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Published: April 12th 2011
Shanghai-NOUN: economic powerhouse of Mainland China; located in the southeast; largest shipping port in the world; estimated population...22 million
Shanghai-ed: VERB:to kidnap, usually by drugging, for service aboard ship...to induce another to do something through force or deceit
I've been Shanghai-ed.
Without the drugs or the coercion but I know something happened and I'm still reeling.
This gleeming, futuristic metropolis knocked me off my feet and I'm still recovering from the whirlwind romance the past few days.
As I previously stated, China wears many masks. In the massive "family" that makes up this country of wonders...Shanghai is the naughty one. The attractive one in the family who pouts her lips, seduces with her eyes, makes one commit frivolous acts, is sulky when she's unhappy and is viral in her ectasy. You just can't resist her.
The time we have spent here has been very exciting and two days later, I still can't remember what happened. After spending a night in a hotel that at one point refused to put on the heat despite the 10 degree Celsius reading in the room (because it was "April" and the heating was shut off!) ...a city that
screamed "escape"...Shanghai was a most welcomed love affair!
I can't quite pin down what I liked the most about it. The pictures can only speak for me so much. It's not a city that you have a "casual stroll" in because you just feel that you have to move and keep moving at all costs. It was a cacophony of sounds...people constantly enticing us to buy a watch, or get a massage from head to toe (and judging from some of the business cards offered, the salacious women offering their services were beyond words!). Two women insisted on going for a coffee at one point to practice their English and become "acquainted" with the foreign travellers. Christmas posters seemed to adorn every shop and the hotel lobby played continuously Christmas carols throughout our stay.
Where on Earth was I?
Then, on our final evening we went to an acrobatic show where people performed the most amazing feats. Balances, tumbles, with incredible mastery of every muscle in the body...I was simply awestruck. And at the same time, in this complex country, I realized why they are achieving their superstar status of the world. They adore perfection. Anything that
is seemingly impossible becomes possible. Every artist was a metaphor for the "new" China that is so often discussed in the press. They combine discipline, artistry and determination and by the end they have conquered you. Individualism is secondary to the communal needs of the populace. If these performers had adopted the notion of individual stardom, the vases would have crashed, the bicycles would have fallen and more importantly, the loss of "face" would be unspeakable. Of course, HOW they reach some of these goals is questionable and yet to be determined. I don't know how long and how lonely the young gymnast was who performed her solo act for the hungry audience...how many years was she separated from loved ones as she mastered her apparatus? What price has she paid?
We will never know because I know already that the "veil" that this country wears will never be fully shed. But I cannot deny that I am dumbfounded and amazed at the China I have discovered. Not as backward as I thought it would be, and if anything, makes me hunger to see what else is out there.
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Jude
non-member comment
Shanghai-ed!!!
Yes Kevin you have been "Shanghai-ed in the most delightful way. Just tickles me reading all this and getting a feeling of all the excitement!! I would love to have seen those shows, can't wait to see more pics of that. Well, relax, enjoy, take it all in. ps send me one of those hot soups with a straw, could use about now haha a bit under the weather but fine. You'll have to tell me some of the delicacies you've tried there. take care luv jude