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Published: December 16th 2008
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We head to Shanghai on the fast train. For a country with so many people, we’ve actually been amazed by the efficiency of the buses and the trains. They leave on the dot - they actually have a seconds’ timer showing you!
Shanghai has a metro and we decided to use this to get us into the centre of the city. As we’ve mentioned before, the Chinese aren’t too good at queuing and you get pushed and shoved most of the time. The Shanghai metro turned out to be the worst example of this yet. Hundreds of people ram themselves into each carriage using elbows and knees. Trying to get out is an ordeal and we saw people literally falling out on to the platform floor. To be overly prim and British about it, it really brings out the worst in the Chinese and doesn’t make you too keen to press on and explore the city. In some way, it seems worse when you are somewhere like a developed metro station rather than a dirty backwater, where a survival of the fitness mentality can be understood. On the Shanghai metro people were just rude, ignorant and down right dangerous in
some cases - ok rant over!
We were expecting Shanghai to be very Western in both architecture and outlook. We were right. The Bund is the famous waterfront area that was developed in the early 1900’s by the Brits. So in many ways it looks like you could be strolling along the Thames. Across the other side of the river is Pudong, one of the first Special Economic Zones in China, and here are the skyscrapers including the famous (but rather garish) Oriental Pearl Tower. The riverfront is a hawkers paradise but, ever the optimist, Andy continues in conversation with a guy who claims to know Birmingham Uni and ends up with an unflattering paper silhouette of himself stuck to a bit of foam for 10 yuan - we never learn!
Shanghai is really just a place to wander. There aren’t really any must see attractions, it’s more about soaking up the atmosphere. We stumble across a nice area that has been recently redeveloped. It’s a bit like some of the developments in UK cities where an old, run down area with some historical significance is turned into multi-use area with some shops, restaurants and a museum. The
museum part is an old preserved house called a “shikumen”. Hundreds of these types of houses were built in the city in the 1930’s when Chinese people moved into the international concession areas to avoid the influence of the Taiping uprising. It’s really well done with information on the period, the people and the architecture. We head out on to the river at night for a quick cruise which is really nice.
A day off
We’ve decided to give ourselves 24 hours off. The trip has started to take its toll a bit now and we’re feeling a bit tired (yes, we know poor, poor us). As further justification, we try to convince ourselves that we need re-education in the way of the western world before we head home in a couple of days.
We head to the movies and watch the new Bond film, complete with popcorn - bliss! We have a lovely lunch at M on the Bund with views of the river, wine and roast beef! And we go the Tennis Masters which is conveniently being held in the city. We watch Gilles Simon beat Roger Federer in a rather classy game, and then
watch Andy Murray and Andy Roddick power the ball at each other with Murray the eventual victor. All in all, a great 24 hours.
Artsy Shanghai
On our last day we head to the French quarter to have a look round. The architectural influence is clear to see, but all the buildings now seem to be shops. Shanghai really does seem to be built on shopping, which when you don’t want to buy anything, can be a bit of a pain. Anyway, we stumble upon a street called Tiakang Lu. This is definitely worth a visit. It is a disorientating mess of small alleyways, all housing nice little cafes, bars and boutique craft/design shops. We spent a good while just nosing around and having a slow, relaxing lunch. The strange thing is that our guide book didn’t really mention this area at all, but it was probably one of the best things we did here.
To finish the day, we drop in on the fake market. This is literally 3 floors of fake handbags, shoes, Ipods - anything you can think of is probably here. The handbag places all have a secret room at the back where
they keep certain “brands”. We don’t know why, but Lynne said the secret ones were mostly Prada and Louis Vuitton, after extensive research. She managed to resist the handbag and shoe mist, which had overcome every other woman in the place as they struggled under bin bags full of fake Chloe. It’s a good laugh haggling though and we thoroughly enjoyed our quick trip.
One final highlight
The journey to the airport gave us the opportunity to travel the fastest we ever will on land. We took the Maglev train, which sped through 40km of Shanghai suburbs in 8 minutes. The whole thing was eerily quiet and comfortable, and quickly accelerated to 430km/hr and then quickly decelerated again - they have a speedometer showing you exactly when you hit 430km/h. If we ever invest in any transport infrastructure in Britain again, one of these would mean you could live in Manchester and commute to London everyday.
Another highlight is the continued wonder that the Chinese have in Andy’s bodily hair! At the platform a group of men stare and point until Andy engages in a full on “hair off” comparing arms, legs and even chest. Of course
Andy wins but the Chinese seem happy with the spectacle.
Looking back
China has been a great trip! It is very different from what we’re used to, but to be honest it is pretty easy to get around and do all of the things you want to do, despite only knowing a handful of Chinese words.
Despite their spitting, hacking and general disregard for personal space, the people on the whole were really friendly and, we think, pleased that foreigners want to visit their country. The sheer distances though, and the lack of time we had to stay in one place just to relax, meant that it was pretty full on. If we had stayed any longer, we would have definitely needed a week in the sun to get our energy back up!
What were the highlights? Well, definitely Tibet for one. The culture, the landscape and the look and dress of the people, all made it a memorable 10 days. Lhasa in particular is changing rapidly though and even we noticed it looks a lot like any other Chinese city away from the main historical centre (apart from the fact that the plateau is surrounded by huge mountains!). Bejing was another high point. There is so much to see that a week didn’t do it justice. Places like the Forbidden City and The Summer Palace give you a sense of just how powerful the Emperors were.
There really isn’t much to disappoint once you get over the fact that some of the sights aren’t as amazingly spectacular as the Chinese propaganda machine would have you believe (and that wherever you go will be overrun by very loud Chinese tour groups!). Don’t go if you are expecting a rural country full of picture postcard rice fields. A lot of China is very industrial and developed and the main sights are within, or very close to, huge cities which are busy and polluted. And don’t go if you are shy! The communal toileting is something to get used to, but it gave us lots of conversation and laughs.
Thank you China!
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Garrett Phillips
non-member comment
Thanks!
I enjoyed reading your blogs. Thanks for taking the time. I plan on covering your paths in March and am looking forward to it!