Letter from Shanghai
From the moment our gang of four arrived in Shanghai on a rainy Thursday night, it was clear that we would find China’s financial hub immeasurably different from its administrative capital. In the new Pudong International Airport, the floors gleamed, the chrome shone, and savvy advertising on the walls beckoned investors with promises of green technology – a sharp contrast to the exhaust-filled departure hall in Beijing. As we looked for a taxi, two young women in uniforms and sashes chanted at us – they were touting the MagLev (magnetic levitation) train, which could take us the 45 kilometers to the city center in under 8 minutes. (A tempting option, but we decided to take a taxi instead — it was cheaper and would take us directly to our hostel.)
Over the course of the next four days, further distinctions between the cities became obvious. In Shanghai, the air was clearer, the people more fashionably dressed — the city felt like Paris to Beijing’s Moscow. Most striking, perhaps, were the architectural differences. Shanghai is, in general, much more appealing to Western sensibilities than Beijing — buildings are sparkling, innovative skyscrapers rather than massive, dark blocks, as in the capital. Per Brendan’s express wish, we enjoyed a few overpriced cockails and appetizers on the 87th floor of the Jin Mao tower. It is currently the world’s fourth tallest building, but sits directly across the street from what will be the world’s tallest, the long-awaited Shanghai Financial Center. The view was entrancing, and we watched the lights on the bulbous Pearl Tower change and pulse until they were unceremoniously extinguished a few minutes before 10:30 p.m.
As we walked through town — it is an imminently walkable city, unlike Beijing — we saw art deco apartment buildings give way to the pagodas and gardens of the Old City and the European colonial trappings of the Bund. Nanjing Lu, the busiest shopping street, was awash in huge screens showing eyecatching ads, vendors coming at us from all directions with cases full of knockoff watches, and shoppers, shoppers, shoppers, each doing their part in fueling China’s relentless growth.
Nora
