Best of Shanghai: Cocktails at the Peninsula

One of the newest buildings on the Bund, at the end of a wall of colonial British building now mostly occupied by major banks and exclusive hotels (including the venerable Peace Hotel), is the Peninsula Hotel. A very upscale, luxury hotel (rooms from around $300 a night), it also had a rooftop terrace bar, which provided excellent views of not only the bund, but also our two sites located just across the Suzhou creek.

Two of my classmates got up there during the day and took some photos from that height. To get there, they told me, one must take the stairs, because the bar is for the hotel clientele only, and the elevator requires a room key to operate.

Desiring to get some beautiful night shots in which I could place my building as a night rendering, as well as to celebrate my last night in Shanghai, I dressed up in the tailored slacks and fitted button up, and went for a night stroll to the Peninsula. I got into the hotel without any attention and got into an elevator with a hotel guest. I got off at her floor, and walked around the corner. There. Stairs. There are many advantages in studying architecture, least of which is you begin to understand how buildings go together, which means you have a pretty good idea of where the stairs are if you know where the elevators are. I went up a few flights of stairs and popped out in an quiet corridor. Poking around a little, I found my way to the elevator lobby and the entry to the sky bar.

"Drinks for one, sir?" the host enquired. I nodded and followed him out to a table with an absolutely phenomenal view of the arc of the Bund and Pudong straight ahead. It was a cool but pleasant night, and I ordered a gin fizz from the offered menu. The terrace was dark, lit mostly by candles, and the people around me looked like a mix of wealthy, older European vacationers and businessmen. Everyone looked sharp, and I was glad I'd worn something passably dressy.

The view over the glass railing was amazing. From 14 floors up, I could see the full sweep of the bund, the tiny crowds of people still strolling along it, and countless tiny bursts of light as people took photos of themselves and the scene across the river.

Pudong at night is an incredible scene. If you took the Las Vegas strip and filled in the spaces between the casinos with New York's Times Square, you might begin to have an idea of what that view is like. The river bends around Pudong, framing what appears to be an island of moving neon light. There are skyscrapers in Pudong where the entire facade is a video screen 80 stories tall. And of course, one cannot miss the incredibly ugly Pearl River Tower, that goofy golf ball tower. Fortunately, there have been several towers, including the bank building and the JinMao tower which both soar over it to distract somewhat from the iconic landmark.

The empty seat across the table made me really wish that Saori was there, to see this with me, and to share a drink and talk about all the fun we'd had in Shanghai. I finished my drink, paid the check (causing great consternation when I told the waiter that I didn't have a room number), and went to the far side of the roof terrace to take more photos of the site.