Shanghai Quick Guide + Photo Journal, Shanghai, China

When it came time to decide how we'd spend our first Christmas and New Years in Asia, China was the last place on my mind. I was chomping at the bit for a tropical vacation and my heart was set on Thailand, a destination that's been collecting dust on my travel bucket list for years. Sadly, my winter dreams of balmy Thai beaches were shattered when I discovered that accommodation rates in southeast Asia triple their average cost during the holidays. David and I agreed to save Thailand for the spring, and began searching for an off-season (read: affordable) location to welcome in the new year. Winters in northern China are frigid, making December and January ideal times to visit if you're looking for low prices and crowd-free sightseeing. We decided to embrace the bone-chilling winds and embarked on an 11-day journey through mainland China, kicking off in Shanghai.

My first thoughts upon landing in Shanghai were: It's big - and loud. Something about its scale and noise made Shanghai seem less foreign than our miniature-sized, order-loving Tokyo. Of course, this ease quickly turned to panic after we'd spent about 15 minutes in the taxi to our hotel. Drivers were weaving in and out of traffic with their hand never - and I mean never - leaving the horn. Intersections were a complete free-for-all with cyclists, motor bikes, cars and trucks all competing to get ahead. But, despite my constant fear, I couldn't get enough of Shanghai's streets. I never tired of watching the bikes - mostly old, rusted and entirely overloaded with cargo - whiz through the gridlock. It was complete disorder, but somehow it all just worked. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).