China Is Incredible

I have a lot of catching up to do…the time in Shanghai/ Hong Kong just flew by and now I’m off to Vietnam.  Crazy.
The ship departed for Hong Kong on 2/19/10 and my friend Ben and I had decided to not sail with it (you always have that option in countries where the ship berths at multiple ports) and spend a few extra days in Shanghai. I’m glad we did because the city it awesome and there’s so much to do. 

We stumbled upon the “E-Best Shanghai Hotel” during our hotel search (we tried the Marriot but it was $250 a night) and it was only about $7 a night.  This was an unbelievable price for a pretty decent hotel (it definitely wasn’t the Ritz) but it was about as nice as a Holiday Inn.   Our accommodation expenses for the three extra nights in Shanghai were only $21, not bad.
As I said above, there’s so much to do in Shanghai.  Our first night there we went out with two of the SAS Chinese exchange students.  One, Maz, was from Shanghai and it was awesome having him with us.  He took us to a mall near his home and we had a nice dinner with about six other SASers.  The district we were in was really nice, and it had a totally different feel from the places I’d been in Shanghai so far.  

One thing I thought was really interesting was the questions Max was asking me about life in the U.S.  He was under the impression that the police would just come to your house for really trivial things, such as stealing music from the Internet.  It was really interesting to talk to him about life in the U.S. 

After dinner we went to a very, very inexpensive karaoke bar (compared to Japan) and then headed back to the hotel.  Our primary method of transportation around Hong Kong was taxis.  A thirty-minute cab ride cost about $12.  It was really good because the subway system in Shanghai was awful.   We always end up taking a taxi to the station or having to take a taxi to our destination from the station.  I was surprised for such a developed city that the subway system was so inefficient. 

Our next day away from the ship was probably my favorite.  We went to the Shanghai World Financial Center, the third tallest building in the world, but it has the highest observation deck.  We were 492 meters up.  The view from the top was insane.  The other skyscrapers were literally dwarfed and looked miniature from the observation deck.   Something that was interesting to note was that the majority of the skyscrapers and buildings we were in are only about ten years old.  From what different locals and tour guides said, the city is constantly under construction.  I’d definitely agree with that statement.  The city is gearing up for the 2010 World Expo, which begins in May, and construction is everywhere.  Another skyscraper is also being built, one that will be taller then the SWFC.  There were constructios crews everywhere and everything is scheduled to be done by May, when the Expo begins, and China is once again on the world stage.  One of my tour guides earlier in the week said that in Shanghai construction always ends when they say it will end.  A little different from construction jobs back home. 

That night we went to dinner in a district near the Shanghai Times Square and the district, for some reason, reminded me of Stone Harbor, but really, really cold.   The shops, restaurants and overall atmosphere just made me think of Stone Harbor.  It was weird.  The dinner was great.  The restaurant seemed like a nice middle-class restaurant you’d fine in the U.S., like Ruby Tuesday, but for the price of a value meal at McDonalds. Afterwards we walked around a little and just took more of the city in. 
On our third and final day away from the ship we headed to the Shanghai Zoo.  There were so many animals!  We saw tigers, lions, all kinds of monkeys, polar bears, black bears, sun bears, giraffes, jackass penguins (that’s their real name), wildebeest, foxes, and PANDAS!!  The pandas were my favorite part.  The zoo was really big and really nice, much nicer then Philadelphia’s. 
The rest of the day we spent on Nanjing Road getting some more not-needed trinkets from the sellers there.  I love how the people haggle with you!  I got a pair of really nice Oakley sunglasses and a Gucci wallet (both are definitely real ha). 

The next morning we had a 7:45 AM flight to Shenzhen, just to the north of Hong Kong.   The flight was only about two hours and then another two for the bus ride into Hong Kong.  The actual time on the bus was only about forty-five minutes but clearing customs in Hong Kong took forever.

China really is an amazing country.  Before going in, I definitely had a preconceived notion of this country.  Now I did just see Shanghai, which is one of their most developed cities, but it wasn’t anything like I thought China was like going in.  There were so many stores, hotels, and restaurants you’d never know it wasn’t a capitalist country.  I really don’t know what I was expecting in China, but it definitely wasn’t this.   The only time I felt like it was a communist nation was when I couldn’t get onto Facebook & YouTue (they really do block both sites) and seeing the guys in green uniforms everywhere at night.  They just stand on street corners and look like classic communists, but are surprisingly pretty friendly.   We also got a chance to watch some Chinese world news (in English) on the hotel’s television.  It was interesting to see the news and what the Chinese perspective on the different issues were, especially the Dali Lama.  The Chinese have very unfavorable views about Obama’s meeting (and pretty much every other President’s  meeting), but one of the clips we watched was very, very interesting.  It was a talk show type deal with a host, and then the issue and some commentators.   There were three people speaking on the issue and one of them was a younger guy, only about thrity or so, and he was the “voice of the new generation.”  His stance on the issue was this: both nations should just forget about the Dali Lama.  China should just let the U.S. meet with him and the U.S. should not make such a big deal about it and both countries should work out the bigger, more important issues, like world energy problems, the environment…the list goes on and on.  I have to say I agree with him; compared to the problems the world has the Dali Lama seems so insignificant.  It’s a surprising view for a Chinese citizen to have and even more surprising to be on television, because all Chinese television has to be pre-approved by the government.

I also really see how important it is for the U.S. to have good relations with this country, something that is continually being stressed in Global Studies on the ship.  Just thinking of Shanghai and how the majority of the city developed in ten years, you can see China’s power and economic growth.  I mean they pretty much built Philadelphia in ten years.   The people also love Americans!  We had three people just randomly start talking to us and ask us how their English was.  Little kids would just look at us and say “hello.”  If we said “hello” back they’d giggle and be in shock that they said it right!

I would definitely advise going to China and checking this incredible nation out and seeing for yourself what I mean about everything.  There’s really no words that can adequately describe what I mean.  When I return (I definitely am), I want to see Beijing and the Great Wall.  Hong Kong had an entirely different feel, but I’ll save that for tomorrow!