You could tell by the street signs that Shanghai had not completely reverted back to the international city it formerly was. The Japanese occupation was over, but the Japanese street signs still remained. Alongside those signs were new signs with the old international names like Bubbling Well Avenue. To further clarify or confuse matters there was a third set of signs written in Chinese, for example, Nanking Avenue.

I was awed as I approached the British Embassy and saw standing in front of the huge main entrance a giant Sahib from Punjabi. Including his turban he must have been at least eight feet tall—awesome. I reached his muscular chest; the smaller Chinese would reach only the scabbard of his huge ornamental sword. His silken shirt and silken balloon trousers created an elegant, old-world affect. His garments blended with his four-foot-long curved sword which resembled a Middle Eastern scimitar. He was truly a throwback to the old days of the British Empire.

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