CHINA TRIP Day 34: Last Day in Shanghai

Sunday, June 20

The original plan was to wake up at 6AM and go to Hangzhou, spend about five or six hours there and make it back in time for the group farewell dinner. However, my earphones had fallen out of my ear while I was asleep and consequently I didn’t hear my alarm go off and woke up when Jasmine was getting ready to leave, around 10AM. I still regret not having been able to visit the water city and wish that we had a few more days in Shanghai. Since I had literally done most of the things I wanted to yesterday in order to clear up today, I wasn’t sure what I could do. I didn’t want to waste the day, however, and Shane and I went back to Yuyuan Garden in search of the famous Shanghai Chopsticks Store so we could get souvenir chopsticks. Apparently there are two areas called “Yuyuan” and they’re written different in Chinese characters. I had taken my computer down and asked the front desk to write down the address of the chopsticks store in Chinese for our cab driver but our driver ended up dropping us off not far from Jing ‘An Temple. We were really confused and walked around until we found a hotel and figured someone in the hotel had to speak English. They told us about the misunderstanding in which “Yuyuan” we were supposed to go to and rewrote the appropriate address for us.

It took a while to navigate the shopping stalls in Yuyuan Gardens, and we stopped to ask Expo volunteers a few times for directions. We finally found the store and I was impressed by the variety and quality of the chopsticks. We asked if they would be able to lower the price, and the merchants said they couldn’t because Yuyuan was state-owned. I thought that was interesting because the shops here didn’t sell counterfeit merchandise either and I wondered if it was due to the state’s presence. If that were true, it isn’t far-fetched to think they could enforce such policies in other markets throughout China. Once we got the souvenirs we wanted, we went to Chi Pu Lu for one last time since we still had a couple hours to burn before the farewell dinner. We realized that we had never ventured beyond the second floor because there had been too many stores that appealed to us. We decided we’d go up to the third and fourth to see what kinds of stores were located there and I noticed that the stores on the upper levels were cleaner, bigger, and some stores seemed to be part of a brand versus just being a family owned inexpensive shop. Consequently, items at these stores were definitely pricier, but the merchants didn’t follow us around and it was nice to browse better quality goods than those on the lower levels.

After making a couple purchases we took a taxi back to the hotel and joined the group in the lobby. I immediately loved the place we went to as soon as I got off the bus. The buildings along the street reminded me very much of Korea and the park itself was beautiful. The restaurant threw me off a little since I wasn’t expecting there to be seating outside near the escalators and such. We had a variety of food for dinner, and it was the most diversified meal of the trip, in my opinion. There were so many dishes that we just didn’t know the ingredients of and others we were afraid to ask about. I appreciated Teacher Wang’s initiative in ordering food that we would never be able to try otherwise and making sure we got a taste of Shanghai’s specialties. I didn’t know that the park we were in was Zhongshan Park; I recognized the name because it was the subway stop we always transferred at. We had never ventured out and just explored the area, however, and after seeing how beautiful the atmosphere was, I regret not doing so. More than ever I really wish I had a few more days in Shanghai.

My time in Shanghai has really been amazing. In Taiwan and Beijing we got a feel for the historical and political aspects of China, most of which deal with the past and the present. In Shanghai, I really got a vibe for the future of China. Being in Shanghai made it easy to believe in China’s potential and future growth as a financial and economic power. The Communist government seemed to be something that was mainly evident in Beijing, and in Shanghai I felt more financial freedom. While I realize this is probably due to the development of the city and foreign presence, I still can’t help but think that I never would have imagined China would have grown even to this level as quickly as it has. I do believe in financial freedom, and I feel as though it’s close for China.

Being a Communist country, China has a sort of stigma about poor living and working conditions, among other issues. While this is true, I didn't feel like I was oppressed and I didn't feel that the local people around me felt oppressed either. Life was normal in China. Now once you got into politics and the Internet and censorship, then it got tense. But if you just wanted to live your day-to-day life, it was fine. I am very interested in continuing to look out for news on China and observe different things. I would also like to return to China after five years or so and see how it has changed and if it has changed for the better. I saw many similarities with Korea and I want to see if China will follow Korea's footsteps.

For our last night in Shanghai, we opted for a chill, high-end rooftop bar on the Bund called Bar Rouge. It was free cover all night, but a few of the boys were rejected for wearing shorts and Aren actually went and bought pants so he could get in. We didn't have to order drinks but it was a little awkward since we didn't reserve a table. Shane and Forbes ordered a glass of wine and I ordered a "Sex on the Bund." Laura, Colleen, Catherine, and Trevor stayed for a bit and then left early because they didn't want to buy a drink. Aren, Forbes, Shane, and I sat at a table in the bar area and talked for a bit. It was a great place to people watch. We were definitely the youngest ones there and there were tons of foreigners, particularly businessmen. We watched a couple prostitutes make their moves on a couple businessmen and it was kind of funny how we noticed everything. We saw him approach her, buy her a drink, her wingwoman talked to his friend, they sat down with their drinks. They didn't even finish their drinks when prostitute 1 walked out with the businessmen, leaving her friend behind. A little later I noticed her come back in without the businessmen and I was stunned at how businesslike it all was. Afterward, Shane and I walked along the waterfront for a bit before taking a taxi back. He found one of the stone balls that the boys talked about rolling into the hotel and Jimmy had gotten it pretty close. Shane really wanted to stick to his plan and rolled it all the way to the welcome mat outside the doors to the hotel.