My Impressions of Shanghai Visit

My impressions of China on a visit to Shanghai during 4th August to15th October 2009

Shanghai airport is huge yet user friendly. Stress was on neatness andcleanliness and beautification all around. Roads leading to and out ofthe airport were wide and well lighted. Magnetic Levitation traintakes just six minutes from airport to town and uses a special tractand has a speed of 450 KM per hour. However we used private car to reach ourdestination in Pudong.Immediately on entering the house and seeing some lovely photographs displayedbeautifully on the wall and elsewhere too, wefelt we had reached a very warm home in Shanghai.Unlike houses in India, the walls in the exterior of the house were allof transparent glass and one could see the entire panorama and thegrounds underneath. We could see the lovely Huangpu river with tens ofbig boats with materials plying on it day and night . We could see thenice colourful and well lighted buildings on the other side of theriver. It was an excellent view to watch and very peaceful. Justbelow there was a beautiful Swan Lake in which besides the fountainsand beautiful walking path all around there were four black and twowhite swans with a baby swimming carefree at leisure. It was a lovelysight to behold. Later we noticed that there was complete segregationbetween the black and white swans. So in nature human behavior is notdistinct.My wife had the first nasty experience of being locked in the bathroom. Icould not take her out. I imagined that Chinese locks were faulty too.So I called for help. She was told to unlock twice. This workedinstantly and she came out with much relief on her face. Then welearnt that Chinese locks use double locking system unlike ours. Welater found that all Chinese fittings were perfect and taps would notleak.We learnt that Shanghai has a population of more than 1.88 crores plusa temporarily moving population of about 15 lakhs. Shanghai is rightlybeing projected as the leading international financial and shoppingcenter of the world overtaking New York and London shortly. Throughwell developed Hong Kong and Shanghai infrastructure with largestairports and deep sea ports and budding districts in the vicinityChinese would fulfill their aim of being the greatest economic powerin the world in not too distant a future. They already have thelargest army in the world and are increasing fast their military mightand it is being said that they would surpass USA as a world power inperhaps just two decades.We felt that Chinese leadership was honest, proud, patriotic, marketforces oriented and extremely autocratic without any semblance ofCommunism. One can say benevolent dictatorship. They have a very clearand distinct vision of grooming China as the greatest power in theworld. In this they have the tacit support of their countrymen. We didnot notice any open annoyance or dissent. General public couldpurchase adequate meal in 3 RMB ( Yuan ) and wholesome meal for only fiveYuan. Chinese need very little space for living. Then why should theycrib? So there is no obstacle or hindrance for progress as visioned bythe leadership. They have all the wherewithal for achieving their aimsin real time.Though there were several languages and dialects in China , leadershipfirmly encouraged Mandarin for the entire country. This helped inuniting the diverse parts of the country. Now we learnt that Englishis being insisted as a second but necessary subject. We were surprisedthat even maidservants were well conversant with written and spokenMandarin. General public is literate..Women are great contributors to national economy. We saw that in themalls and shops young women were managing alone. We hardly saw men inshops. It appeared that they were engaged mostly in construction andproductive activities. We never saw workers sitting idle anywhere.Women were absolutely safe and could move about day and night. Theywere working alongside men everywhere. They had no hesitation inworking in expatriates houses when men were alone. They felt safe asChinese laws are strict and are enforced.What surprised me most was that roads, streets and places, unlike somedemocratic countries, were not named on individuals – leadershipconsiders itself like any other countrymen. Even on National DayParades all the leaders past and present keep standing all the time.This helps them tide over obstacles through public support.Chinese plan several years in advance and their implementation is nearperfect – both in time and expenditure. We visited Shanghai UrbanPlanning Exhibition Centre and were simply taken aback. Even in myprivate wildest imagination I could never visualize such precise anddetailed future planning in such a large scale for a city of the sizeand population of Shanghai. It was amazing. The future and currentshape of Shanghai was exhibited in plastic models to scale in threedimensional display of all high rise and multistoried buildings in avery large area in the museum for any one to see and comprehend thefuture shape of things to come including new districts visualized in adecade or more. Everything was transparently clear. My grand son afterseeing the model immediately told us that the building to come up infuture right in front of our house would not obstruct our view of theriver. How amazing. Possible enhancement of value of land andproperties was there for every one to see. No speculation or