I went with my friend, Zhao SiSi, to one of the prominent landmarks in Shenzhen, the tallest building in town, the Shun Hing Square Tower, and the fourth highest in China (the 8th in the world according to the website referenced). I’d seen this skyscraper during my first weekend here while visiting “Mix City”:

They charge 60 Yuan to go to the top – about $7.75. Of course, there’s an observation area, but it’s all behind glass – boo! There are also a few funny “attractions”. One reminded me of these ancient silly shows at amusement parks where they project faces onto whites busts so it appears they’re speaking and various pieces of the set animate. This was some sort of story of pirates in Hong Kong harbor. Not really sure.

There was another little exhibit with animated monkeys, fish, and crabs that talked about the environmental damage…this was curious (more in a future post).

We spent most of the time looking out the window trying to find landmarks we knew. Because it was at night, and because the Chinese love their neon lights, it was quite a visual treat. The cherry on the sundae was a green laser on the very top of the building that swung across the fringes of the city. I’d never seen such a big laser…very cool. I wonder if this is the spotlight that I see every night from my apartment. I had to laugh recalling the stories in the US of airline pilots complaining about people with little pen lasers pointing them up at planes (maybe this was actually an article from The Onion) and here in China was this huge green laser firing and arching across the sky. I snapped a cupla pictures (check out the laser beam):

Here’s a picture of only the second cat I’ve seen. Mao = cat. Mao mi = kitty. I saw him on the way to get some breakfast. He looked a little ragged so I figured it was best if I didn’t try to pet him (‘specially before I ate). So, I just sat down and listened to him meow…loudly. He flopped down like he wanted to be pet, but when I got up, he skittered off into the plants.