Our journey to Shanghai  began somewhat inauspiciously, thanks in part to the vicissitudes of Texas weather. The plane that would have taken us on the first step of our journey to Shanghai was grounded by freezing temperatures over the night, and we were forced to adapt our plans. After a short wait we took a plane to one of the United State’s great economic and flight hubs, New York City. Our flight originally would have laid over in Detroit, so the group was not too chagrined by the change in venue; now we would get to see one of the largest American cities immediately before we visited one of China’s.

We spent an entertaining night in NYC, enjoying the regular tourist draws and trekking through several blocks in search of an elusive ramen restaurant. However, the food was delicious, and we all enjoyed the chance to see Times Square and the Empire State building, once the tallest skyscraper in the world before yielding the title to ambitious projects in the Middle East, and China, of course. A few days later we would get the chance to see the second largest building in the world, stretching tall above the Pudong District of Shanghai.

The next day was travel intensive, as we flew over the top of the world en route to the Shanghai. We had plenty of opportunity to catch up on shows and movies during what was nearly a 15 hour flight between the two great cities. As we flew over the icy North, I considered what I hoped to accomplish in the country that would be my home for the next 10 days. China was growing economically, but at what cost? What prices did the Chinese pay in the currency of pollution and socio-economic capital in their drive to become an industrial power? I hoped I would find out in the next week and a half.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2015 at 9:21 pm and is filed under 2015 Class, Enroute. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.