Tianjin was also badly in need of a new train station.  The old one, appropriately called the “temporary station”, resembled a barn, right down to the lack of seating and air conditioning. In fact, many parts of the waiting hall were literally open to the elements, forcing people to brace for blistering icy winds in January or try and wait under under a slowly-moving fan hanging from a 25 meter ceiling in the summer; a few thousand sweaty nongmins and a dripping wet token laowai in sweltering heat does not a happy trip make.

Historic buildings, European architecture, beaches, and of course, beer.  All make up Qingdao, which is quickly becoming one of China's most livable cities.  Qingdao has also developed a number of western amenities as it prepares to host the sailing events for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.

Waikiki, Seattle, or....?

Qingdao: Is it the Seattle of China?  A perfect seaside retirement city?  A beer-drinker's paradise?  We're in Qingdao for four days this week to check out the city and its preparations to host the Olympic sailing events, including whether that green algae has finally disappeared.

There are some "tropical" islands in Northern China, after all.  We recently had the chance to take part in a media trip to Crescent Moon Island, about 8 kilometers off the coast near Tangshan in Hebei Province, to lay on the sand and eat some fresh seafood.  And we were pleasantly surprised with the experience.

A look at the latest skyscraper planned for Shanghai, nicknamed the Shanghai Dragon.  The 580-meter tower will soar above the already enormous Jinmao Tower and World Financial Center, which itself is still under construction.  The building will top the world's current tallest, Taipei 101, but will likely fall short of the already 686-meter Burj in Dubai.

I arrived in Dalian this afternoon to shoot two more segments of the show this week at the famous Dalian Software Park. It's my first visit to the city, and while I haven't been here long enough to draw any conclusions, the intial impressions are quite good.

But Shanghai was much different. Sure, you had the tourist-ridden Bund waterfront and Nanjing Lu. But the French concession, Suzhou Creek area, and People's Square were nice places to wind down an evening (or start your morning, depending on the time of day). I also enjoyed my morning walk to work from the Hengshan Lu subway station to Zhaojiabang Road, traversing streets filled only with pedestrians and delicious xiaolongbao steaming in bamboo baskets.