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Published: December 17th 2008
Chuansha
The lovely canal walkJust when I think I have seen all the contrast there are to see, China yet again surprises me.
Today I took the 993 bus in the opposite direction of Shanghai city south east to Chuansha Road and the large shopping area that we passed the other day on the 991 bus.
You go past Ford, Sony and Komatsu factories as well as the usual housing areas, small shops and market gardens.
This is not an expat area, I was the only Westerner I saw all day, but there are the big commercial places such as Pizza Hut etc. This food appeals to the youth as much as it does anywhere else in the world
Wednesday must not be a major shopping day; it was easy to walk around, look and sort of browse.
The moment you walk into a shop you get pounced up and directed to where they think you would like to purchase. If you utter a greeting of any sort they tend to talk to you, and then you have to say you don’t understand so I tend to stay mute, much easier and just smile a lot.
I went into one
Chuansha
Shops on the other side which included 2 puppy grooming parlours very up market shoe shop and after much pantomime, usage of phrase book and trying on, they told me in very small amounts of English “Shoe lady small” “You big” and dissolved in laughter the moment I walked out of the shop. They kept trying to sell me men’s shoes; my size is men’s 42 here, utterly impossible to get anything at all.
Going further down the road there was a canal with what looked like a nice walk along it. I wandered along and found a pretty path, manicured gardens and seats and opposite this some coffee shops with outside seating. With not an expat in sight I must have stumbled upon a very upmarket area of town. Within a block there were two pet grooming parlours, dogs are few and far between for people living in tiny apartments so this must be an area with money.
At top of this strip of shops, over the bridge on the canal, I was able to watch a school out doing their compulsory exercises. All kids in bright red tracksuits were on the sports ground going through exercises, which were being broadcast via speakers. All were doing them, most
Chuansha
there were three coffee shops, a very odd sight in non expat China of them quite enthusiastically. China is concerned as the child obesity rate is at 10%. So low compared to Australia and America!
I turned into what I can only describe as a mall, kids hanging out, extremely upmarket shops, very trendy.
At the end of the mall was a man who was entertaining the crowd with his performing monkeys. He had three of them, very well trained doing tricks and delighting the crowd. China is a country where animals are mostly killed for food, treated quite badly up to being killed, so I am sure these monkeys did what they did out of fear rather than reward. I could not watch for too long, but it was long enough for the man’s mates to come around and demand money and they told me not to take any photographs. Too late!!!!
Back on the main street I crossed the road and went up an alleyway full of tiny shops selling mostly clothing, jewelry and accessories. The alleyway narrowed, it got trendier and towards the end there was only teenagers so I turned around, did not feel I should go any further. Fruit and food was being sold from
Chuansha
The bridge and the canal tiny little tables, nails were being painted, men were betting on some sort of guessing game, and cards were being played in many little corners.
Next up I visited a large department store and on the third floor, a supermarket. Sort of like a Target and Coles. Coming out of this I found a small band performing near the roadway. They might have been a promotion because a large tent was set up with lots of foodstuff and food products. Not too sure what it was all about, but the two guys pounding the rice looked quite happy to have their photo taken for free as did the band.
Walking back up the road I saw a petrol station. Despite the huge amount of cars on the road I have only ever seen three of these in all my bus and taxi travels. Petrol is 6.05 Yuan a litre, which is around $1-50 Aus a litre, quite bit dearer.
Near the petrol station there was a huge amount of road works, it looks like another ring road is being built or maybe a train line, not too sure but it will be something overhead. Congestion is quite
Chuansha
School children exercising bad on the roads, but traffic never really comes to a standstill. Every one proceeds forward and just gets out of anyone else’s way, quite a simple system, and you see very few accidents considering, the amount of swerving and what I think are near misses
What a great day, and to top it off a lovely man on the bus home offered me his seat, a very nice gesture which doesn’t happen that often.
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