Bright lights, big city.

Photo tip using time exposure.  Brace your camera on something, anything, even if it is moving also.  Here the camera was resting on the railing of our boat as the one on the right was passing.  Photo taken on the Huangpu River of The Bund.  Exposure is automatic at f/3.5, 1/10 sec at ISO 800.    The Shanghai Bund has dozens of historical buildings that once housed numerous banks and trading houses from the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Italy, Russia, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as the consulates of Russia and Britain, a newspaper, the Shanghai Club and the Masonic Club. The Bund lies north of the old, walled city of Shanghai. This was initially a British settlement; later the British and American settlements were combined in the International Settlement. A building boom at the end of 19th century and beginning of 20th century led to the Bund becoming a major financial hub of East Asia. The former French Bund, east of the walled city was formerly more a working harbour side.

Look at a photo like a Russian nesting doll.

Photo tip: Look deeper into the photo opportunity.  All three photos above were take within minutes of each other at the same location in Shanghai, China.  Each photo tells a story but each is different.  With the expanded possibilities of digital photography there is no need to skimp on the number of photographs you take of a scene.  First, take a picture of the very first thing that strikes you about the scene.  Then look closer to what makes the scene happen.  Don't just stop with your first impression but keep digging and you find that the first impression is made of multiple elements that are individual opportunities within themselves.

Get it in writing!

Tip #1 for travelling in China: GET IT IN WRITING! If you don't speak a variation of Chinese or understand the language when it is written then get the name of your hotel written down for you in Chinese. The chances are very slim that you'll find a taxi driver, much less anyone else, that speaks English. Major chain hotels will have employees that can help you out by writing down both the address of the hotel and the name and address of your destination. And, if you are not travelling with a tour group, download photos of places you want to visit to show both the hotel employee and taxi driver. Visuals go a long way in bridging the language barrier. But pizza seems to be an international language all its own.