Shanghai, Here I Come!

好久不见！
Long time no see!!

It's been awhile since I last wrote. You haven't forgotten than I'm in China, right? Well, let me remind you...

As I lounge comfortably in my new apartment, I become exhausted just thinking of the two weeks I spent traveling around Shanghai and the Three Gorges at the end of August. Traveling through China is not a particularly relaxing venture, unless you take a liking to navigating the maze of transportation systems and frequently adjusting your plans. However, I cannot deny that this trip was truly a vacation, one filled with friends, laughter, new foods, captivating discoveries and beautiful scenery.

An overnight train ride by soft seat (comfier and more spacious than an airplane seat) plopped me in Shanghai the morning after my graduation from the summer program. The sky was bluer than I remembered it could be, the white fluffy clouds drifting through the hot air as a welcomed sea breeze eased the heat, a perfect background to the expansive high rises that greeted me as I stepped out of the train station. There were over twenty of us Beijing EAP students in Shanghai, but I was primarily sticking with David, Rafael and Michelle.

Our first destinations were our respective hostels for a shower and to drop off luggage, Michelle and I boarding the Dr. Suess-like UCool Hostel. Feeling wonderfully refreshed for all of two minutes until we braved the humidity outside, Michelle and I headed to The Bund (only a block from our hostel!) to meet David and Rafael for some sight-seeing. Walking the mile along the river in glorious heat and full sunlight promptly began the sweaty soaked mess we were to relentlessly experience throughout the trip, relieved only by wandering through well air-conditioned malls, rides on the metro, and cold drinks. We soaked in not only the sun's rays but also the magnificent views of the Shanghai skyline, including the wacky bulbous Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Jin Mao Tower and countless giants of the Pudong New Area. Though our focus remained on the river of cruise boats, small tankers, barges piled with coal and the scene across the water, I could not forget that the bank we strolled upon was famous too. The Bund (a word describing the muddy embankment that it once was) had been part of the British Concession, quite evident in the Western styles of the majestic buildings that lined the riverside, and remains one of Shanghai's architectural wonders.




For a better view of the Bund we decided to cross the river by way of the heavily advertised sightseeing tunnel that runs beneath the river. With high hopes we descended into the depths of what resembled a subway station decorated as an amusement park ride. We were sorely disappointed by the super-cheesy tram rid, perhaps because we were simply confused about what to make of the fluttering ghosts, psychedelic light shows, and neon animals that played on the tunnel walls. The experience was much like Willy Wonka's chocolate river boat ride, minus the rowing dwarves, chocolate and fun, and left us wondering how they had failed to utilize the potential in an empty tunnel and tram cars with 360-degree views. We emerged from the tunnel near the base of the Oriental Pearl, enchanted by the hilarity of the giant purplish spheres suspended by concrete. Refusing to pay horrendous amounts of money to ascend each sphere, we opted to instead wander along the west bank of the river and admire the view of the Bund before roasting to a crisp in the beating sun. Our inclinations towards a more temperate atmosphere drew us to a gargantuan mall, aptly named Super Brand Mall, that was as posh and crowded as we expected.


Making our way towards the ferry, we detoured to a rare patch of shady grass that we were actually permitted to sit on while admiring China's tallest building and the world's 4th tallest, the Jin Mao Tower [tower on left], not-so-discreetly dropping into the shadows of a building still under construction. The ferry ride was much more pleasant than our underwater transportation, offering quick service and gorgeous views. The ten minutes of rest for our feet was enough to put us back on the Bund towards Nanjing Donglu, a popular shopping street since the beginning of the last century. This is a street that has probably been photographed countless times, the blend of Chinese and Western-style buildings housing international brand name stores, piles of brightly lit signs in Chinese and English hanging above the constant crowds. After a stroll and mediocre dinner of noodles and dumplings with gobs of Chinese tourists, we headed back to the river for views of Shanghai dressed in flashy and glorious lights upon an hour-long cruise. We were only slightly disappointed by not having
access to the upper, outdoor deck due to our restrictions on our cheap tickets, by the end of the hour we had grown tired of snapping pictures of the landscape anyways. Our generously wide hostel beds were completely welcomed after chatting with new friends in the hostel from Germany, France, Sweden and South Africa.

