One American’s observations on Shanghai, China
I’ve been in Shanghai for 25 days now. This is my first time in China! So far it’s been a positive experience. People have been friendly and welcoming, and most things are pretty efficient, they have to be to accommodate so many people! I like efficient.
Shanghai is the biggest city I’ve ever been in. Like New York City, taking the subway is pretty efficient. Shanghai’s subway system is easier to navigate than any I’ve seen, and the trains are long to carry a lot of people at once. So far they haven’t been too packed like in Japan, and they come every few minutes to every stop I’ve been. Most stops have screens to tell you how many minutes until the next train arrives. I’ve ridden lines 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11.
The stops are far enough apart it’s like popping up into a new city each time, which can be a bit disorienting. There’s so much to see. It might be useful to have a compass or app on your phone to tell you which direction is north to get your bearings straight after you exit the subway.
While I’m on the subject of trains, I got to ride my first bullet train from Suzhou to Shanghai during the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). The maximum speed was 300 km/h, which is about 186 mph. I know they have trains here that go faster, but that was really nice. A trip that took over an hour by bus with traffic took about 25 minutes by train with a couple stops at stations in between. The Chinese certainly have a good thing going with these fast trains, much more efficient than flying and easier too. My ticket was purchased by someone else and it was even in that person’s name, but they didn’t care. Going through security took all of 30 seconds. Oh and the train was new and very comfortable. I’m 6’5” and there was plenty of leg room and the seats tilt back much farther than on a plane. Comfortable, quiet, convenient, and no smoking!
One thing I’ve noticed about the older generation here, many of them smoke. Where I live in Putuo District, an older district of Shanghai, there are many older people who are constantly hacking and coughing. I’m not sure if it’s due to the air pollution or the smoking, probably a combination. Smoking is allowed in most places here like restaurants. That’s annoying. Put out your cancer sticks. I don’t want to breathe it.
Since the air pollution is a concern here, I got a stylish and comfortable cotton mask that wraps around my ears with a slot to insert a replaceable carbon filter. Many people are aware of the problem and wear these masks when they go outside. The Chinese government is just starting to acknowledge the air pollution problem by releasing data on particles in the air smaller than PM10 (particulate matter of 10 micrometers or smaller). I think it’s the PM2.5 data people will be shocked to learn about. Maybe they’ve been breathing toxic air that may cause them health problems later in life. Better to take precautions and wear a mask. There are a wide variety of stylish and comfortable masks here, and in the cold of winter, it also helps to keep the face warm.
The temperature here has hovered around freezing since my arrival. I’m starting to wonder if it will ever warm up! Most people wear big down coats with furry hoods that can be pulled tight around the neck. I’ve just been wearing merino wool long underwear and many layers on top of that, but it’s not enough to keep me comfortable outside for long. Any exposed skin gets pretty frozen. Shanghai has more extreme temperatures than the Pacific Northwest, hotter in the summer and colder in the winter. Fortunately it’s not very wet in the winter or there’d be a lot more snow and ice. It’s interesting to see so many palm trees in such a cold environment. I think spring and fall might be pretty nice here.
When the Sun has come out, there’s something else I’ve noticed. Nobody wears sunglasses! I have not seen a single person with sunglasses on here. I’m not sure why? UV rays are quite harmful to eyes over the years. Even cloudy days can have a lot of UV. The sunshine doesn’t appear to bother anyone. On the other hand, I walk around squinting in pain without them.
Now that it’s February there are some really great deals in the stores. I picked up a warm and comfortable Giordano down coat with a warm hood for 70% off the regular price of 1,650 yuan. That’s a $260 coat for about $80 at the current exchange rate. In the states this designer coat would probably cost double that, so I’m happy with the purchase, and it’s so warm! I was surprised to find one in size large that has long enough sleeves. I’m pretty tall and thin, so typically I can’t find one that fits. Perfect timing too, it’s now down to -5 degrees C.
Most things here are very inexpensive: 200 double sided color business cards ~$8, two weeks’ worth of groceries with lots of fresh (non-organic) fruits and vegetables ~$20, buying a meal’s worth of freshly made delicious food from street vendors ~$2, eating out at a restaurant ~$5. I’m certainly saving money here which is nice! I do miss the organic produce though. I suspect a lot of stuff is GM here and loaded with pesticides. I’m washing everything very thoroughly.
While there is a large selection of fruit and vegetables here, meat is also typical with each meal. The meat is very fresh. If you buy from a public market or even most grocery stores, it’s typically still crawling/flapping/swimming/quacking/alive shortly before it’s handed to you! I worry about hormones and toxins in the meat.
Aside from produce and meat, I’ve never seen so much processed and packaged food. Aisles and aisles of nothing but individually wrapped, highly processed food. As far as I can tell, there is no requirement to list ingredients or nutrition information. Some items do, and most don’t. It’s a guessing game as to what’s really inside. I try to steer clear of the processed food in China.
