September 15, 2006

Shanghai

Now this is what I call a city.

I was expecting a mix between Tokyo and Hong Kong with a bit of Osaka thrown in and I think that's kind of what it is (although you'd need to spend more time here and know Chinese to discover the Osaka part of it).

After Beijing and the roughness of Gansu it's hard to imagine that I am still in the same country. I'm quite enjoying it, mostly because I love wandering through such vast and huge cities. And with the Bund, the French Concession-area and the old town there're some fascinating places to do so here.

I find myself wondering what it'd be like to live here. In some ways it seems similar to Tokyo, but also very different. More fascinating/exhilirating because it's changing so quickly and you're in the midst of it. More stressful because it seems so much more aimed at making the most money the quickest. For foreigners that might be relatively easy to achieve but I'm not so sure about the rest...

And for me, it might combine two things: offering the excitement of a new city (and a booming one, at that), a new language, a new culture while offering something familiar: the touches of a Tokyo-style city that I recognize and can fall back on.

2 comments:

Jules said...

Firstly, amazing photos babe!

And I am really glad that you loved Shanghai. Its my fave city in the world and every time I went there, I would find something new and different and exciting. Its the only place in China I would ever consider moving to if I was going to live there again.

machiruda said...

Thanks J! :-)

Yeah, I did really like it. It reminded me a lot of other places but with its own twist. And yes, for me too it would probably be the best place to live in China. Wouldn't turn down an opportunity to work there if it would come up... hmm.