Shanghai and Hong Kong

My flight was at 0820. I didn't realise how far the airport was from the city when I picked this flight. It could have been worse; I could have picked an earlier one. Fortunately for me, the hostel's front desk was open by 0600, so I was able to leave just after. It was cool and relatively quiet walking to the metro. I don' t often get to see sunrise. Since line 2 runs all the way to the airport, and the first Maglev train from Longyang Road terminus was at 0645 I thought I would stay on line 2 instead of transferring to the Maglev. And it would provide a little variety instead of riding the Maglev again. This in retrospect was a slightly unwise decision that resulted in wracked nerves. It ate up almost all of the safety margin I had allowed because of the many stations in between and the long delays in opening and closing carriage doors. I arrived at just about the 45 minute deadline. By the time I reached the gate, they had just started boarding. That was close, whew!


But we ended up waiting an hour on the tarmac anyway. Perhaps some connecting flight was delayed. I suspect punctuality suffers on internal Chinese routes. I was happy when we finally took off. We arrived in Hong Kong 35 minutes late. The pilots probably stepped on the pedal a bit, but I think the airline also schedules some leeway for this sector.


There isn't much to write about my 1 day stopover in Hong Kong. I did the usual things: I shopped, I ate, I saw. And I didn't take any pictures, so I won't bore you with a verbal description. I did notice that pedestrians in Hong Kong are more polite, they give way if it looks like you will collide with them. In Shanghai, people tend to barge their way around. Manners were improving in China, but could be better. I saw people, mostly older folk, spit in public. Someone once coughed in my face. A young woman washed her corn cob with bottled water in a station waiting room, letting the water drip to the floor, assuming that the cleaners would mop it up.


It was quite appropriate for me to end the trip with a stopover in Hong Kong. Shanghai and Hong Kong are ports that were prised open by European powers in a time when China had fallen into decay. It might have been a national humiliation but in the long term, these and other ports became hubs for the industrialisation of China. Hong Kong and Shanghai are sisters and were meant to be allies and rivals. (Remember what HSBC is an acronym for.) When the communists won in 1949, the lights dimmed in Shanghai, and Hong Kong went it alone. Gone was the vice, but also the entrepreneurial energy. But the industrial capability was latent. I remember back in the 70s looking at Seagull cameras, and film made in Shanghai. Now Shanghai is aiming to become a world city and financial nexus. It's interesting that the city has set itself a goal of having 5% foreign residents, to inject diversity and energy. At the moment Hong Kong holds the lead in sophistication, but in time the greater population and vast hinterland of Shanghai will be inexorable advantages.

Pearl Tower

The Oriental Pearl Tower (东方明珠塔) has a futuristic look. I hoped to get a bird's eye view of the city from the observation deck.

There is an elevated pedestrian walkway running all around the traffic roundabout, and in the middle of that is a topiary garden.

The inside looks just as futuristic. Here we are waiting to board the elevator.

The sightseeing floor at 263m has a 360 degree panoramic view. This is view is of The Bund.

Then going anti-clockwise, this is looking towards the upper reaches of the Huangpu.

The Jin Mao Building and the SWFC behind it. Couldn't do much about the viewpoint, unfortunately.

Almost back to the starting point; this is Suzhou Creek.


The glass plates have names of places in China, e.g. Beijing, Shenzhen, and distances in km marked at the relevant compass direction. It gives you an idea of the size of China.

We left through a series of elevators and stairs, past the Space City floor at 90m, which was incongruously filled with noisy arcade game machines. This is a parting look at the brightly decorated elevator shaft.

In the basement is the Shanghai Municipal History Museum, which focuses on the period of history from the opening of the port to the communist takeover, about 100 years. I only took one picture here, of the antique transport room. If I had attempted to take pictures of all the dioramas there an entire blog would be required. The museum should be appreciated in person.The presentations were very informative and gave a good feel for life in that period of the city's history.

It was dusk when I emerged. This is my final picture of Shanghai, looking southeast down Century Avenue.


I decided to have a squiz at the Xinyang Market, a collection of underground stalls at the Science and Technology metro station. Mostly apparel was sold here. It looked like the copyright police had been through before the recent expo, a notice pasted on the wall warned that fakes of brands such as Gucci, etc. were forbidden. There was a paltry selection of electronics. I had half an idea to get a Cheap Chinese Watch as an additional alarm for the morning but saw nothing suitable.


I had a dinner of congee on Dongchang Road outside the hostel followed by a red bean drink for dessert. Then I arranged my belongings for a quick departure in the morning and had an early night.

Pudong

From Hongqiao (虹桥) Railway Station, I took the familiar line 2 to Pudong (浦东), east of the river. I had earmarked the Beehome Hostel for a night's stay. Not only was it slightly closer to the airport, but would be a change of scenery. It was easy to find, and being set back from the main road, was relatively quiet. Actually, because it's an area of skyscrapers and wide avenues, Pudong felt less frenetic than the other side of the river.  After lunch I took myself for a walking tour of the giants. This is the base of the SWFC, or the "bottle opener".

This is Shanghai Tower which, if all goes according to plan, will be finished by 2014, and be second only to Burj Dubai as the tallest building in the world.

Here I'm at the base of the Jin Mao (金茂) Tower.

And this photo shows the elegant stepped design.

Finally I reached the riverside promenade where I faced The Bund on the opposite bank.

It was a mellow afternoon, and I relaxed with a coffee from Starbucks. The young employees immediately picked me out as a tourist. I explained that I was an overseas Chinese. They seemed intrigued at encountering a Chinese person who had lived all his life outside China and who had come to see the "old country".


(The ascent of the Pearl Tower will be in the next post.)

