Cloudy in Beijing Blogging about my time in China

After spending ten days in Taiwan, I have arrived in Shanghai. Goddamn, there are a lot of foreigners here.

Tonight I went to a popular outdoor shopping/restaurant area in the city. They call it Xintiandi, and it seems like half of the people here are not Chinese. I heard so much English — in American, European, Middle Eastern accents — as I walked through there. And it seemed like every store there had only an English display name, maybe a few scribbles of Mandarin glowing here and there.

Jesus, where am I?

There was moment as I was walking, I felt like I was in a part of downtown Kansas City, my former residence. There they have popular shopping area called the Plaza, in what looks like re-stored buildings and city blocks from the 1920's, except loaded with high-class stores and restaurants. This was the same thing, just with more Chinese people.

I really had no idea what to expect. I came to Shanghai because I've never actually seen it. The city is China's largest, at I think 20 million people, and a major hub for commercial trade, rivaling that of Hong Kong. And from what I saw tonight, it's the most cosmopolitan city I’ve ever seen, probably something a bit like NYC, though I've never been there.

Shanghai is a very modern city. A family friend showed me around it today. When we took a taxi, he paid the driver with a credit card, the first time I had seen that in China. In the back seat of another taxi I rode, there was a small TV behind the passenger seat, broadcasting commercials and such. It made me car sick eventually.

Upon arriving, I looked out a window, hoping to catch a glimpse of the cityscape. For some reason, I always imagined Shanghai to be a futuristic city of some kind. I remember watching some images of the place on Chinese TV, in awe at the great skyscrapers and gardens they showed under a clear sky.

Instead, I could barely see anything when I stared out the window. Winter weather and pollution had fogged out most of the city. Yes, they are some extremely modern buildings here, but from the taxi ride, they were but shadowy outlines against a grey backdrop. Iy's a Chinese city; I guess I shouldn't be surprised. One might say I was duped by Chinese propaganda.