guessingfor the future. Perfect transparency. People can plan their futureeconomic activities with confidence.It appeared to me that Shanghai, being new, has been developed basedon Chinese exposure to Hong Kong ( very user friendly and denselypopulated city), New York ( High rise and multistoried buildings ) andWashington DC ( wide roads laced with green foliage and lined withdense trees, spacious museums and huge malls ) They have the best ofall the three. Almost all the roads even in newly developing districtsare very wide , four lanes and with one way traffic.Chinese have developed a huge deep sea port, largest in the world, inan island 35 KM from the delta of Yangtze river joining theocean, in a very short span of time. 35 KM Donghai bridge in the deep oceanwith two three and a half lane side by side roads was built andcommissioned in less thantwo years. We drove on this road when shipswere crossing it below. It was a lovely breathtaking ride. We saw thetownship on the island for the people engaged in activities there.They had made it self sufficient for daily needs.On our return from the island we spent time picnicking with friends ata lake side resort.The lake is spread in an area of several square kilometers . There isa very tall and abeautiful monument at its centre. All around the periphery of the lake there wasbuilt in pavement with other necessities. Chinese stress onbeautification of the landscape. Tourists were plenty and among themeven Chinese from other distant places. One such crowd beseeched uswhen we were eating puries and potatoes etc They appeared fascinatedto see our food . They took several pictures. We also took some snaps.We went for sight seeing to a water town with friends. Water town isa small town builtages ago on both sides of a rivulet. There were small old houses onthe banks with many wooden bridges to cross the river. Some houses areeven as they were before but most of them have been renovated withmodern fittings. Small boats for tourists were plying in the smallriver. We saw a very small post office building kept as it wasearlier. Museum there is worth seeing. Plenty of Chinese earthenware,potteries, small figurines , sculptors etc. There are sculpturedattractions at many of the wooden bridges. There are several shops oneither side of the river. The largest bridge was a bit toohigh with several stairs and we refused to tire ourselves. It was atthe fag end where the river ends at the sea. The bridge itself is agreat attraction. We took several pictures.We visited a wax factory a little away. Enroute we passed through oldShanghai suburbs and saw some lovely green fields with nice crops. Weobserved that the area was neat and clean as elsewhere . We enjoyedthe ride out of town. My friends made some purchases. China isfamous for various shaped candles for decoration. The factory wasexporting most of its production. To our surprise there was nobargaining here but rates were far below the market.The famous bank of the Huangpu river known as Bund is a fewkilometers long and wide walking space for lovely sight seeing of thebuildings, some from the British rule, well maintained lighted andilluminated during night. Leisurely walk on this stretch is verypeaceful. One walks and enjoys the panoramic sight and also thelighted boats that pass through the river. One feels being part of thescene. There are restaurants on the side and some activity or theother is always on- like dancing , flying candle balloons, kite flyingand other shows. The place is ideal for evening walks.We visited nearby Shimao lake and garden. It is a miniature Chinesegarden with zigzag path way around the lake with fish in it. Thereis a small waterfall too. Then we visited yuyaan gardens and lake.It is in a very big area with a large lake full of various colourfulvarieties of fish and turtles. This also has a beautiful zigzag patharound it but on a large scale. On this path they have smallrestaurants too. It is a beautiful sight right in the centre of thecity. Just outside are innumerable small time shops in a vast coveredarea.We visited Century Park which is spread in several acres with a hugelake within with plenty of lotus flowers of various colours. Entrance tothe century park is fascinatingly lovely – a long road on both sidesof which areflowerbedsand flowing water and green foliage hiding anything behind. Suddenlyone comes to a big open area with landscaping and green grass everywhere. Plenty of huge rocks through which one passes and reaches thelake. We sat on one such boulder for picnic lunch. There was a goodpath way all around the lake . Several people were there picnickingand enjoying the scenic beauty artfully created for them . In someareas crops were there. We saw many newly wedded couples gettingphotographed at various scenic spots in their wedding attire. Theywere making their day a memorable one.We visited Jade Budha Temple. It is an old Buddhist temple in a large areawith plenty of figurines in various smaller temples. Main Jade Budhais a large one in an upstairs temple and has been carved from onepiece of Jade. Surroundings of the temple are very peaceful withplenty of trees . Lots of people were paying their homage there. Wewere told about the custom that each of us must pay from his own moneyfor entry etc – not some one else’s.We visited Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. It is in a very bigbuilding catering for the