Shanghai

Work took me to China this week – a long haul for 3 days to be sure, but interesting and instructional all the same.  Few places in the world look like China – the ultra modern (bordering on garish) architecture emphasized with neon light shows.  There’s a correlation here usually – the uglier the building, the more dramatic the multi-colored lighting effect.  The city hums which in 35-43 degree heat (that’s ‘really hot’ to you Fahrenheit types) is all the more amazing as the latin siesta approach has never taken root here.

Shanghai is special amongst Chinese cities, with its historic Bund district of western decadence and seemingly more commercial focus too – Beijing can have the ‘State’ power structures, we just want to have fun and make a few yuan seems the city’s beck and call.  Like New York and Hong Kong, it burps and throbs in barely concealed energy.  It’s exorbitantly pricey and dirt cheap at the same time.  It’s also a real tourist mecca for the Chinese themselves, with the waterfront boardwalk heaving with picture takers from all over this big country.

Shanghai has some tremendous infrastructure, the magnetic levitation train for example that runs from the airport to the city (sort of) capable to speeds up to 400 km/h.  But it arrives at an odd, non-central location.  Subway’s criss-cross the city, but where they connect, you actually come up to ground level, and go back down.   It’s a city of visionaries, where the wow-effect is much more important than usability.

English capabilities and sign-age is smattered across the landscape – billboards and international brands deceptively suggest multilingualism where very little exists.  Don’t get into a taxi unless you have your address written in Putongua – and even then you’ll argue with the driver who doesn’t feel like going in that direction.  (Did I mention it feels like 45 degrees out there on the street ?)

China remains a study in complimentary contrasts and Shanghai is its’ darling.