Interlude

Looking out of the train, I observed that about half the houses in the countryside had installed solar water heating. As the most populous country in the world, what China does affects global warming. Its rise in affluence will put more strain on the environment. But it's not China but Africa and India that will see a surge in population and rising standards of living in decades to come and this will take a toll on the earth. But maybe China is also part of the solution by disseminating clean technology. The Chinese have a genius for commercialisation and mass production. If any country can make solar heating and solar electricity cheap, it's China.


Incidentally it's often assumed without much thought that as the most populous country, it must be cramped in China. But the immensity of China must also be taken into account. If you look at a list of countries ranked by population density, exclude tiny states and territories, there are more than 20 countries ahead of China. Even if you exclude the areas of barren land in China, it still would not move to the top of the list.


Speaking of railways, I noticed that maps of the Chinese network include the lines in Taiwan, because China claims it as a "renegade province".


I thought of that hapless toddler in Guangzhou. Were the Chinese heartless people? Did I have to worry that no-one would come to my aid if I tripped in public? I hoped not. But in a vague way I could understand why the passers-by turned a blind eye to the injured toddler. Places like markets in China are grubby. The ugliness of the place, the constant struggle to survive, and the feeling that one is just a cog in a noisy machine would, I imagine, make people block out the surroundings and not want to get involved. I also have an underdeveloped theory that lack of beauty, whether from the natural world or from art, coarsens the human soul and makes it insensitive. But none of this absolves the apathetic passers-by. Nothing excuses insensitivity to another's suffering.


But lest you think that all public spaces in China are dirty, they are actually much cleaner than in many developing countries. It helps that there is an army of cleaners, mostly older people unlucky not to have modern skills like the young, sweeping and clearing. Little goes to waste; I saw scavengers retrieve cans and plastic bottles from trash bins to earn a bit more money.

Leaving Gulou

It was time to return to Shanghai, I was flying out of China the day after. I had only allocated a couple of days to Hangzhou, manifestly inadequate, but no plan is ever perfect. Perhaps I would return some day.

I asked the friendly girl at the counter about buses to the station and she said that it was possible to walk there. I knew from my arrival that it was about a couple of km so I persisted with the question. She said that there weren't any direct buses, they all involved a bit of walking on either side of the bus trip and I had best take a taxi. This I accepted because it only cost 11 yuan, a couple of dollars for me.

I had originally planned to have breakfast on Hefang Street again, but realised that I should be able to find something to eat at the station to avoid backtracking. My train was for 1100 so I had lots of time. On the way out I took more pictures of the picturesque water channels. A municipal worker was clearing the silt from one while I was there.

This appears to be a piece of public art dedicated to the history of the city.

The inside of the Gulou Gate.

And the outside.

This shop was frying up Youtiao (油条, fried dough), a common Chinese breakfast food to accompany congee or soy milk.


At the railway station I found a shop serving Shuijiao (水餃, boiled dumplings in broth). All too soon it was time to board the high speed train.

Evening market

I napped the rest of the afternoon away. In the evening I went looking for dinner. I was trying to decide between trying something different like kebab from a Uighur (Muslim) restaurant I had seen on Gao Yin Street, or Beggar's Chicken from the hawkers' lane.

Fortunately the rain had not eventuated and folk were strolling on the pedestrian street and Hefang Street. The restaurants were brightly lit and well patronised.

I was on this street in the morning and the shops and stalls were still operating, now for the evening shoppers instead of the early birds.

A colourful tobacconist. The next photo is a Chinese fast food restaurant. The one on the left is the zong shop I ate breakfast at.

In the end I decided against the kebab; the premises didn't look interesting. So I had Beggar's Chicken at the hawkers' lane. While I was eating, a slightly deranged man wearing camouflage fatigues sat across me and started saying (I suspect) provocative things. Fortunately I understood little due to his thick accent. All the diners in the crowded lane avoided looking him in the eyes. He must have been the local crazy. The chicken was alright, but a bit too salty for my taste. It was small, a poussin. I kind of felt sorry for it.

For desert I had a mix of peach, mango and coconut in syrup. I suspect they all came out of tins.


Walking around I spotted a confectionery shop where peanut candy was made in the traditional way by pounding nuts with sugar and then slicing into squares to be sold in packets. I bought a packet and it was very good.

Around the lake

I decided to ride an electric cart around West Lake not only because it would have been a long walk, but the weather was turning cool and it looked like it might rain again. A round trip was only 40 yuan, quite reasonable I thought. We were going clockwise, so I rode on the right hand side to snap lakeside shots on the go. All these spots have names and histories, but I didn't pay much attention to the driver's spiel. So just enjoy the lakescape, like I did.

The driver turned on a jingle whenever he needed to warn pedestrians that we were coming through. This is just a few seconds after the previous shot so we were moving at a fair clip.

A splash of colour for an overcast day.

Very typical ornamental half-moon bridge in the middle.

A lakeside gazebo.

More photo opportunity locations.

Elaborate lake boats.

This is the road running on Su Causeway (苏提), named after the renowned poet Su Dongpo (蘇東坡), who ordered the dredging of the lake and piling up the mud into a causeway.

The high end restaurant Lo Wai Lo (楼外楼). I suspected as much from the shiny cars parked outside, but this blog entry confirmed it.

The boat has the same name so perhaps this is the lakeside dining annex?

This is Bai Ti (白堤), the causeway at the northern end of the lake.

Almost back at the starting point on Hubing. The trip took nearly an hour.

I had a passable ramen lunch at a nearby Ajisen, a restaurant chain serving Japanese cuisine in China. Before leaving West Lake, I saw this group of older citizens making music. The cart driver had explained that this was one of their pastimes.