future. Infact the museum is at presentperhaps meant for the school children who were there in plenty andenjoying interactive displays. We enjoyed the outside view from someheight.We then visited the area where the three of the world’s highestbuildings are located. We went up the Oriental Pearl TV Tower – rankedthird in the world. There we saw some exhibits and screen clips at onefloor. Jin Mao Tower – second highest is nearby. We saw it fromoutside. Then we saw Shanghai World Financial Centre Building – thenhighest building in the world as Dubai Burz had not yet beencompleted. We went to the Observatory on the top floor of thebuilding. It is a huge corridor having transparent glass panels oneither side except the ends where lifts operate. One central row ofthe floor is also of transparent glass. We could thus see the trafficand pedestrians below us – a frightening experience. Simultaneously wewatched airliners landing and taking off from the distant airport,ships plying in the deep ocean, boats in the river nearby and buildingtops and we could identify several places including our Shimaobuilding. It was indeed a life’s experience. We later went to arestaurant a few floors below and ate to our hearts content variousvegetarian dishes.Nearby we saw the work in progress on another high rise buildingproposed to be higher than any other in the world. It was expected tobe in use in next one and a half years. Amazing implementation byChinese.We were fortunate to watch construction work in progress in theadjacent building and its surroundings and also on the road outsideour complex. Chinese were using very aptly the heavy machines. The endresult was of quality and was swiftly carried out. Electric cables andsewerage pipes were laid out in a long dug out duct lined with bricksand the openings covered with either iron or pre fabricated cementcovers. These covers were the same as were being used on either sideof the road foot paths. Perfect standardization had been achieved.Volume of production, reduced the cost of the product. Imagine thenumbers required all over China. What national saving in effort andmaterial. I was reminded that in Mao Tse Tung’s time same cloth andthe same closed collar pattern was enforced all over China. A greatsaving in costs leaving the money for other priorities. We saw trees,obstructing any construction activity, being properly dug out withroots by help of cranes and kept aside to be replanted whererequired. They fully succeeded in doing this. We should also adoptthis technique. We saw the city beautification effort all over.Pavements were being re-laid with better tiles. Roads were being re-carpeted. We saw the work in progress during night. A heavy bitumencutting machine was digging out four inches of top material of theroad quite fast and was automatically being loaded in trucks behindand was directly taken for recycling. Then a similar machine was usedto lay out a smooth carpet which was later embedded with a heavyroller behind. Next night traffic marking were painted with hot paintby another machine. Paint dries up instantly and does not spread whenvehicles move over it. The beautification activity was for World Exposlated for May 2010 when Shanghai would be showcased to the world.Expo logo Hebao was exhibited everywhere.It was also obvious that government agencies were carrying outwholesale renovation / distempering and painting of exterior walls ofthe old buildings on either side of the streets to give a presentablelook. We saw old buildings including three storied residential blocksbeing raised to ground for the construction of new multistoriedbuildings and malls. Naturally there could be no opposition from theexisting residents. We also learnt that all the tops of themultistoried buildings had to be different compulsorily. The outcomewas unique and esthetically very pleasing to the eyes.Almost all the roads, streets and lanes have either shops or malls ontheir side. Shanghai is practically a world shopping centre with allthe infrastructure in place. It is very well connected on either sideof the river which divides it with rail/road tunnels, many bridgesand ferries every few kilometers. Luckily we also had shopping in ourmind for a wedding. Our favorites were APPlaza, Fabric Market, Kitchen mall, Yuyuan market and some closebymalls/shops. One has to bargain in China in everyshop. It is a tedious process and requires lot of patience. One hasto have some acumenand inclination too. My daughter displayed lot of patience anddetermination and largelysucceeded in getting good bargains. Language was a basic problem . Butsigns, demeanorand figures on the calculator helped. Our delight had no bounds when shesucceeded in getting the price reduced substantially. We thought wemade our day when we carried loads of items to the taxi. We generallyfound that the price initially quoted was several times higher forexample from Yuan 250 price would be reduced to less than Yuan 50. Onehas to know the average price in advance to successfully negotiate.Lastly our trip was made memorable by our daughter’s great friends wholater becameour own.. We enjoyed visiting all their beautiful homes and their warmhospitality.Some spent most of the time with us and immediately became one ofthe family. We had many enjoyable get-togethers on several occasionsand the high point was the celebrations on my birthday.We wish tem all a very happy and enjoyable future.