We spent around five days in Shanghai one of China's largest metropolitan cities. Day of arrival: 08/08/2008. As some of you may know the first official day of the Olympics was capped off with the spectacular opening ceremony on this night. This is an auspicious day for the Chinese, so I guess they may have planned that one.
We arrived feeling fresh and ready to go, found our hostel after only thirty minutes of standing in the middle of the sidewalk looking dumbfounded. We piled our giant backpacks into the back of a rickshaw holding on by nothing more than a carabeaner and Chiara's arm. We actually made it into the main square by our hostel, off of Nanjing Road, to watch the Opening Ceremony. There were two huge screens set up and people standing and sitting int he street. Not feeling jet lagged at all, I was wide awake and definitely did not fall asleep on the street. ha.
Nanjing Road is one of the most commercialized touristy spots in Shanghai. A huge outdoor shopping mall, with no cars and millions of people, teeming with glittery retail shops, cell phone stores, and high rise buildings. I was beginning to get a feel for the way China would pan out after being on Nanjing road for five minutes.
Spending the rest of our time in Shanghai at the same gloomy little hostel, we managed to get lost for at least nine hours one day just walking around, attend THREE preliminary soccer matches, (Argentina and the Ivory Coast being my new favorite teams) feel the staring eyes of one million Chinese people as our frizzy hair and green eyes strolled around, and on the day of our departure we almost burned down the hostel. Just another day in China. Pretty much our motto.
Relying on the subway to get around was like trying to walk into a packed stadium at the Olympic games. Except the only difference is that you have to try to cram onto an escalator with a million other people, then shove your way onto the subway. For some reason it is totally acceptable to just barge your way to the front throwing your hips around, and smashing into people. While this is all happening, at the same time a million other people are trying to get off the subway, using the same method. It becomes almost a game after awhile.
I wanted to just sit in the very middle of the station and watch people bustling around me. Speed walking in circles to get to the train. It was as if there was a secret conveyor belt underneath the subway rotating the throngs of people. Everywhere you go, no matter where it is in Shanghai the crowds never cease. I kept thinking we would somehow turn a corner and it would be quite. Never happened.
Shanghai was my first taste of China, and it definitely exceeded my expectations. Far more people, far more humid, and a lot easier to get around with all the Chinese that I know, meaning five words.
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