Shanghai – The Future New Centre of the World?

We had an awesome time in Shanghai.  First we came to visit one of my closest friends Shingo, who has been living here for a couple of years.  In addition, Di’s parents showed up with their Taiwanese friends for a short 5 day tour of Shanghai that coincided with the days that we were there.  And to top it off, my BFF Phil and his girlfriend Talica came from Vancouver to spend the next 2 weeks with us.  Sweet!

Shanghai doesn’t have as much of a dignified history as cities like Beijing and Xi’an.  In fact, there was a time when corruption was rife, gangsters ruled, and many different European countries controlled large sections of the city unhindered by Chinese law.  Opium dens and gambling joints were ubiquitous with this extremely busy port town.  I’m actually not sure if the Shanghainese are proud or ashamed of this past, but I’m quite positive that they think extremely highly of their current position in China and the hopes they have for their future on the world wide stage.

It’s because of this sense that Shanghai is the next “It” city for business and development that so many of our friends are here.  As I mentioned, Shingo is here from Japan.  When he came to pick us up from our hotel, in the car was Mits (a friend I hung out with in New York way back when) and Jeff (a Taiwanese guy who went on an exchange program with Di in Japan 13 years ago)!  It was crazy to see those 2 with Shingo, having lost touch with them and not knowing they all knew each other; such a small world.  In addition to that, sitting at the table next to ours at the club was our buddy Areef, who lives in Jakarta but was also in town for business.  What are the chances?  Oh, and our French friend Martin who we met on Kilimanjaro was also in town and partook in the festivities of the night.  What I’m trying to say is that people are gravitating here.  I met many others throughout the nights here, and they were from all over the world.  When I asked them why they were here, pretty much the universal answer was “to get rich”.  Most of the Asian guys had family business from other parts of Asia to expand into the China market, but pretty much all the European and American guys were here to seek new opportunities and make new contacts.  I haven’t witnessed that kind of energy in any other city we’ve hit so far on our travels.

It was also good to grab dinner with Di’s parents and their friends.  Since there was so many of them they split everyone up into 2 tables, with dudes on one side and women on the other.  So I got to chill with Di’s dad and 10 of his Taiwanese speaking buddies.  These guys were all from the South of the Island, which typically has a more pro-Taiwan/anti-China sentiment.  However, at dinner it seemed as though the sentiment was more towards cooperation on the business front (I didn’t get into the political front as that would have opened up a can of worms).  They were talking about how in their youth when they had to do military service, China was their enemy, but now those times are past and the future is about teamwork and mutually beneficial relationships.  I for one was ecstatic to hear these guys say that, as I’m all about building bridges and I’ve been hearing the negativity in China/Taiwan issues for way too long.

We were able to visit most of the areas of the city we wanted to see, such as the Yu Yuan gardens, Nanjing Road, Xin Tian Di and the Bund.  We lived in the French concession too which was a nice part of town.  In addition we went to the world Expo for a day, which was immense, though not in a good way.  We basically only entered 2 pavilions, which was enough for us as we had no interest in lining up over 2 hours to check out another one.  In addition our friend Heidi hooked us up with river cruise tickets as her friend owned the nicest boat on the water.  The views at night on both sides of the river were quite stunning, with one side the historic European waterfront of old Shanghai (the Bund) contrasting with the other side, the modern steel and glass financial powerhouse district of new Shanghai (Pudong).  For those who visit I definitely recommend this cruise to get a glimpse of the new architecture (a lot of it nice, some like the TV tower, not so nice) that is being built at breakneck speed.

One quick note about food.  Shanghai’s most famous dish is probably xiao long bao, a small steamed dumpling that’s ridiculously good when done right.  Well, there’s been the argument that Taipei’s are better, so Di and I went out all over town to the most famous joints to give them a try.  I’m sorry to disappoint the Taiwanese readers out there, but Jia Jia Tang Bao in Shanghai was tastier for us than Din Tai Fung in Taipei.  And yes we know Din Tai Fung well, Di lives across the street from them and we eat there almost every 2^nd day we’re in Taipei.  When you’re in Shanghai you have to give Jia Jia a try.

5 days here gave us a pretty good feel for Shanghai, especially with so many local friends.  I was here 5 years ago, and though it was developing a lot already there were still a lot of visible social issues, especially begging.  This time around, I didn’t see even one panhandler on the street.  And though the odd person still budges in line, it’s definitely rarer than my first time here.  This city is evolving, and fast at that.  The infrastructure is first rate, and the new buildings rival those of any built in the rest of the world.  Though China is still a developing country, Shanghai is confidently leading the charge for its transition into a first world powerhouse.  Being here, in the front line of change, almost made me want to grab a suit, a cell, and a notebook to join the army of entrepreneurs looking for excitement and their piece of the pie.  Then I remembered I was travelling the world with Di, and Phil and Ta were along for this part of the ride, so  I emerged from my stay-here-and-get-rich daydream and happily we moved on to Beijing to let the adventure continue.  Shanghai definitely impressed us though, and I’m sure all of us will be back.  Maybe by then it will fully attain that international city status the Chinese government so wants it to have.