The 5 days we spent in Shanghai were undoubtedly 5 of the most densely packed days in my life. We did and saw so many new and strange things that I’m having trouble remembering all of it right now…
The first night in shanghai was tiring to say the least, but we were able to power through the extreme jet lag we suffered from. After about a 30-minute subway ride to Peoples Square where we stayed, we settled down and got ready for a very late dinner at a traditional hot pot restaurant. We were accompanied by one of our speaker’s who was in charge of the Uber operations in Guangzhou. A hot pot restaurant is much like a typical fondue restaurant in the states where you cook your own food, in a boiling pot, in the middle of the table. However, if your chopstick skills are not excellent, you will undoubtedly leave the place hungry (as I learned the hard way). We then proceeded to look out from the 68th story of the Le Meridian hotel in Peoples Square. It was here that I first began to realize how large of a city Shanghai really is.
The next day was spent solely on our feet, as we walked a combined 7 miles on the day. We started off by spending some time at the urban planning museum. A place that showed how much planning it takes to govern over 24 million people in one place. The museum was followed by a trip to the local marriage market: the most culturally unique experience I had in China. Here the parents of their aging kids set out “stat sheets” listing their children’s height, weight, salary, and skills in hopes of finding a suitable mate for them. Parents were then free to “talk business” with other parents to try and make a match. We then proceeded to go on a walking tour of Shanghai. On the tour we visited many famous locations such as the bund, the historical district, and all of Peoples Square. We trekked through the shrinking and impoverished minority neighborhood, right up to the affluent shopping malls of Shanghai. In the mall, we indulged in many traditional foods including Shanghai’s famous dumplings.
The next day was spent exploring more of Shanghai and receiving an interesting lecture about Chinas global network from Rice grad Robert Foye at one of shanghais prestigious wine cellars. After the lecture (which was followed by a much needed cheeseburger at the cellar) we visited the place where the CCP was formed. There we learned about the rich history and hardships China has faced in becoming the super power it is today. After the museum we were granted the opportunity to get an up close and personal look at the Chinese hospital systems with Mrs. Foye as our tour guide. Here I gained valuable insight for my project in particular.
The following 2 days were spent learning more about the city. We received a very informative lecture on the history of Shanghai by an NYU Shanghai professor on one of the days which was followed by a walk around Pudong. Our final day in Shanghai was spent visiting a traditional Buddhist temple.
Above all, Shanghai gave me a taste of what its like to live in a city with limited space; something I don’t necessarily have to worry about here in Houston. I was impressed at how organized city life was considering the vast amount of people that live in the city. In the future I hope to learn more about how Shanghai will deal with the growing Chinese population.