Shanghai – Being plain rude, and enjoying it
2007 – Shanghai, China
Before the trip Shanghai wasn’t all that high on my want-to-see trip – I had to do a bit of reading up before I even knew what to expect. Colder than I’d been in a long time in South-East Asia, I finally got to don a jacket on my way to and from work.
By the time I visited China I was travelling alone for work, and was rather confident with myself in visiting foreign cities. I found out the location of work was across the road from the Jin Mao building which is right near a train station. OK, no problem, and forgetting all contact details of the office I was visiting in China, departed on the train. Needless to say I underestimated Shanghai, and got thoroughly lost. The Jin Mao building is set on a massive road of 6 to 8 lanes, which you cannot just cross. Without contact details, I couldn’t call anyone in the office to help. I used the last of my phone credit by SMS’ing my cousin with a distress message asking for help, instead of my co-worker with the same name. After an ill-advised taxi ride to the wrong end of the street, I was able to find a building receptionist who cared little enough about her job (I think she was happy for the break) who was willing to let me use her computer to check my mail, and use her phone for a distress call. Finally, and almost after leaving my work documents with the receptionist, I arrived 45 minutes late for the training session I was supposed to initiate a little red faced. I wasn’t going to underestimate Shanghai again.
On a foggy weekend, the best view was an electronic one.
The other working days I still caught a train to work, but knew where to exit the train, and where to walk down Millennium Avenue. On the cool mornings, this walk was one of the most amazing and energetic I’ve had. The sheer number of skyscrapers filling the skyline was like nothing I’ve seen. Passing by the wide open parks, watching old ladies practice Tai Chi gave a feeling of exoticness amongst the rapid development. And what’s more, the streets were spotlessly clean. I’ve never looked forward to travelling to work so much.
The walk to the office wasn’t the only fun bit of the trip. The public transport is fast and efficient in Shanghai, but immensely crowded. Just getting on and off the trains was like working your way through a rugby scrum, and I found the best way to make sure you get out was start making your way to the exit at the station before. I even watched a fight break out between two suited businessmen when one thought the other shoved him a bit hard. For the 8 days I worked it was fun to go through this – just because I’d never shoved people around quite as much as this. Though after a few months, I’m sure the novelty would wear out.
Just as fun and frustrating at the same time was catching a taxi. Never was competition so fierce and unregulated. Want to catch a taxi? Just look for someone waiting to catch a taxi, then walk 10 metres up the street before them. This sort of behaviour would get you beaten up in Melbourne, but everyone seems to do it in Shanghai. Or if you’re lucky enough to be near a taxi that’s letting a passenger out, the best option is to get into the taxi before the passenger has finished paying the fair before someone else does. Never have I had a chance to act like such a bastard to other human beings, and to be honest it was a liberating feeling. Acting with chivalry and politeness would have had me left clutching my bags on the side of the road at midnight, taxi-less.
The juxtapositions (I haven’t forgotten all my large english words yet!) between development and tradition seem everywhere in Shanghai, and is a city that I feel is best observed as you walk around the back streets. You can go bypass the luxury hotels, walk around a corner, and grab some amazing roti bread with spinach cooked on a 44 gallon drum. Or just watch the teams of people quietly getting about their business on their simple bicycles, while the highways are filled with cars moving at a walking pace. It’s a really an amazing city.
