Reflections on Shanghai from Gate D69

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With a little luck in an hour and a half I'll be taking off for Newark on UA 87 ending an enlightening and entertaining week.

It's fitting that this last hour has me a little off-balance because I just noticed that the boarding pass I printed out at the hotel says I must check in at the airport. I got here so early that there was no one at the United counter and some folks on line said they were not supposed to arrive for 45 minutes so I headed for customs and the United lounge (which I had access to thanks to a pass I received with my United credit card. For a guy who doesn't fly much, I am the frequent flier king.) There's no one working the gate and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they won't hassle me.

Anyway, I say it's fitting that I'm a little off balance during this final act of my China play because that's how I've felt all week. To say that I speak or read zero Chinese would be an understatement. Ditto on my familiarity with Chinese customs or the layouts of the cities I've visited. That hasn't stopped me from going out and about on the subway and on foot (thank goodness there are signs in English). I never had any problems. But in a sea of Chinese people, I certainly felt conspicuous and couldn't take anything for granted as I made my way around.

It was also odd because the China I sort of wanted to see as a tourist, the China of people on bicycles wearing Mao suits that fascinated me in the pages of Life magazine as a child, is no where to be seen in the big cities I visited. Everyone is walking around in western clothes and talking on cell phones. There are some people on bikes, but very, very few compared to the innumerable cars that make traffic jams a way of life in Beijing and Shanghai. Nor could I find the traditional China of the story books I read as a child except in preserved form (like the Buddhist temple surrounded by skyscrapers I visited in Shanghai) or created Disney style in tourist districts or the decor of my 1920's era hotel.

I had a terrific time in Shanghai bopping around and enjoying good food with my friends Chris and Jim, getting together with Bill Garvey at the Long Bar of the Waldorf Astoria hotel overlooking the Bund, jogging on the promenade along the river that separates old colonial Shanghai from ultra-modern hi-rise Shanghai and exploring the French Concession neighborhood of European style houses and many, many boutiques.

The highlight of my Shanghai sojourn, however, took place this morning when I had breakfast with two young women who work at a local community health promotion nonprofit that is experimenting with runs and walks as a way of engaging supporters. It was a treat to talk about a topic in which we shared a common interest and to hear a bit about their lives as citizens of modern China. Looking at baby pictures, talking about issues such as the country's pollution and learning about day-to-day life in China made me feel connected to the country in a way I had not all week.

Good news! No problem getting on the plane. I'm heading home!

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