We had finally arrived in Shanghai, the city that had once been known as the Paris of the East. I was excited to explore this great and historic city, and of course, to try one of the KFCs that has sprung up all over China. We visited the Urban Planning Museum, and got one of our first tastes of the paradox of Chinese development. Behind an ostentatious golden sculpture of the city, a sprawling work of art extolling the virtues of communism and the workers paradise had been painted on the wall. Our experiences throughout China would express this duality; all may be equal, but among Chinese cities and the Chinese populace, some cities and people were definitely more equal than others.
The Marriage Market, where primarily parents attempt to find matches for their aging children, was a unique cultural and social experience. The corporate Pudong zone, the historic Bund, and Jing’an temple were intriguing stops for us on our journey to better understand the culture and socio-economic climate of this complex city. Excellent food and the horror of Chinese subways were both memorable experiences which I won’t (and sadly can’t forget, in the case of the subways).
My project was to see if areas with historically high minority populations were subjected to practices that would lead to a more polluted environment. Through several enlightening talks with Rice alumni and lecturers, I began to see that minorities were adequately well treated in China; discrimination in this rapidly modernizing country was based far more on geographic location then ethnicity. Where you live determines the job opportunities, marriage opportunities, and the pollution that you have to face, and pollution especially in China is a large problem. Schools have been closed and flights have been diverted thanks to the severe air pollution that is plaguing China’s larger cities. For many, industrialization has come with a terrible cost.
What was so horrible about the subway?