This morning, the morning of Day 3, had to be the most exciting morning I have ever experienced in all my life. We had traveled to Pudong, or better known as the financial district of Shanghai, and visited a very special building. This building is called the Shanghai World Financial Center. Standing at an impressive 1,614 feet this building remains one of the largest in the world. Even more impressive, the second largest building in the world is being built literally right next to it. This area of Shanghai makes me think that Shanghai really has the potential to become a global city. I have rarely seen such intricacy and modernism all clumped into one area. There were dozens and dozens of skyscrapers all resembling something of the future; there were overhead walkways all above the streets; and there were so many shopping centers. You cannot tell me that Shanghai is not ready to hold a status of being “global.” Sure, the outskirts may be not a developed, but as far as I know, not many businesses and MNCs like to operate of the outskirts of a city anyway. In terms of having a business environment that would allow corporations to thrive, I truly believe that Shanghai falls within that category.

Later on in the day, after lunch, we had a scheduled meeting with a very animated character. He goes by the name of professor Su Yunsheng. He works at the Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning & Design Institute as well as being the co-founder of a magazine called “Urban China.” I must say that this man knew his stuff. Although it was a very brisk presentation, we learned just how complex urban planning is. Since he had helped coordinate the Shanghai 2010 World Expo, he had showed us diagrams and renderings of how each building was built. For example, the Chinese Pavilion was built with a sustainable design in mind. It had natural ventilation, in addition to thermal insulation. It even had solar panels on the roof that helped generate electricity for the building. This was just one building that was built “green.” Almost every single exhibit was built with conservation in mind, resulting in the usage of less building materials, harvesting of rain and sunlight for energy, and natural ventilation. It was extremely surprising to see just how much emphasis was put on sustainable designs. Back home, many people assume that China is not even concerned with pollution or the environment, but after going to this lecture I would say that that is quite untrue.

We had saved the best for last. Our next meeting was with a lady who worked for the Shanghai Subway Company. She had provided very relevant details for my project, so naturally, I was very excited. This was the one lady who was able to answer my much needed questions. Here are some of the facts that I had gathered:

• The subway solves over 50 percent of the traffic problems in Shanghai.
• Some parts are built in China, some with French and German cooperation, and some are imported.
• 6.9 million people ride the subways in Shanghai each day.
• A station will be built with the “anticipated rider” flow in mind. The larger the flow, the larger the line.
• The total length of the subway system is around 538 km. The plan is to build, in total, 1000 km with 800 km already in the works.
• Shanghai has the longest subway in the world.
• Safety is their biggest concern. They want to make sure that everybody is safe first and foremost.
• They are hoping to get more carts added to the subway system to ease crowding.

These are most of the key facts pointed out during the lecture. Having ridden the subway here in Shanghai many times, I would say that you could tell it was top of the line just riding it. Getting this facts helped me further grasp the magnitude of their operations and future planning. What is really admirable is that the government invests so much money into infrastructure development in Shanghai. Even though it might be to unclog the streets, it helps with pollution and helps people with low incomes. In the United States I really feel that infrastructure is not a priority. Most of the cities in the United States I have been to lack much needed public transportation from the level of subways down to taxis. As we see with Shanghai, not only will the extensive development of public transport result in better traffic conditions, but it will also help the finances of lower income people and it will help the environment. We really could learn from cities such as Shanghai. Yes, it may cost a lot of money initially, but as I have seen, it looks well worth it.