Day two and we were off to the Shanghai Museum in RenMing GongChang (People's Park), a large park surrounded by museums, exhibition halls and malls. The museum was simply impressive- the modern architecture of the building, the extensive collections of pottery, coins, paintings, masks, festive minority clothing, furniture, ceramics and more, and of course the ridiculously cheap admission fee: only 5 yuan for students, down from the standard 20 yuan. That's less than USD 1!! How is this possible? Does China value its history and culture so much that it is not absurd to charge next to nothing, as long as someone becomes more educated? Perhaps this is only the result of generous donors, and not the result of cultural pride. Nevertheless, we reaped the benefits, and got several hours worth of Chinese history through artifacts older than we could imagine, after which we spent the late afternoon wandering around the park trying to come up with things to do. So we flipped a coin- heads and we go east on the metro, tails and we take it going west. We went west, and got off at a random stop, pleasantly surprised to find a large park with a lake with bumper and row boats, a carousel, some small-scale amusement rides, and grassy fields dotted with locals exercising and strolling in the cool breeze of dusk. We relaxed under the trees as we watched the moon rise above the city skyline, and as usual, soon found ourselves thinking about food. As if on cue, our friends called to tell us about joining most of the other students on our program at an all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant, which happened to be just around the corner from the park we were in. The meal was fun and delicious, with excessive amounts of beef, pork, chicken, shrimp and veggies made in front of us. I can only say that we slept well that night.


Working our way down the list of Shanghai attractions, we expected the next destination to be somewhat redundant, but nonetheless a place we couldn't leave Shanghai without seeing. YuYuan sounded like any other garden we had seen throughout Beijing- ancient pavilions for lounging, delicately arching trees over ponds filled with fiery orange koi fish, meandering paths through bamboo groves and rock sculptures... Indeed, the gardens were exactly this, yet proved to be different than anything we had already seen in an indescribable way. Perhaps it was the small touches of sculptures atop black stone roofs, pathways laid with thousands of small stones on their narrowest side, or the lush, deep green vegetation. Whatever the reason, I felt peaceful wandering through YuYuan, as it was meant to be.


Back in the rush of the ancient town of Shanghai, an area reeking not only of chou doufu (stinky tofu), but also the inauthenticity of a tourist trap for Chinese and foreigners alike, we searched for a famous Shanghai dumpling restaurant. Upon seeing the 75 yard long line, however, we had a feeling that we could find the same type of delicious food elsewhere. Sure enough, as we wandered back to the hostel to rest and refresh, I stopped for a yummy snack that most closely resembles a waffle in that an eggy dough with black sesame seeds is poured into a hot press to be baked into a plate-sized crispy, doughy, slightly sweet and salty, piping hot snack. With plans to enjoy the sunset at the top of the Jin Mao tower, we had only a few hours to explore another Shanghai attraction, so we headed to a new favorite: the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre. This small museum is housed in someone's basement in a tall apartment building in the beautiful French Concession, a district not particularly populated by the French, but distinguished by its tree-lined streets and prevalence of Art Deco homes. Not exactly the kind of place where you would expect a museum of propaganda poster art. The collection was nicely displayed with bits of information in both Chinese and English, and the chronological order allowed us to see how the artistic styles, slogans, attitudes and topics changed throughout the years. We wished that our Chinese was good enough for reading and fully grasping the meanings of the text on the posters, as the translations and explanations hardly seem sufficient. Despite the linguistic barrier, to be in the presence of perhaps the only (public) collection of Chinese propaganda posters was an experience that made me realize there are some things that I will probably never understand, in this case the conflicting attitudes towards the events of a tumultuous past.



So with a glimpse of history we headed to China's tallest building for a 360 degree view of the future, which takes precisely 4 elevators to reach. After surviving the maze of elevators, a dizzying 34 floor Grand Hyatt that starts on the 53rd floor, and hostesses that strictly enforce the dress code, amazing views of a colorfully lit Shanghai surrounded us as we lounged in the dimly lit Cloud 9 club. While the masses bustled around the Bund and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower below us, I gazed out towards the suburbs. I had not realized the expansiveness of Shanghai until I stood at the windows of the 87th floor, and saw nothing but city buildings as far as the earth's curvature allowed me to see. The abundance of new high-rise apartments and office complexes was perhaps one of the most obvious differences between Shanghai and Beijing, as I could not imagine that Beijing's never-ending construction carried quite the same height as Shanghai's towers.

The next day we visited ZhuJiaJiao, a water-town an hour outside of Shanghai. All around Shanghai's suburbs there are towns built on water, like a miniature Venice dotted with temples, teahouses and gardens. After successfully figuring out the location of the bus station and how it worked, we arrived in a sleepy town that certainly catered to tourists, but nearly completely lacked their presence. We expected the usual crowds wandering through cobble stone streets and floating under bridges on beautiful boats, but we were pleasantly surprised by only seeing a handful of touring groups. I cherished the peace while boating through the canals and exploring the empty temples and quaint gardens, a rare feeling among the modernity of Shanghai.

This blend of historic and modern was topped off by our Maglev train ride to the airport the next day. The Maglev use remarkably strong magnets to make the cars hover slightly above the tracks, propelling travelers at a speed of 431 km/hr (over 200 mph) on a cushion of air. I tried not to think of what would happen if we suddenly stopped or flew off the elevated railway, and instead focused on the blur of factories, suburbs and trees whizzing past our windows. Less than ten minutes later, we were at the airport, ready for the next leg of our adventure on the Yangtze River. After five days of running around the big city, we were more than ready to indulge in some laziness while drifting down the river.

Much love,
Kenzie