Shanghai (4) - the city

The early bird catches the worm. And, sure enough, the good old saying worked for me when I got up early and went to the World Financial Tower before 9 AM. I literally walked right into the elevator of this impressive high rise building which, given its sky bridge on the 100th floor, reminds me of the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur. Within 60 seconds, I'm on the upper most floor in 474 meters height.

Again, I get a great view over Shanghai. This time I get to see the city skyline in broad day light, which gives away the outskirts of the city beyond the skyscrapers. Hundreds and hundreds of what look like two or three story houses clustered in strict lines with their roof colors matching as to identify a neighborhood. No wonder, given the city is home to more than 19 million people.

China's population is immense and growing, despite the one-child policy. It took me a day or two to realize what is missing in the picture (especially compared to Manila and the Philippines at large): children. My Chinese friend, a single child, of course, explains to me the one child policy that was implemented to counterfeit a growing population and shrinking resources to feed and house them. The policy imposes a hefty one time fine and usually job-loss for parents with more than one child. According to her, there are exceptions from the one-child rule. Two children are allowed if both parents are single children or, if they represent one of the 55 ethnic minority groups.

What comes along with the policy is a progressive reproductive health education, which my friend remembers to have undergone in middle school. At the same time, contraceptives are available.

As a big fan of self-determination, it is hard for me to take a stand on the one-child policy, which is one of the biggest interference in the individual decision making of the Chinese people. On the other hand, I do agree that we run out of space and resources for the mass of people on this planet. But, what good is a one child policy in China, when countries like the Philippines grow at a rate of almost 2 percent?

I wonder if, with a growing and more affluent middle class in China, a second child will become a status symbol of wealth.

Wealth seems to be all around me in Shanghai. The malls are packed with expensive brands. Lancôme, Mont Blanc, Louis Vuitton - you name it.

After a lazy stroll through Shanghai Old Town which houses not only fancy souvenir shops in colonial style buildings but also Haagen Daz, Starbucks and a Paulaner Biergarten just to name a few common culinary establishments, I make my way back to the Expo.

Knowing my way around already makes things much easier. Although, the distances in the maps are quite misguiding. My feet are flat by the time I reach the Germany pavilion. The line promises at least 3 hours waiting time. I proceed to the UK pavilion, which is called the Seed Cathedral and has fascinated me ever since I saw the first picture of it online. Thousands of fiberglass rods filled with seeds make the cube appear like a porcupine during mating season!

As soon as the sun has set, the crowd is getting lighter. I get the chance to visit a few pavilions, some more others less interesting. The Czech Republic was quite impressive with funky installations and displays of green technology and scientific advances. Norway presented itself from the cold side, with bear footprints molded in metal and frozen over. The Philippines did what the Filipinos are good at: perform. Under the theme 'performing cities' the crowd rocked when a local female singer started her performance. What a great glimpse of the Philippines!

Shanghai (3) - World Expo 2010

Soon, I would face a whole world of impressions, gathered here in Shanghai this year: the World Expo.

The Expo area covers 5.3 square kilometer and is spread out on both sides of the Huangpu River. Eight gates serve as entrances and exits. I am opting for the evening tickets, which allow admission starting at 5 PM for various reasons. First, at 90 Yuan they are the cheapest ticket option. Second, I hope the crowd is lighter in the evening. Third, it's not as hot as during the day. Fourth, the area is illuminated (which is a photographic challenge but a great spectacle for the eye!).

My plan pretty much works out. I walk right through the airport-like security control, including bag and body scanner. An expo-shuttle takes the crowd around in a big loop and across the river, so do ferry boats and the subway.

For day 1, I explore the Asia square. The big red China pavilion is seen from afar, so is the communication center, which looks like a big flying saucer.

The lines in front of some of the pavilions are simply incredible. I pass the Saudi Arabia pavilion, which hit record waiting times of 9 hours! I see the queue and wonder what must be in there to see to justify a 9-hour wait!

