Saturday, February 19, 2005
Shanghai
We arrived safely on Friday afternoon Chinese time with less than an hour delay. It's now Saturday evening, and after a short but oblivious night on a pair of firm twin beds, we have spent the day with the rest of our travel group touring the sights. Shanghai's historical treasures are few, and I think we saw them all. Most of modern Shanghai is newly built in the last couple of decades.
Shanghai sees snow once in a blue moon and Jenny (our guide) says people are generally excited about it. The twenty or so young men dressed in blue uniforms with red sashes gathered on The Bund didn't seem to notice the snow as they set off on their organized morning jog. Were they a running club? Office workers participating in a team building event? Who knows – we certainly couldn't read the writing on their Miss America sashes. We could, however, easily identify Postman Pat as he rode his bicycle down the sidewalk, letters balanced precaiously on a carrier at the back. We followed him off the beaten path and down a “snickleway.” Such a contrast to the modern face of Shangha . Jenny told us of a saying, “If you want to know China's past, go to Xian. If you want to know China's present, go to Beijing. If you want to know China's future, go to Shanghai.” In some aspects, we could be in any big city – McDonald's, Starbucks, UPS, Pepsi, even Culligan Water logos are all around. There's a place where you can charge up a cell phone while standing on the street, with dozens of dangling cables ready for any brand of phone.
We started our tour at the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in the Pudong section. It's the highest tower in China and the third highest in the world. The Chinese belief is that pearls falling on a jade plate are lucky, so it's designed to look like 13 pearls with the building at the base and the surrounding walkways as the plate. Great views of the city from th observation deck, and the obligitory tacky souvenirs. There was even a replica of the Eiffel Tower for sale. Go figure. At one of our travel meetings, those who had been here before were discussing the smells of China. There's a different one at every bend. Some are pleasing, some are off-putting, but all are distinct. It's as if each odor carved out a niche of airspace to hang out in – there's a definite beginning and ending to each one. It's easy to see why smell is the most evocative sense.
The other strong memory of Shanghai will be of the cyclists. Many drag their version of a “U-Haul” behind their bikes and it's amazing what they can stash in them. One poor man was struggling to pedal because he was loaded down with jugs of water and I swear we saw the contents of a two-bedroom house go by last night. These people are brave, as bus drivers (ours included) take no prisoners when rounding corners or changing lanes. Foreigners aren't allowed to drive in China. There were times today when we wondered if they should even be allowed to cross the street – pedestrians have no rights.
There's a lot more to say about Shanghai, but not much time left before the hotel's computer center closes, so on to more important things. We learned today that our placement (our "gotcha" moment) will happen not on Monday as we thought, but at 3pm tomorrow (Sunday), only a few hours after we arrive in Nanchang. We were expecting to have a day to settle in and get ready, but we are thrilled to be getting her a day earlier than expected.
More soon, if we can get connected in Nanchang, and we hope to post pictures too.