Being Vegan is not easy, especially at restaurants, but vegetarian is doable. Since most meals are served hot and cooked under high heat i.e. fried, I worry about the acrylamides. Are the rates of cancer higher in China due to their preferred cooking method? I don’t know.
One of the reasons I came to China is to learn Mandarin. It has not been easy. There are many unintelligible dialects even within Shanghai. So what I hear every day may not be the Mandarin I want to learn. The Beijing dialect of Mandarin is the official language that most people understand reasonably well. In Shanghai they speak a dialect called Shanghainese. Even people from Beijing can’t understand it, that’s how different the dialect is. It’s more than just an accent.
Mandarin is pretty simple with most words being one or two syllables, and longer words are made up of smaller words, which is cool. For example, helicopter is vertical flying machine and a cell phone is a hand machine. If you know the word for machine, you’re part way there in saying those words. I’m still looking for an app to put on my phone that utilizes the spaced repetition technique to learn language. I don’t care about the Chinese characters yet, just want to learn how to speak so I can get around easier.
Many people here speak little or no English. The younger generation speaks a little. A few days after I arrived I met a nice girl on the street who spoke nearly perfect English. She offered to help when she noticed a pair of Chinese guys who weren’t getting very far explaining some directions to me. Not for lack of trying though, people here are very helpful and want to help. It’s pretty nice that most street signs have both English and Mandarin in Shanghai. Probably this is not the case in rural areas? I’m not sure.
Fortunately I don’t have to ask for directions much anymore since I figured out how to get Google Maps on my Chinese phone. Most of Google’s services are blocked here, as are many things the Chinese government believes would be a risk to the prosperity of some Chinese version like Facebook and RenRen.
Smartphones here are pretty inexpensive too. The phone companies don’t have monthly plans, at least not that I could see. Instead you just pay into your account and they deduct money as you use it more like pay as you go. I like that. Since credit cards and online billpay are not popular here, most convenient stores carry little pieces of paper with secret codes you can buy to add funds to your account. You just buy the paper, call the number, and enter the code. Then the funds you paid to the convenience store are added to your phone account. I’m not sure how the convenience store makes money on the deal though?
Watch out for the data plans though. You have to specify the amount of 2G/3G data you think you’ll use next month before the current month ends. If you run out of data for the current month, there’s no adding to it mid-month. They will just charge 1 yuan per MB of overage, which gets to be pretty expensive fast. Better to just get 2GB per month so you don’t go over since it’s only about $15.
I’ve found the data speeds to be pretty slow here. Most areas are 2G. I’m sure this will improve in the coming years since China is rapidly improving their technology infrastructure. It’s nice that it’s so cheap though, and the phone minutes don’t cost much either. I spend maybe $10 a month on calls. I don’t talk much though. Maybe 300 minutes?
What are some of the more interesting and unique things I’ve noticed about life in Shanghai? Well for one, everything you’ve heard about driving in China is true! The traffic is CRAZY! It’s really a free for all. The bigger the vehicle, the more you have to get out of its way. Buses just lay on their horns and don’t usually stop for right turns. Watch out pedestrians! Scooters, being smaller than cars, have to watch out for cars turning left or right. And pedestrians have to watch out for everything including bikes.
Yet, there is some order to the chaos. If you watch an intersection long enough, you’ll notice that communication of intended direction is happening. Buses turn gracefully, cars communicate the direction they’re going by maintaining a consistent speed and direction, and scooters do the same. Unpredictable swerving is kept to a minimum. Drivers want to communicate where they are headed so everyone else has time to get out of their way. Thus, the horn is utilized constantly and by all sizes of vehicles. The horn is used as a way to warn others that they are coming through the intersection and they aren’t stopping.
Pedestrians need to really be careful and look both ways before stepping into a crosswalk. It is not uncommon for scooters to be going the wrong way on a street or even driving on the sidewalk. People take their scooters everywhere, even shopping in crowded indoor public markets. I don’t mind the electric scooters, but I don’t think people should take their gasoline powered scooters in there, it’s too stinky and loud.
Sometimes I see young guys with hot rod scooters decked out with bright LED ground effects and limited or no exhaust systems. I have to laugh when I see this because it’s literally the best they can do to make their scooters cool. They have no idea how puny and slow their rides are compared to the street legal racing bikes in the states. I suppose riding a scooter is a bit safer though. You don’t have to worry about crashing at 200 MPH, they barely go 40. Motorcycles with large engines are prohibited within city limits in Shanghai.
Helmets are also a rare sight. Chinese people don’t typically wear them whether riding a bike, scooter, or motorcycle. They also don’t wear safety gear like reflective vests or motorcycle suits with body armor. You’d think with such dangerous driving conditions and accident statistics to prove it, people would be more aware of the possibility of brain damage or other injuries from just a minor accident. I’m sure they’ll figure it out eventually.
