Shànghǎi





998 miles approx

Shànghǎi  has Got. It. All! This is a city worthy of being on the global map.  

Established in 1291, Shanghai means 'above the sea' and is  situated and is on the banks of the Yangtze River Delta. Central Shànghǎi stands divided by the Huangpu River into two areas - Pudong (east of Huangpu River and the new, modern part) and Puxi (west of Huangpu River, the old city).  Much like Venice, it is sinking at a rate of 1.5cm per year. This is the largest city by population in the PRC and the largest city proper by population in the world with 23+ million people.  There are more people in the city of Shànghǎi than in the whole of New Zealand.

 Old and new sit very comfortably together

 Looking across at the famous skyline from the more charming old side, Puxi

 

The Shànghǎi skyline. Each evening proved too wet or foggy to get a glitzy view, so you'll have to make do with a sunny daytime version

 The world famous Bund, the equivalent of Paris' Champs Elysses or Merthyr's High Street...

 This lady clearly has much in common with my cat, Winston

The Oriental Pearl Tower

Historians trace Shànghǎi’s earliest beginnings to a wall built around its vicinity in 1553 AD to protect the people from marauding Japanese pirates.  Until the nineteenth century and the First Opium War, it was considered as essentially a fishing village. This changed when casinos and brothels under the authority of gangsters sprouted up as trade, partly in thanks to its life as a major port, began to make Shànghǎi one of the busiest centres in the East.

The city has its infamous roots in the First Opium War dating to 1812 when China suffered defeat and was forced to open several ports for trade with the outer world which has resulted in Shànghǎi being a well-connected city and this is reflected in its cosmopolitan feel, plethora of international restaurants, large ex-pat population and contemporary attitude. It is for good reason that it is known as the Paris of the East.

A typical sight in China - a food court:

Chocolate

Fungus

Candy is very big business in China. There are sweet shops everywhere.

Plastic point-and-choose menu

A typical sight in the UK, a Tesco food court...!:

 No way! Tesco are like a nasty rash - they get everywhere. Very expensive versions of everything you can get in a regular Chinese store available. Bad Beijing wine for around £11 etc. I also saw an M&S and a Clarks.

 

World War II marked Shànghǎi as a destination for refugees; it was the only city where Jews were welcomed without condition which has marked it as a city tolerant of outside influences, in stark contrast to later Chinese practice.

During my (lovely soft sleeper)train journey from Guangzhou I shared a compartment with a university student named Qiu (pronounced Cho) and his mum, who had been visiting his dad who works in Guangzhou.

 Does anyone need the Toitel?

The strangely roomy and orderly waiting room for the train. Portentous signs of the civilised society that is Shanghai.

Qiu’s English was good so we talked for most of the journey and I discovered a few things about the Chinese way of life. For example, Qiu explained that university students do not party like their western counterparts, even at the end of term. A game of cards or an afternoon at a karaoke booth is common and studying is taken very seriously. I also learned that as a teacher, I will be earning between two and four times the amount of a Chinese teacher. He also taught me how to say the months of the year in Chinese, shared his dried fruit, downloaded some music and the following day, at the end of the journey, both Qiu and his mum helped me find my way out of the station and into the bright lights of Shànghǎi . Another example of the generous nature of the Chinese. 

Qiu's mum didn't like her photo so she was unceremoniously chopped off the left of this picture. I think we all had that nice puffy faced look following a night on a Chinese sleeper train!

The first day was a bit of a shock as up until now many of the places I had visited were quieter than normal due the Chinese New Year. This city was like walking into a cauldron of Chinese chaos - noise and smells and people and cars and craziness on every corner. I was tired from the train journey and was getting shunted from pillar to post, with the ubiquitous spitting and hacking  turning my stomach and the noise and traffic confusing me (doesn’t take much to confuse me) so with a fuse as short as a gnats pube I decided that action needed to be taken and a bit of calm was in order. I walked to People’s Square which is a park right in the middle of the city where I found an art gallery – perfect! I went in and it was deliciously quiet.

