Pictures and videos are at the end.
Day one in Shanghai, and what a fabulous day. It’s one of those days that feels like time has slowed down and the day has gone on for a week. I caught the 10:40 pm flight on Friday night from Auckland direct to Shanghai having been dropped off in great time by family. My permits to enter Tibet were issued only two days ago and confirmation of my train ticket to Lhasa only came yesterday.
The flight was uneventful enough. It’s been over 10 years since I’ve gone on an overseas adventure and am trying to savour every moment. I reserved an exit row seat and got a reasonable sleep on the 12 hour flight.
But I had built up a bit of anxiety about entering China. On my own, can’t speak the language, will have no access to familiar apps such as Google, Facebook and Instagram. But I felt I did the research, so was pretty ready. The Chinese don’t use cash much, just apps like AliPay and WeChat. A work colleague, the wonderful Wendy, had put me in touch with her friend Shasha who lives in Shanghai, so at least I had a local contact.
Shanghai is a megacity with a population of nearly 25m. It has a history that spans over a thousand years and closely parallels the development of China. Originally a small agricultural village, Shanghai developed during the late Qing dynasty (1644–1912) as one of China's principal trading ports. Although nominally part of China, in practice foreign diplomats from Britain, France, America and elsewhere controlled the city from 1842 until the modern China era, after forcing on the Chinese a series of unequal treaties.
The first impression of China is of a lot of police presence and a lot of overt control. That made me nervous at first, having to be fingerprinted at the airport, having baggage scanned at every rail and metro station and having to present my passport to enter every mundane attractions. There was a fuss at my first baggage scan as it picked up my small penknife in my backpack, but they let me keep it. But I soon got used to it. Police in cars, in buggies, on bikes and on foot are ever present with blue and red flashing lights to signal their presence (not that some emergency is happening, as I first assumed).
And I actually came to welcome the presence. For a city of 25m, it feels safer than some much smaller home cites I won’t mention. I was stuck by how few western tourists I saw. So I was a bit of a magnet for some who approached me with very questionable intentions. “Hello, I am staying here for a few days, where are you from?”. I came to welcome the reassurance of the blue and red flashing lights. Obviously two sides to every coin, but in the moment I appreciated it.
My first challenge was to get from Pudung airport to my hotel via the Maglev train (the fastest in the world) followed by the metro. Getting on the Maglev was fairly smooth. But it only went at 300km as opposed to the 430km it is capable of. I freaked out a bit later when confronted with entering the metro and buying a ticket. But I calmed down and figured it out. All a huge sensory experience, new sights, sounds and smells. Not to mention anxiety levels. But by the end of the day, I felt like I was navigating the metro like a pro.
It was lovely to meet Shasha at my hotel. I left my bags as check-in wasn’t until 2 pm. We headed off on a walking tour of the colonial architecture in the area. I was staying right in the centre next to Nanjing Road. It was a lovely walk from there over to the Bund area by the river. It felt like I could easily have been in the grander parts of Paris or London, such was the impressive colonial architecture from the late 1800s onwards. I love that in this phenomenally modern city, lots of cultural heritage has been preserved, even older but modest residential buildings.
Shasha was a truly delightful, generous and knowledgeable host and is understandably proud of her city. After exploring the colonial architecture and the Bund area, we made our way by foot ferry to the opposite bank of the Huangpu River.
We walked among the skyscrapers before ascending to the top of the 632m Shanghai tower with 128 floors above ground, the third highest in the world. Views were spectacular from the viewing area at the top. Then a wonderful lunch near where Sasha works followed by a walk to catch the metro to the Yu garden.
It was stinking hot and humid, around 35°C. We ended up walking around 15km that day. Every time we entered a building with air conditioning it was like bathing in a cool bath.
The Yu Garden and the area around it was enchanting and a lovely contrast to the futuristic city we had just seen. Yu Garden was first built in 1559 during the Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644). Hard to describe the opulence and serenity. I’ve come to appreciate the aesthetics of formal Chinese gardens, especially the prominence of natural stone in unusual shapes.
It was getting towards late afternoon by now, so we made our way by metro back to my hotel near Nanjing Road where I said goodbye to Shasha, not before she helped me with some ideas for my second day.
I went out wandering later to join the hoards on the pedestrian Nanjing Road. And I do mean hoards. The crush of people along the Bund was not anything I'd ever experienced before, except maybe exiting from a large concert. But it was an incredible experience and a very memorable day.
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