section last night, so all that was left near the city center was Shanghai Tower and its surrounding metal forest. 

         An oasis is normally describing a haven within an ocean of sand, a small patch of green on a plain of dry dust. In this case, the forest of metal in Lujiazui or the opening of Land literally, surrounded by flowing water, emerges. It stretches high into the sky, like fingers grasping at an impossible ledge. Or, on another thought, a zombie's hand protruding out of the ground. Just a thought.

        The largest finger of them all, the middle finger, is Shanghai Tower. A massive, twisting hunk of metal, once ugly and crud, now crafted into 632 meters of advanced technology, currently standing as the second tallest building in the world. Not only the height, but the design gives it an impressive vibe. It also happens to have air conditioning, which makes it valuable to me instantly. 

         We bought tickets, and walking into the interior, the only thought that flashed through my head was 'this looks a lot like the Burj Khalifa in Dubai'. These modern works all share the clean white glaring paint and sharp corner’s style, like walking into a work of abstract art. We lined up in the elevator, and fifty-five seconds and 117 floors (18 m/s) later, we arrived at the observation deck. There, everyone could see the other fingers through a thin layer of either fog, clouds, or smog (hopefully not the latter). The thumb, since it was the fattest building and also the shortest, was a golden tower that looked impossibly shiny in the current light. I guess it stuck out like a sore thumb. 

        The index finger, as I like to think of it, was the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. In comparison to the ground level, the TV Tower stood its ground with Shanghai Tower, mostly due to its imposing red spheres that draw the eyes' attention like magnets. However, things always look a little different 632 meters in the air. In fact, the two spheres look like marbles from that angle, or more accurately, golf balls ready to get smacked into the E. China Sea. Oddly enough, as tall as we were, the horizon was a blur due to the smog. I guess no matter how high a man climbs, nature finds a way to bring him back down, one way or another.

        That pretty much marked the end of Shanghai's adventure, and it certainly ended on a high note. Much like Rome, I wish to return in the nearest future, taking my time and not taking a picture then bolting. And so it adds another major location to revisit.

【紅霞譯文】

        上海好玩，用兩天時間妄下結論確實有損公平，這也是為什麼媽媽昨個今兒把活動排得連軸轉。幸好昨晚我們把旅遊景點逛了個遍，現在靠近鬧市區繁華地帶想要光顧的地方只剩下上海中心大廈及其周邊合金建築叢林。

        綠洲通常用來描繪大沙原中小片沃土，照此說法，黃浦江綠地指的便是陸家嘴金融貿易區內合金建築叢林，林子直衝雲霄，猶如吊掛空中不着邊際的指頭，或者換個思維角度，宛若殭屍伸出地面的手掌，當然這不過是想法而已。

        最長的手指即中指就是上海中心大廈，螺旋狀龐然大物一度醜陋難看髒污不堪，現在早被打造成632米高擁有先進技術的摩天奇觀，目前一躍名居全球第二位。上海中心大廈不僅在高度上超群絕倫，而且在設計上別具匠心，居然還敞開使用空調，禁不住令我刮目相看。

        我們買票入場，立刻察覺“它跟迪拜的哈里發塔看起來大同小異”，這些現代作品全部採用潔白耀眼的塗料及突角風格，仿佛置身於抽象藝術世界。我們排隊上電梯，經過55秒鐘升至117層（18米/秒）之後便來到觀望台，在那裡人人都能透過薄霧、雲朵或黑霾（但願不是後者）看到其它手指──拇指最壯的敦實建築及小指最矮的金色樓房，只是在現有光線下難見金色光芒，估計它和拇指一樣憋屈。

        我琢磨着，食指為東方明珠電視塔。從地面上來看，東方明珠與上海中心大廈相比可以說異曲同工，主要因為電視塔突出的紅球貌似磁鐵吸人眼球，然而到了離地面632米處情形略有變化，實際上站在那個角度，兩個圓球看上去很像彈珠，或者更確切地說，猶如即將被打入東海的高爾夫球。奇怪的是，從我們呆的高度遠眺，地平線因為霧霾而變得模糊不清，我不由得在想，不管人爬得多高，大自然總會神不知鬼不覺地拉他下來。

        上海之旅到此基本告一段落，結果令人相當滿意。繼羅馬之後，我希望不久的將來重訪故地，到時多呆些日子而不是留完影立馬開拔，總之又增添了另一個主要景點要看。

Today in History(歷史上的今天):

2017: Lucerne—Salvation through Christ, CHE(瑞士盧塞恩─救贖之城)

2017: Lucerne—Romantic Pearl of Swiss, CHE(瑞士盧塞恩─浪漫明珠)

2017: Lucerne the Mournful Lion, Swiss(瑞士盧塞恩─垂死獅子像)

2017: Lucerne the Chapel Bridge, Swiss(瑞士盧塞恩─教堂廊橋)

2017: Lucerne—Variety of Standard, Swiss(瑞士盧塞恩─多元文化)

2017: Basel the Fable Basilisk, Swiss(瑞士巴塞爾—蛇王仙境)

2017: Basel—Home to Roche & Novartis, CHE(瑞士巴塞爾—羅氏與諾華藥業總部)

2010: 天大地大(Heaven and Earth)

2009: 證書獎狀獎盃(Awards)

Crosslink(相關博文):

China(出遊中國)