One unnerving thing that happens in these parks early in the morning is older gents suddenly yelling at the top of their voices. This morning it happened again and it sounded like a ... actually I can't describe it, but it scared the you know what out of me. I don't think it is a mating call, but it might be a vocal exercise used for 'good health' to get the chi going. Around the park there are groups of people doing Tai chi, jogging, stretching and bending exercises. In Xian there were exercise machines at regular intervals and permanent table tennis tables with lots of oldies really going for it. I stopped to watch and got invited for a hit of table tennis which I really embarrassed my self doing. I could not get a rally going. We said goodbye to amazing Guilin today and our fabulous young guide Jocelyn. She really enabled us to have a brilliant time.
The flight to Shanghai was short but it felt like we were flying through smog the whole time. We did see blue sky at cursing altitude but it was not until we landed in Shanghai that we realised the smog was going to be worse. This city of 23million people has a thick blanket of smog over it, more so than Beijing and Xian. In the other cities it looks like haze, but here it is yellow grey smog. Our guide Nick did not beat around the bush, this time he agreed it is pollution. As we were going down the lift with our luggage and we battled people at every level we passed, I heard him say in exasperation, 'this is why we need the one child policy'.
Let me describe Nick (his english tourist name this week) our guide for you. He is a fast talking young guy of 27, who guides tourists part time. In his words 'it very expensive in Shanghai so need to work lot'. He has been to Australia and could describe aspects of life in Sydney and Melbourne. He is 'Han' which is the majority cultural group, and subsequently a product of the one child policy. He studied finance and came to shanghai four years ago to work and is currently finishing an MBA. Nick does not know how to cook as he eats out all the time. His excuse is that food in China is very cheep as there is not much meat used, so a good meal can cost as little as $8 AUD. He is much more world savvy than our other guides and knows that the 'gowrment' controls the media, so socialism is always painted in a positive light. I think he has a bit of Aussie in him, with that bit of suspicion.
We took a quick trip into the museum and then into the business district from the airport. The Shanghai museum has amazing displays of chinese culture, including jade and furniture exhibits. The detail in the crafts is astounding particularly with the ornate Jade pieces. It was a short stop at the museum before heading to the big pedestrian walk called the Bund. Shanghai has had western influence since the opium wars with England a century ago. The bund displays this history with its European architectural flavour. The new city development that started in the 80's is on the other side of the river and makes for spectacular photo's from the Bund. With the massive glass and concrete buildings, the river, Mall and its western influences, Shanghai does not feel like China but much more like Sydney.
Tomorrow we will get to explore this massive city in greater detail but for now it was good to escape to our throughly modern hotel to brace ourselves for the crush tomorrow.
Ben & Mum
Location:Shanghai
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