Really. There isn't much point in trying to communicate the giganticness, since I myself have only experienced a little bit of it. Suffice it to say that Shanghai is, as I have said to those who ask: Vancouver on NYC steroids. Shanghai is all about the new, modern, and expensive. It isn't all huge, but just to give some people my perspective on the matter: I've been living in the boonies for eleven years (at least compared to anything like this).
Upon arrival, I had two, maybe three things to deal with: luggage, food, and the fact that I hadn't slept in a day. Not to mention I hadn't really brought a map. Thankfully, I learned a few things from my stay in Beijing. First things first, find a subway. In any big city, the subway is almost always the best way to get from point to point for the pedestrian traveller. It is usually distributed in such a way that a visitor can connect with any part of the city he or she wishes: and it still allows some walking time since it isn't a door to door service. Thus, I chose to take the subway to Renmin Guangchang: People's Square. This is the hub of the 'old' city, at least old in that it has been downtown for as long as the town planners had anything to say about it. Pudong, on the other hand, is the land of new growth, rather than old power. Pudong may not be the Bund, but it does have sights to compare. Skyscraper-size tv (literally), the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Jin Mao building, and many other modern achievements are housed there. From the Square, I found a three-story, luxury-style Pizza hut with western toilets (something I had missed in Beijing...) along with the Shanghai Grand Theatre, and to my surprise: a pair of rather eager shoeshiners.
This incident began and ended rather suddenly. I was walking down one of the largest streets in downtown Shanghai, and suddenly I was stopped by a man with a wooden box and a shoeshining brush. Stopped, that is to say, in that he squirted some of his polish onto my shoe while walking past, and then proceeded to hold my pant-leg as I tried to pull it away. No sooner had I been stopped then another shoeshiner, this time a woman, grabbed my other leg. I was stuck. I was trying to get away, but they were holding me there, and there was nothing short of kicking them that I could do, save to tug repeatedly at my own legs. Finally, they relenquished their grip and I was free to go, though not without them yelling after me: '10 yuan, 10 yuan!' Needless to say I didn't feel that they had done me a service. I walked off with a blot of white goo on each foot.
My need for food came next. Having seen the extortionate prices that were asked for in the Square, I walked out of the central area. Pizza cost an arm and a leg, and was simply cheese and beans (I think), so I gave it a pass. Finally, I decided I would go with a Starbucks. There, I knew I could find coffee (for my need of caffeine), air conditioning, and a place to eat what was left of the food I had brought with me on the train. I spent an hour or two there nursing my iced cappuccino (the staff began to think of me as a permanent fixture). Eventually I set off to see what Shanghai had to offer.
My first thought was to go see Pudong. I took the subway again, first to a rather protrusive sculpture that seemed to be a disc with a needle through it, finalizing a corridor between two ultra-modern buildings: one of which was the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Eventually I thought I would go to the Oriental Pearl to see the view. This was rather disappointing, as the cost for entry was very high, and when I looked behind me I saw an even taller structure. Jin Mao is the second tallest building in Shanghai. It's neighbor is still under construction, though it is a bit taller. Jin Mao offers a 360 degree view, and, an 88 story internal view down to the ground floor. One is shocked by the fact that the floor you stand on as you look down is already built over the gaping hole you are looking down. It's one thing to look down from a solid structure, quite another to look down frerom one that it already 'suspended'. Jin Mao is right in the middle of a huge construction zone, so the hardest part was finding a way to it from the park at it's foot. I felt rewarded upon discovery of the entrance to the observation deck.
Later, it was time for Jimmy to pick me up. He had an apartment in Shanghai, and offered to give me somewhere to live while I was in the city. Given that I had no clue how to get there, he offered to pick me up, so I met him at the foot of the rather gigantic structure of Jin Mao. Later, after a dinner on the Pudong riverbank, we found our way through the city to the apartment, where I was extremely happy to find a fully western bathroom and a shower (another thing I hadn't done over the night stuck in a train). The next day I met his mom and aunt at his parents' apartment for dinner (which was very tasty, albeit that I couldn't really converse in any length with his aunt). I was feeling very welcome, and looking forward to the week ahead.
For much of the time I've been here in Shanghai, the pattern was thus: I would stay home during the day, study Hanyu (Mandarin) and finalize trip plans, and then we would drive out in the evenings to see the city. We saw the night markets in the subways stations, more of People's Square, the G+ club in downtown, and the Shanghai International Church. I enjoy seeing the city in this manner: it is so large that the nightlife is where it's at. One night we went out for food late and discovered a place called 'Joy-full'. There was a police officer working doubletime as a doorman, and a menu full of cheap but tasty western food. All-in-all a great find.
The one thing I did do on my own was to walk down Wuzhong Lu to the downtown area. This was an adventure that took me through a streetside food market, and past a number of interesting little shops that did everything from metalwork to pet care. Eventually the street turned into Panyu Lu, and I was walking past skyscrapers instead of stores (though those did persist on the other side). There was a good deal of european architecture, including stone relief sculpted into several robed figures. I took a few pictures, and headed back the other way. This time, I realized what else I had been walking past on the way downtown. Scattered among the salons, convenience stores, copy-shops, and a smattering of other tiny places were over a dozen glass-walled, unlabelled venues. They were spaced out along the road on both sides and when I looked in I could see that there was barely anything in them except for some pink lighting and chairs. At first I thought that they might be something benign, but there really was no mistaking the occupation of the women waiting in the windows. I was surprised to find this on such a busy road. Six lanes of traffic, grocery stores and apartment buildings were most of what took up the area.
This seems to be a phenomenon of China; which really does speak volumes about how fast the country is growing. Both this, and the number of convenience stores placed around the streets. Because of the high population density, places that have a variable clientele, like convenience stores and brothels, thrive. In comparison to Beijing, one can see a direct parallel in the number of convenience stores. I had two stored within a minute's walk of my hostel (more if you speak figuratively), where I could pick up orange juice on the way back from the local market.
But on to more travel, there are only so many words to the wise that can be stomached in one paragraph (that was supposed to be ironic). Anyhow, my experience in Shanghai has been a great one. If nothing else, it has been nice to take a break from the backpacker's lifestyle, and to get a bit more street-smart at the same time. Though it has made me miss the life that waits for me back in Canada, I wouldn't want to miss this experience for the world.
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