I've set my expectations for the Expo rather low. I'm already happy to see the pavilions from the outside and get an impression of what a World Expo feels like, for this is my first time visiting one.

I give it a shot at the Laos and Myanmar pavilion since lines there are really short. The interior is little impressive: a few pictures of the respective countries, a few installments displaying traditional building styles, and typical products.

I'm happy to be out and exploring again, which to me is taking this whole place in. The infrastructure besides the great architecture of some pavilions strikes me. Restrooms, water fountains, and volunteers to help you out (even though their English is limited, they are friendly and try to help), all of this is available and well signposted.

By 8 PM I'm down at the Huangpu River to watch the Music Fountain performance at the Waterside Terrace. What a great spectacle! With the Shanghai skyline as the backdrop, I hear classical Western and traditional Chinese music and see illuminated water fountains do a choreographed dance.

After almost 5 hours at the Expo my feet are flat and I’m ready to head home. Little did I know that the longest queue, and unavoidable for that matter, was still ahead of me: the cab queue.

The flood of people headed for the same exit like me already got me suspecting the worst. When I finally see the main road and the cab lane, I'm emotionally all geared up for another 2 hour wait. To my surprise, the line, strictly monitored by police officers, is moving quickly. No pushing, no jumping lines, no preferred service (not even for a mom with her sleeping 2-year old on her arm!). Whoever, especially tourists obviously not familiar with the rules of the game, tries to get ahead of the line gets disciplined with loud and angry sounding words right away. Not just by the police but also the crowd. Whatever I learned about the Chinese non-confrontational and indirect communication culture, I scrap it right here and now.

Shanghai (2) - traditional heart

The buildings in the modern center of Shanghai are truly impressive by size, shape, and materials used. However, the overwhelming impression fades next to the traditional ancient Chinese architecture and art collected in places like the City Temple of Shanghai and the Yu Garden.

A stone throw away from the city center these places stand in stark contrast to Shanghai's progressive skyline of long straight lines, steel and glass.

At the City Temple, colorful incent sticks, the color red for good luck and gold for financial fortune dominate the picture. People come here to honor their ancestors, and to wish for luck and financial fortune. They light up huge incent sticks, hold them to their head and heart and bow in all for directions of the temple area. The air fills with scent and a haze.

Outside the temple, connecting to the Yu Garden, the old quarter extends. Shops with Chinese art, mainly embroidery, stamp carving, fans in all sizes and colors, and tea are housed in traditional houses lined up along the narrow streets. No cars here! And, if you would succeed in imagining this place without all the tourists you might feel like back in old China.

You have to close your eyes though, for signs like Dairy Queen, Starbucks, McDonalds and KFC (complete with their Chinese characters) hanging from traditional roof tiles might ruin your imagination. And, looking over the three or four floor old buildings you can see the tops of the Shanghai World Financial Center Observatory, the Orient Pearl Tower, and the Jin Mao Building in the far distance. What a perfect visualization of China's stretch between preserving its traditional heart and being a modern player in this globalized world. For now, I guess the compromise is a traditional building housing Dairy Queen. The Shanghai tourist map calls it 'History meets 'new' modern'. Are they saying the Chinese have always been modern, but now it's just a 'new', meaning revived or different' modern?

In my opinion, the great modern buildings are a collection of the latest building technology, architectural skills, building materials and, most importantly, money. Meaning, the most outstanding building has, whoever can afford to pool the resources. The race is about, who can display this resource mobilization best. The Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the Taipei 101 in Taiwan, the World Financial Center in Shanghai. Bigger, higher, more expensive. The problem is, whoever has the resources next, will surpass you and leave your latest state of the art building in the dust within 2 years. What is truly unique, I come to think of more and more, is the 'foundations', literally spoken, which each culture is built upon. Which, I think, is building techniques based on the raw materials the people had available when they started to inhabit a certain place and called it their land. Structures in sync with the natural forces they had to withstand. I'd love to see these basics mixed with modern materials and technologies.

