A Hazy Day Around Shanghai's Oriental Pearl Tower

This was a single day in Shanghai, December 16th, 2018. The sky was hazy, casting a muted light over the Pudong district. The main reason I was there was to see the architecture, especially the iconic Oriental Pearl TV Tower.

I spent a good amount of time on the elevated pedestrian walkways that crisscross the area. From that vantage point, the tower was a constant presence, framed by the surrounding glass-and-steel skyscrapers. It's a surreal and massive environment to walk through. I stopped a few times for the obligatory selfies, trying to capture the scale of the skyline behind me.

Down at the base of the tower, it was busy. There were large banners and digital displays set up on the main stairway, and the Chinese flag was flying nearby. The signs seemed to be for some kind of event happening that very day. I didn't get close enough to figure out what it was, but just observed the scene for a while before moving on. It was a quiet day of just walking and looking up.