I’ve been looking into the cost of getting a scooter or motorcycle in Shanghai. The one pictured above is the Yamaha YBR-125G, which would be pretty nice for touring around China and over rough terrain. I’ve discovered that due to recent changes in environmental laws, it’s pretty inexpensive to buy a nice new scooter or motorcycle with a 125cc engine, but it’s ridiculously expensive to buy the license plates that allow you to drive it within city limits. It’s about 8,000 yuan for the vehicle and 50,000 yuan for the plates, incredible and unfortunate!
The next thing I noticed that intrigued me is the practice of walking backwards. Apparently it’s considered a good thing to do for exercise and health. I just think that’s weird. As I walked through the public market which is very long and narrow, I saw an older lady also walking through the market…backwards.
Walking around Putuo District I finally discovered a nice park with jogging paths. I’ve been looking for a place to go running since I arrived and am itching to start exercising. I’ll probably start once I get that carbon mask. I wonder how wearing a carbon filter mask will affect my running.
Not many people run here. The streets are too dangerous and crowded for that. It’s a rare sight to see someone running on the road or in a park. I think exercising in general is not very popular except for tai chi and yoga which are both more calming than cardio. I’m sure this is something that will change as the standard of living improves and people have more free time to focus on being healthy.
The third interesting thing I noticed is how some restaurants require payment BEFORE the meal. This communicates to the customer that they don’t matter. What if the food was bad? Well, you’ve already paid for it so you’d have to request a refund. On top of that, some restaurants make you pay for napkins. It’s definitely less of a consume-and-throw-out society. Paper napkins and other disposable things are rarely used.
Something else rarely seen in restaurants is a glass of cold water with a meal. In the states I’m used to the waiter filling up my glass of water either before its empty or shortly thereafter. Here if you ask for water, it comes hot and in a small cup. If you’re thirsty, you’re expected to order (salty) soup. I think most Chinese people must be perpetually dehydrated. At least tipping is not expected. I like that. The bill is the bill.
I also noticed that in some shopping malls payment is required before they’ll give you the product. When I bought my down coat in the mall, I had to pay a cashier in a different part of the mall and then take that receipt to the store with the coat. This just wouldn’t fly in the states, it’s just too inconvenient to have to walk back and forth from the store, to the cashier, to the store again.
One more inconvenience, a lot of apartments have the European style showers where the water just flows onto the bathroom floor and down a common drain for both the sink and shower. It can lead to some slippery, wet, and dirty floors, especially if the drain is not the lowest point on the floor. It’s a good idea to have a mop on hand to soak up water and clean up dirt from shoes. I much prefer not having to worry about slipping on a wet floor, or getting my pants wet while sitting on the pot.
This type of shower can also lead to water damage if any wood was used in the construction of the bathroom as is the case in my apartment. Now the water has many places to flow out of the bathroom, down the drain and down under the apartment via the rotten studs. Cold air also comes up through the holes, which makes for inefficient heating and a cold apartment in the winter months. Newer, more expensive apartments do have dedicated showers that keep water from getting everywhere. It might be worth paying more for a newer style apartment in Shanghai, if you can.
The toilet paper comes in larger sheets stacked on top of each other like a stack of paper. It’s pretty rough and will clog most toilets, so people generally put the toilet paper in the garbage instead. That was a hard habit to break! If my brother were here, it would be a good idea to take out the garbage daily. Haha.
I haven’t been able to find any kitchen garbage containers or bags larger than the typical size found in an American family’s bathroom. It’s surprising to me how even the outside trash bins for an entire apartment complex are smaller than one single trash can for an American family that gets placed out by the street once per week for pickup. It really illustrates how much stuff gets thrown out in Western society. Although, here the smallish green outdoor trash bin gets emptied daily by a waste management person riding a large tricycle with a box on the back.
The nice, old man who lives next door survives by collecting and recycling paper, plastic, and glass waste that people around the community take time to give him. There is no official recycling service here and he’s not very mobile, so it’s good that he found a niche that allows him to work from home. I feel bad when I hear him shuffling his feet out in the cold night, tying together plastic bottles for sale the next morning. I’m not sure who he sells them to, but he’s been doing it for many years. Elderly people here are not always taken care of by their families and some must continue to work to survive.
Another interesting observation is the practice of brushing teeth before a meal. For a person who grew up hearing repeated messages from adults and TV commercials about the promise of teeth rotting and falling out if I didn’t floss and brush after at least breakfast and dinner, I find this practice to be quite strange. Flossing in China is also a seriously neglected practice. Even going to the dentist regularly for cleaning and checkups is not common. Maybe in the rising middle class this might be an emerging trend. If you’re a struggling dentist in America, come to China. There are billions waiting for their first cleaning and knowledge of how to take care of their teeth and gums. I’ve heard statistics like good oral care can add ten years to a person’s life.
I’m sure I’ll experience more interesting things in China, especially when I start traveling. I’d like to see more of China than just Shanghai. As I get more to write, I’ll post it here. zia jian.
Photos: flickr.com/photos/keeganmullaney