 I had a peculiar feeling and realised that the gallery had mostly western people visiting, which meant that I wasn’t being looked at. I have been staggered at how few western people I’ve seen. It is no exaggeration to say that I have been permanently stared at since I arrived. On more than five occasions I have witnessed people almost toppling off their bikes as they take a second, third and fourth incredulous look over their shoulder at the pale faced long nose.  The Chinese are curious and very relaxed about showing it. Joining in strangers’ conversations, or helping en masse with a purchase or asking questions on trains – it’s a healthy and friendly curiosity but gets very tiresome when everyone you pass or stand next to does a double take as you go about your business. Generally, the younger people don’t pay much attention but it seems that anybody over the age of around 35 has a good long gawp. The reasons must lie with the fact that China had not been open to tourists for several decades which has made us something of a novelty. I cannot stress enough how much I get stared at and how disconcerting it is. I’ve never experienced anything like it. You just have to learn to ignore it or as a few Chinese people have told me ‘enjoy it – you’re a rock star!’. Anyway, wandering around the gallery entirely unnoticed was like being emancipated from a horrid reality show you did not wish to appear in, with your every move caught on camera. If it sounds a little far-fetched or paranoid, I urge you to walk around the streets of China alone for a few days and you’d soon feel the eyes upon you!

This is an extraordinary 6' pencil drawing by Qiu Jie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiu_Jie

The 1920’s and 1930’s were boom years for Shànghǎi and to this day there is a strong and glamorous Art Deco feel to many of the buildings and fixtures and fittings around the city.

 

 Anyone else have the Muppets' theme tune in their heads when looking at this building?!

 

 

Image by Bernt Rostad

During the early 20th century, the Shànghǎi Club’s Long Bar was one of the city’s most famous watering holes, and the longest bar in the world. The L-shaped Bar, which was 110 feet long, attracted Shanghai’s moneymakers; the social status of patrons declined as you wound around the bar.

The Peace Hotel, built in 1927 by Sir Victor Sassoon, was where Noel Coward stayed while writing "Private Lives."

Hundreds of Shànghǎinese parents assemble in People’s Park every weekend for the Shànghǎi marriage market with the resumes of their unwed children to negotiate potential hook-ups. Arranged marriages are very much part of the norm here and I’ve met several girls who are married by their parents’ choice and not necessarily happy themselves.

The Shànghǎi Museum’s building shape is modelled after a "ding," or an ancient Chinese cooking pot. Its square base represents Earth, while its rounded roof represents heaven, exemplifying the Chinese ancient saying “Round sky, square earth.” 

Shànghǎinese is a dialect of Wu, an ancient branch of Chinese that is a distinct language from Mandarin. In fact, Shanghainese is only about 50% intelligible to Mandarin speakers. English, the next most spoken language in the city is taught as a mandatory course from first grade in the public education system. This has been the easiest city by far to speak to anybody about anything and was a welcome break from phrasebooks, guesswork, giggles and shrugged shoulders.

My kinda crisps!

On my very last night, I met up with Alex and Neil who work with a friend of my Dads (thanks Mike!) and I was taken to a restaurant and treated to some top notch Chinese food. Lovely company, lovely food and a lovely way to end my six week train journey from home.

Shànghǎi is so full of bursting energy and different areas and styles and pockets of surprises all crammed into one town, that there is too much to write here. I ate the best burger I’ve ever had (I had to – I make no apologies), used the most efficient train and subway system I’ve ever seen, for less than £3, drank bucket sized glasses of Merlot for less than £2, raced from rooftop to subterranean secret, walked among historical alleyways and window shopped in unique boutiques, eaten pumpkin jelly, walked in tropical parks, watched silent  demonstrations, walked in on a wedding, stared up at gargantuan buildings and crouched in miniscule toy shops. This city really has got it all. You have to come and see for yourselves!

I can't imagine laundry dangling over Oxford Street, but that's how it works over here.

I didn't eat ALL of them, OK?

Hot pots being filled with boiling water and hot coals on the street ready to be served inside the restaurant

Each apartment is fitted with a drying system for laundry. Efficient and cost effective.

 The 1980's live!

 Zhou Enlai's former residence in the French Concession

 These are not birdies in cages, not birdies in cages lalalalalalala.....

Delicious and happy toilet? Must have been quite a meal...

 Very nice man making me very nice dumplings very late at night following very big burger, very much wine and very big smiles at all that Shanghai has to offer :)

 2013 - the year of the snake

 

What a great place to end my whistlestop journey around China. It's been amazing and I hope that the next six months of living and working as a regular schmo in this complicated, paradoxical country proves to be as rewarding as this trip has been so far. To Lianyungang!