What is truly traditional, at least that is how it appears to me, is the Chinese cuisine. The menu in the restaurant reads quite different from my vegetarian cookbook: stewed bird's nest with pumpkin and honey, braised shark's fin (despite international protests, shark fin is still highly recommended), mixed jellyfish with special sauce, white marinated pig stomach, steamed abalone, quick fried bullfrog with special sauce, and braised pig ears with local greens.

Good thing I'm a vegetarian. At least I have a valid excuse not to have to try any of this. Except for the local greens, which I really like. Call me ignorant, I know.

Luckily, I'm already quite savvy in tackling noodles, rice and vegetables with chopsticks. While I was heaving some of these goodies on my plate, I was corrected though. Chinese do not eat from the plate, but from the small bowl, which food from various serving dishes is transferred into. The plate is for bones and other food trash.

Sharing of dishes is common. Often, someone’s chopsticks dive into the food, pick out a piece or two and dive straight back into the mouth. I was wondering if 'food hygiene' ever becomes an issue. For now, I am happy to know the people on the table I am sharing my food with.

One of my biggest successes in facing the tough culinary challenges of China was to substitute my immense daily coffee intake with green tea, and milk tea with grass jelly.

Shanghai (1) - first impressions

Hot or warm. The choices on the water dispenser at Shanghai's Pudong airport are not necessarily, what I call refreshing. Looking at the flood of tourists clogging the immigration counters, I opt for the lesser evil and enjoy a lukewarm water drink. Welcome to China!

To my surprise, the line in front of me moves quickly. In no time, I smile into what looks like an upside down iPad with the navigation button being a camera. My passport details, including the number of my China visa, show up on the screen. I hear the stamps slamming down on my passport. Welcome to Shanghai!

Signs with English translations interpreting Chinese characters guide me to the metro, which links the airport to the center of Shanghai. All transactions are automated limiting the human face-to-face interaction when I buy my metro ticket. A big screen with the map of Shanghai lets me easily chose where to go. The results are short waiting lines and no language barrier.

After a 45 minute metro ride I get off at Lujiazui station (make sure you change trains at Guanglan station. The train leaving the airport does not go all the way to downtown!). An escalator surfaces me right into the center of Shanghai: in front of the Oriental Pearl Tower. What I realized first was the smell of clean air! And, everything else seems clean and organized for that matter. Massive skyscrapers give this part of town a modern, advanced and even futuristic touch. It's hard to ignore that the Dragon has awakened.

I forego the proposed 2-hour waiting line to go up the Pearl Tower, which promises a great view over Shanghai and the Huangpu River on three different levels (each level up costs additional 50 RMB, approximately 6 Euro or 340 Pesos).

Instead, I make my way to the JinMao Observatory, which looks like the Empire State Building. Well, at least it has a pointy top.

At 9:30 PM the waiting lines here are still long. At least I can enjoy watching the Chinese going crazy over picture taking next to Chaki Chan (his wax model of course) while I'm waiting. Again, in no time I'm inside a huge elevator, speeding me up 370 meters in no time, traveling at a speed of 9 meters a seconds. I pop my ears several times to balance the pressure. Up top, I get a great night-lit view of Shanghai in an almost 360-degree circle. It’s impressive how much light I see! Now I understand why China just surpassed America as the number one electricity user.

The elevator still spits people out onto the platform when I make my descent. This place is clearly prepared for tourists. And, to my surprise, they are mostly local. I am almost the only white nose.

The people here clearly understood to channel tourist up and down their sights in no time. They are making many tourist bugs by the mere fact that their 'tourist throughput' is incredible!

A quick cab ride and 18 Yuan later I check in at the Jinjiang Inn. 45 Euro a night for a nice air-con room with a big double bed, hot shower and complementary water is appropriate, I think.