PUDONG . . .

I thought I'd give you some history and information about the part of town that we are living in.  We live in Pudong, which is also known as Pudong New Area.  (Don't ask me why.  I guess because it's newer than the rest of the city?  Who knows).  It's called Pudong because it's on the east side of the Huangpu River.  The city on the west side is called Puxi.  Pudong literally means "East of the Huangpu."

Since 1990 Pudong has emerged as the financial and commercial hub of China.  It's population is approximately 1.5 million people.  (See, I told you there were a lot of people in China)!  Pudong is divided into 4 districts.  We live in the Jinqiao area.  (Jeen Chow).  There are a lot of Ex Pats in the Jinqiao area.  A friend of mine just told me that her driver refuses to eat lunch in the Jinqiao area because with all of the Ex Pats that are living here, it's too expensive to eat here, because the prices are higher.  Now keep in mind, if we decide to eat at the local "food court," we can feed our family of 5 for less than $10!  So to us it's not that expensive.  But to give you an idea of pricing, if Ryan chooses to eat at the cafeteria at his work, he can eat for about $1 a day! 

Is there anything else you want to know?  If so, just ask me.  I don't want to tell you too much information if you don't want to hear it, but I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have.