Yin
Over 23 million people live in Shanghai today, and I have a hard time visualizing what this means, apart from it being a staggering amount. In 2000, the population was only 14 million, but today, Shanghai is listed as the largest city (proper) in the world. We decided that to get a better idea of what this means, we would take a trip up the Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower to get a bird's eye view.
This iconic structure is 1535 feet high and was the tallest building in the city until 2007. I really don't do well with heights, but it was definitely worth it to see the view. The observation deck (1148 feet) provided some stunning images and certainly gave us a better perspective. There is also another lower observation deck with a transparent floor for people to step out onto (I was quite happy just to observe other people do this).
One only has to take a trip on the metro at rush hour to appreciate how many people live here. We took our first foray on this incredibly efficient and easy to navigate transportation system last week. It was so easy for us to buy our tickets at the self-serve machines (3 Yuan for a one-way trip), make our way through the turnstile, and follow the arrows (located above and on the floor) to the right platform. However, we were not prepared for the crush of people trying to get up and down the escalators and onto the trains. No one queues here - if you wait your turn, you will lose your spot or worse, you will miss your train. We have quickly learned that being pushy is often required.
With our new found confidence based on our metro experience, we decided we would venture to the train station and book a ticket on the fast train to the town of Suzhou. The enormous station was easy enough to find, and there was one ticket booth out of 20 that indicated "English Spoken". An interesting cultural difference here is the lack of appreciation (or need for) personal space, and with so many people trying to buy tickets, people will literally stand right behind or beside you so they can make sure they are next. We have learned to adjust to this and not be offended when someone steps right in front of us - we have also learned to be faster so we don't lose our spot in line.
Arriving at the Suzhou train station (one of the busiest in China) after a very quick 30 minute ride from Shanghai, we set out on foot to find the historic part of the city, which is set along lovely canals and bridges. Several men with pedicabs offered us rides from the train station, but we assumed this was just a ploy to extract money from unknowing tourists. As it turns out, it was quite a distance to walk, and after spending a few hours exploring, we realized that we were a long ways from the train station. Fearing that we would miss our return train, we found a little old man with a pedicab to take us back. He probably weighed 90 pounds and was about 5 feet tall, but he managed to get us through the busy traffic to the station on time. We did have to get out and walk as we approached a hill (he had no gears on his bike, and there was no way he was getting the two of us up that hill).
We have now covered almost every mode of transportation, and have abandoned our "personal space" ideals and sensibilities. Now we just have to learn to say "where is the bathroom" in Chinese and we will truly feel like we've conquered it all.
Over 23 million people live in Shanghai today, and I have a hard time visualizing what this means, apart from it being a staggering amount. In 2000, the population was only 14 million, but today, Shanghai is listed as the largest city (proper) in the world. We decided that to get a better idea of what this means, we would take a trip up the Oriental Pearl Radio & TV Tower to get a bird's eye view.
This iconic structure is 1535 feet high and was the tallest building in the city until 2007. I really don't do well with heights, but it was definitely worth it to see the view. The observation deck (1148 feet) provided some stunning images and certainly gave us a better perspective. There is also another lower observation deck with a transparent floor for people to step out onto (I was quite happy just to observe other people do this).
One only has to take a trip on the metro at rush hour to appreciate how many people live here. We took our first foray on this incredibly efficient and easy to navigate transportation system last week. It was so easy for us to buy our tickets at the self-serve machines (3 Yuan for a one-way trip), make our way through the turnstile, and follow the arrows (located above and on the floor) to the right platform. However, we were not prepared for the crush of people trying to get up and down the escalators and onto the trains. No one queues here - if you wait your turn, you will lose your spot or worse, you will miss your train. We have quickly learned that being pushy is often required.
With our new found confidence based on our metro experience, we decided we would venture to the train station and book a ticket on the fast train to the town of Suzhou. The enormous station was easy enough to find, and there was one ticket booth out of 20 that indicated "English Spoken". An interesting cultural difference here is the lack of appreciation (or need for) personal space, and with so many people trying to buy tickets, people will literally stand right behind or beside you so they can make sure they are next. We have learned to adjust to this and not be offended when someone steps right in front of us - we have also learned to be faster so we don't lose our spot in line.
Arriving at the Suzhou train station (one of the busiest in China) after a very quick 30 minute ride from Shanghai, we set out on foot to find the historic part of the city, which is set along lovely canals and bridges. Several men with pedicabs offered us rides from the train station, but we assumed this was just a ploy to extract money from unknowing tourists. As it turns out, it was quite a distance to walk, and after spending a few hours exploring, we realized that we were a long ways from the train station. Fearing that we would miss our return train, we found a little old man with a pedicab to take us back. He probably weighed 90 pounds and was about 5 feet tall, but he managed to get us through the busy traffic to the station on time. We did have to get out and walk as we approached a hill (he had no gears on his bike, and there was no way he was getting the two of us up that hill).
We have now covered almost every mode of transportation, and have abandoned our "personal space" ideals and sensibilities. Now we just have to learn to say "where is the bathroom" in Chinese and we will truly feel like we've conquered it all.