By Jack C and Ben
Today we woke up to the jarring but strangely soothing sounds of our train as it rattled over the tracks that would carry us to our penultimate destination, Shanghai. Surprisingly, many of us found that this was, in fact, the best night’s sleep that we’d had throughout the entire trip, as the background noise made by the train wheels were an unusually efficient relaxant, and helped to calm one’s mind and free it of the distractions caused by a busy trip. This morning, we were treated with a bit of a sleep-in, as the train wouldn’t arrive until 7:50 am. But after we snatched as much sleep as we could from the ravenous jaws of time and schedules, it became time to pack our bags, clean our cabins and venture out into the unknown, out into Shanghai…
One of the first things you notice about Shanghai is that it is a city with a Western influence. Shops, city planning even the architecture itself is strongly influenced by Western ideas about creating interesting, even beautiful buildings, creating large city squares and the need for green spaces and parks. Another thing you notice is how busy it is. Many people jostled us as we made our way out of the subterranean train station and into the light. After a short walk to our pick-up point and a quick wait for our bus, we were off on our way to our hotel. Along the way, Charles gave us some extra information about Shanghai.
Shanghai is one of the largest cities in China, with a population of over 18 million people. It is also one of the wealthiest, and most developed cities in China, which is due to the fund splitting system of the Chinese government. Shanghai is known as an autonomous city, meaning that it is one of China’s many provinces in its own right. Thus, when funds are split to each of the different provinces by the Chinese government, the city of Shanghai manages its funds itself and only looks after one city. Compare this to Guangzhou, the third largest city in China, which is only the capital of a much larger province. In this case, the provincial government manages funds available for Guangzhou and must manage funds for a much larger province and many more cities. Thus, Guangzhou has less available funds and is thus less well-developed than the mono-city province of Shanghai.
After this short history recap, we headed into the hotel for a relatively late, buffet style breakfast. Here again, the Western influence came through. Our buffet had traditional food like noodles and fried rice (which many people feasted on), but also contained very Western style food like raisin biscuits, orange juice and watermelon slices. We finished breakfast, headed up to our rooms to drop-off unnecessary items and headed outside on a walking tour that would last the rest of the day.
We then headed to a waterfront district called the Bund and got our first glimpse of the famous Shanghai skyline. We could see the World Economic Centre (affectionately known as the “Bottle Opener”) and the Shanghai tower – the second tallest building in the world with 118 floors – which we would be ascending tonight for an almost unbeatable view of the city. The Bund is a beautiful area, with plenty of public shelters, seating areas and large waterfront views. Now we turned our sights inland, and headed into the downtown areas of Shanghai for lunch, and noticed a different, more traditional side of Shanghai. Here in the city, large, slate-roofed buildings with wooden beams and white plaster were dominant. There were also lots of green spaces, with open parks, large ponds full of carp and beautiful gardens. Clotheslines crisscrossed like spider’s web across the gaps between buildings, with bright garments dangling 10 metres above the ground.
It was now time for lunch, and we stopped for a choose-your-own-restaurant lunch. By far the most popular restaurant was a buffet style arrangement, in which one picked the dishes they desired (including dumplings, spring rolls, noodles, rice and soup of varying flavours) and then paid for them at a checkout counter. We ate lunch quickly, so as to continue our tour as quickly as possible, and then headed off for the Yu gardens. In ancient China, two type of garden existed; private gardens which were built paid for and used by very wealthy individuals, and royal gardens which were commissioned by the Chinese royal family and could only be used by them. The Yu gardens were of the former and were far more than a small garden patch with a few shrubs and small bushes. These gardens were grand and well built, with enormous golden Ginko trees, lots of traditional style-architecture as described previously (particularly featuring wooden latticework), green ponds with lots of golden carp and intricate, natural rock formations. We wandered through the gardens for over half an hour; over bridges, under low ceilinged buildings and through beautiful groves of trees.
Now came a long urban trek, featuring several trips on the subway and short walks along streets and through plazas. It was very tiring, but worth it for the incredible view that one got of the Shanghai tower, one of the main features of the Shanghai skyline. The Shanghai Tower is the tallest building in Shanghai, the World Economy Centre coming in 2nd. The Shanghai tower stands at 813 metres high. The tallest building ever is the Buri Khalifa in Dubai which stands at 828 metres high. The Shanghai tower holds the Guinness World Record for the fastest lift in the world. At times it made its way to 8 metres per second. It was built in 2016, making it the most recent building in Shanghai. The view from the top really was very special. The entirety of Shanghai was laid out before us in a beautiful sea of neon signs and bright golden lights that stretched far out into the distance and beyond the slightly foggy horizon. The lights of passing cars skittered like beetles on the brightly lit streets below, the World Economic Centre was lit up in bright blue at the edges and the Bund glittered like a jewel at the water’s edge. We explored the top of the tower for a while, and then after a group photo, it was time to head back down to re-join the sea of lights.
A quick stop off at the food court at the bottom of the Shanghai Tower, and we were fed for the night. We headed back down into the subway to return to our hotel, where some of the more energetic members of the group quickly went shopping. Eventually, it came time for lights out and feeling tired, we went to bed.
Jack:
Hi Mum and Dad,
Well, it’s been 11 days since I waved goodbye outside the gates of St. Leonards, and I’m really missing you both. I sent you a postcard a few days ago, but I’m not sure how quick Chinese post is. China is brilliant, my favourite day was with the pandas, and I’ve got some great stories to tell when I get home.
Love Jack
Ben:
Hi Mum and Dad and Soph,
I love you all so much and I miss you a lot. I sent a postcard through but I don’t know when you will get it. I am having a great time but I am also counting down the days until I can have wifi back. Miss you all and love you all lots.
From Ben.
