Starbucks rules Shanghai

I think it was not an outrageous claim to say that Shanghai has been taken over by Starbucks. It is everywhere! Perhaps there are as many Starbucks as dim sum restaurants. The best one I saw was the one in Yuyuan Garden. The photo below tells the stark contrast between the very traditional Chinese architecture and the modern culture revolution called Starbucks!


After strolling Yuyuan Garden in a very hot day filled with loud noise of the crowd talking, shouting, and spitting, entering the air-conditioned Starbucks and sitting on its plush couch sipping Ice Dark Mocha with soothing jazz music in the background provides a heavenly escape. That's how I felt. Here is a shot from inside Starbucks looking outside the window.