CHINA TRIP Day 25: Flaming Lamborghinis

Friday, June 11

Today, we had corporate visits all day and both were in the business of land development. Our morning visit, Vanke, made itself clear to us from the beginning that they were the biggest residential real estate firm in the world. The presentation did a good job of making Vanke seem very impressive; especially how they emphasized their presence at the Expo. They are apparently the only real estate firm with hits own company pavilion at the Expo and the CEO of the company went so far as to put the Expo flag on the mountaintop during an expedition in the Himalayas. Their company culture, which I think could be interpreted either positively or negatively, seems to be one of extremes. Our speaker described the employees at Vanke as “special” and “crazy” and explained that they were either very proud or very critical of themselves and what they produce. While this could be an admirable quality of their employees, especially if it means the employees push themselves to be innovative and produce only items of quality, it could also quietly mean that employees will be critical of their own personal contributions and performance with regard to the company’s bottom line.

For lunch and our afternoon visit we headed to Xin Tian Di. I wasn’t sure what to expect since the area was supposed to be a traditional, historical site but also very commercialized and touristy. I wasn’t even sure if we were in the right area because we were dropped off in front of this long square with shops and high-class restaurants on either side. We walked to the other end and into a shopping mall for lunch at one of the restaurants on the top floor. The mall wasn’t that big but I could tell the items would be expensive. We ate at a cute little Japanese restaurant and I loved that we had to take off our shoes before sitting at our table and that we all had to sit on the ground. It reminded me of many traditional Korean barbecue restaurants that I absolutely love. The food felt fairly authentic, with the mini appetizers and dessert as well, however, I’m pretty Japanese people would not slather their salads with mayonnaise. Considering how many sandwiches and salads we’ve had at local and Western chains contained mayonnaise, I think the Chinese must love it. I wasn’t a big fan.

After lunch most of us went to the CCP museum. It was very small and I noticed that many of the war artifacts were foreign and not historical to China at all. I remember seeing a torpedo from North Korea and I was confused as to its purpose in the CCP museum. After our tour of the museum, a representative from the Xintiandi Development Project met our group. He led us to a nearby building and showed us a miniature model of the entire Xintiandi area. I was surprised at how large the development area was and what their Development Project entailed. I didn’t realize the luxury buildings they were developing around what was left of “Old Shanghai” would be so expansive. Our speaker then took us for a walk and pointed out the buildings we saw in the model before taking us into one of the luxury condominiums on a building-wide tour. The amenities and design amazed us all and it felt as though we were walking through a high-class hotel such as the Ritz-Carlton. They were trying to attract wealthy residents who would enjoy the balance of living in a high-class luxury apartment in a traditional neighborhood.

We went on a tour of a preserved traditional house. The rooms were all set up so they were historically accurate and there were many photos and pieces that went depicted “Old Shanghai.” Looking through the pictures and reading the captions made me feel as though the Development Project wasn’t about preserving “Old Shanghai” or keeping Xintiandi traditional. The only thing that felt traditional and historical in the area we walked through earlier on our way to lunch were the buildings. They were different in that they were composed of dark stone and seemed to have been around for some time, even though there had clearly been some commercial development. I felt that the area was being exploited for commercial development and if someone really wanted to live near an area where they could enjoy part of China’s history they would have to go elsewhere.

When we got back, I rallied the girls to get massages because I had been dying for one since we landed in Shanghai and the kink in my side was not going away. Laura, Colleen, Catherine, and I ended up getting full body massages for less than $15 US. And we got tea and watermelon. It was hilarious because we couldn't communicate with any of the masseuses and I had to stifle a few giggles when they massaged our butts and stuff. I was all ready for the massage but the other girls had been a little more apprehensive. It was so worth it. Then we came back and got ready to go to M1NT. It took a bit to get everyone going and the four of us and JiaHua left first after I gave everyone instructions. We got out of the subway on the last train (didn't pay to get in but had to pay to get out) and then taxi'd to M1NT because we didn't want to wander around. It was a neat shopping district that we ended up in, though all the shops were closed. I would've been interested in coming back to explore but our main concern was finding M1NT. The cab literally took us around the corner and I made him stop because I recognized the building name. The five of us were also able to fit in one cab since it was one of the bigger Expo cars.

We found it and figured out where to enter thanks to a couple European girls who saw us confused. It was a super cool experience and DJ Junior from Spark in Taipei had come as a guest and he was amazing with the music. A lot happened that night but for the most part I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I have pictures on Facebook for more detail haha.