The French Concession and the Yuyuan old town

The French Concession is a neighborhood that was governed by the French from the mid-19th century for almost a hundred years. It's one of the most vibrant and elegant areas of Shanghai. In the middle of the hood is the well guarded house where the Communist Party of China was founded. Marx might raise an eyebrow at the sea of Teslas and Luis Vuitton bags. It's a bit of a surreal blend of communist roots and capitalist dreams, all on CCTV.

Pausing for white and red cold tea and a cake with salted duck eggs in a "caramel lava".

Some more photos of the French concession neighborhood: The Cathay Theater:

Creative desserts:

The Russian orthodox mission:

Yuyuan Old town was built during the 16th century. It's essentially a lively maze of laterns curved rooftops, snack stalls, luxury brands. This is where xiolongbao meets Godiva, and bubble tea and crab dumplings get involved with selfie sticks. This is also one of the places where hundreds of influencers (content creators) are taking photos at any given moment expressing their depth and complexity. Oat milk latte with a Chinese pagoda. Right... It’s a place where revolution once brewed, but now the only uprising is someone getting mad that their post didn’t hit 10k likes. Oh and how dare you I mean how DARE you get between their majesty and the camera located 5 meters away?!