So my recent glut of travel has come to an end for a while, and it was not a bad way to finish. Shanghai, as almost every place I’ve visited while here, is undoubtedly a city to see. I felt the following about Shanghai: it is a great starter city when first visiting Asia, it is like China with training wheels. Besides being a great Chinese city for newcomers, Shanghai is also perfect for the westerns in China who needs the warm embrace of western comforts without the so much of the aggressive stimuli that is more ever present in other Chinese cities. It is far more western than anywhere I have been here; Hong Kong included. In general, though there is still the pace of a major Chinese cosmopolitan city, it doesn’t feel as chaotic. However, the down side of this is that Chinese outside Shanghai, and Hong Kong for that matter, view their countrymen in these cities as a colonized; this is not meant as a compliment. For their part, I don’t think Shanghainese or Hong Kongers are exactly bending over backwards to make nice with the Chinese outside their cities. All of this is quite beside the point: intranational grudges and jealousies aside, Shanghai is awesome. Onto the happenings.
My first night in Shanghai I met two Irish brothers from Stillorgan in Dublin. One lived in China, the other was visiting on holiday. They were the first Irish I had seen since leaving Minneapolis last summer. Pints were had, craic ensued. It was interesting to hear their take on the current economic, social, and political climate back in Ireland. For those unfamiliar with what that climate is like, well, it's not great. Nothing that is insurmountable, but there will be bruises felt for a long time by many people. They talked about how many of their friends (and obviously the one brother living in China) have left the country in search of work. Up until the 1990’s, Ireland was long a nation of emigration. It would seem that the old, familiar, and unpleasant tradition has returned. One of my two first cousins back in Ireland has left for London. Bit sidetracked there, back to Shanghai.
After the pints with the brothers, there maybe was a late night (or early morning, depending on perspective) trip to McDonald’s, where the words, “dude, America is the best” were or were not spoken after a bite out a Big Mac. We’ll leave it at that.
The next day I went to the Shanghai Art Museum, which was world class. It houses all sorts of ancient Chinese artifacts, some of which make you realize that there was a long stretch of time where, in certain areas, Chinese civilization had developed light-years ahead of the west. Now they are playing catch up, but doing so in a uniquely Chinese and highly effective fashion. This museum had pieces going back to the 18th century BCE. Though I slept through an art history course during my undergrad career, I am far from qualified to expound on this topic. Sufficed to say, it was a fascinating, thought-provoking visit.
Another place of great interest I visited was called The Bund. This is a very unChinese area of Shanghai that has architecture similar the older, Art Deco buildings in Chicago. One of my favorite activities to do in any new city is to walk around for hours with no real agenda. Shanghai was a great walking city. I even saw snow for the first time since last winter as I walked down Nanjing Road, the main shopping drag. As with many destinations heavily trafficked by tourists, the hawkers were out in droves. The ones in are Nanjing were quick to offer a solo, western, male tourist a narrow range of services. Eyes forward, keep marching.
My last night in town a friend of a friend from back home took me out on the town to some of the expat haunts. He is a lawyer and, more importantly, a fantastic host, who has been in Shanghai for some time, and certainly knows his way around. We went out in the French Concession, which was an area of town replete with lao wai, and again, was far more reminiscent of a western city than a Chinese one; great part of town. We had a killer night out at some classic places. If anyone reading this has plans to visit Shanghai in the future, something I highly recommend, drop me a line; there are a few places not to be missed.
That will be the last of the travel posts for some time. It has been a whirlwind the past couple of months, some experiences I won’t soon forget, and will certainly elaborate on upon my return next summer. Due to the resumption of work, and a beleaguered bank account, I’ll be mostly sedentary the next few months. Something I’m not opposed to. Though the challenges are still present here, I’ve also grown increasingly accustomed to living in Chongqing. I also realize that this is still an opportunity to be relished and breathed in as deeply as possible. I’m not sure where I will be next fall, but I know that I need to make the most of the time I have remaining this school year.
Classes resumed today, and though I was a bit apprehensive after well over a month off of work, I hit the ground running. Funny what a little experience does to one’s professional abilities.
Until next time.
Great post, as always. It is very interesting to hear the stark differences between the cities, and it is good to know that Shanghai is maybe a "starter" city, albeit an awesome place, for those looking to ease themselves into Chinee culture.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your down time and I hope that getting back into work is going well!