Shanghai...

is still my favorite place in China. I know that I just got back from a great trip to Xi'an but I had the chance to go to Shanghai this weekend and I gladly took it. The tone of the trip was quite a bit different than the one to Xi'an, but in almost every way I prefer Shanghai to any other place in China.

I spent a lot of time in Shanghai three years ago. There was something comforting, like I was returning home to my city from the moment I stepped off of the train until I left. I only had four days in the city, but I fit almost everything that I wanted to see into that time. I was able to experience great food, spectacular sights, good shopping, a University visit, great pictures and very tired legs. As with Xi'an, my stories will last three or four entries.

Travel in China is so much better when everyone in the nation is not trying to get somewhere on the same weekend. The crowds were significantly smaller this weekend compared to May holiday. It is amazing how much more enjoyable this makes travel. For the trip to Shanghai I was able to get a Sleeper car, in my mind one of my favorite ways to travel here or anywhere else. The fact that a journey is a process is sometimes a great experience. To board a train with music, a good book and the ability to stretch out is something that is great...maybe my favorite way to travel, certainly much better than standing on a train for 12 hours.

I arrived rested and ready to attack "my city". The city of Shanghai has more people than Beijing does, but it covers much less land area than Beijing. This makes for a more crowded place, a more vertical city as well as a city with potentially way more transportation headaches. While neither city is easy to move around in, I really did not find Shanghai to be any more difficult to move around in than Beijing. There is a ridiculous amount of traffic in each city with more being added each day. I stepped off of the train and made my way to the subway where it soon became evident just how many people are in the city. It was about 7:00 in the morning and I barely fit onto the subway with my big backpack there were so many people crammed into the car. Once I got out of the subway I was greeted by an amazing sight, empty streets (more or less) and a calm in the city just waking up. Chinese people as a whole are early risers; construction really does not stop here and the workday begins early for even professionals. I got off of the subway near Nanjing Lu, the major shopping street in Shanghai. This street is normally filled with tourists, sales people, panhandlers and every other type of person, but at 7:00 in the morning, there was not really anyone out yet...or at least not as many as are typically there. The people that were there included elderly men and women practicing tai chi, martial arts, fan dancing, tango and just enjoying the morning, before the crowds arrived. While I made my way closer to the Bund, the famous waterfront area in Shanghai I recalled fondly all the other times I spent walking down the streets of Shanghai. At the same time, it was amazing to reflect on just how much I have changed in these last three years, all of the things I have accomplished in that time and how much my perception of China has changed.

On the Bund I found more of the same, but this time the practicers of tai chi, fan dancing and the like were doing it against the backdrop of the most impressive skyline in the world. There is just nothing like seeing Shanghai for the first time. Much has been written about this place, and even with all the hyperbole and superlatives used to describe the city it is still able to amaze and delight when you are able to finally rest your eyes on the magnificent. The skyline has ultra modern aspects alongside classic architecture, most of it very well designed. The city architecture represents Shanghai so well, the city in transition, at the edge of the next century but still holding onto its historical importance. While I could never forget this city, the experience this weekend showed me once again why I loved it so much and revealed to me the need I have to call this city home once again. I have found a lot to love about Beijing, but there is nothing in Beijing that can replace the energy and excitment that Shanghai has. There is no city comparable that I have ever been to, no city that combines the classic with modern, luxury with frugality, serenity with a torrid pace of change; these contradictions make for a place where there are endless opportunities, a place that is exciting just to be in.

There will be many more tales from my trip to come. If it is not already totally obvious, I have re-caught the Shanghai bug. There is no doubt that I will be living here again in the future. I am still waiting to hear if I will be back at Huijia when I return this winter, but if not, I may look for jobs in Shanghai and stay with friends in Beijing during the Olympics. Time will tell...there are always reason for decision and I have little doubt that the decision to live in Beijing was the right one to make, I just really miss my city again.