4. Episode 4
It's the end of the road for Paul Merton as he visits Shanghai, the final destination on his Chinese trip. On the whole, when he hasn't been pressed into doing silly things, Merton has been an affable and thoughtful guide who's managed to show us little-reported social aspects of this immense and complicated country. He's packed a lot in, too, and this last episode is no different. It's overstuffed with small treats, from Merton trying and failing to become a ballroom dancer, to a trip to the very weird, Prisoner-type community of Thames Town, a largely fake place packed with pristine facades of British buildings - a cathedral, pubs, shops. Only a handful of people actually live on Thames Town's housing estate (which looks so suburban it could be anywhere from Esher to Preston) and the place is, oddly, mainly used as a backdrop for wedding photographs.
