MEGACITY SHANGHAI - 24 million people do what they want ...

MEGACITY SHANGHAI - 24 million people do what they want ...

The Langham, Shanghai, Xintiandi, 99 Madang Road, Xintiandi, Shanghai 200021, China

Landed in Shanghai on time and relaxed with JETSTAR (best Australian low-cost airline) from Tokyo and checked into the beautiful English Langham Hotel with a huge room (27th floor). Finally, space and unpacking the suitcase. Nothing can go wrong now. And: The view is amazing - we are practically sleeping in the clouds. Or above the smog layer :-)

After at most one day in Shanghai it was clear: This is the fastest developing, most turbulent and smoggiest city we have ever seen. Everything runs like clockwork - people rush like programmed ants, absorbed in 'Their World', busy and not distracted by wandering tourists. If you don't talk to anyone, you can easily travel through China without speaking. Everything is clean, except the air.

Shanghai is the largest city and most important industrial metropolis in China with the largest port in the world. All threads come together here. The city, currently with 24 million inhabitants, has changed so drastically in the last 15 years that you can no longer see anything of Shanghai's history. Entire districts, rice fields that disappeared in no time. The state provided Shanghai with huge budgets 15 years ago to become a global city. Today Shanghai is so densely populated that you can't find a green (real) patch of nature. More than 3,000 skyscrapers, including the absolute mega towers. The airport in Pudong is an hour's taxi ride away - but of course the Chinese have also considered this: The first Transrapid from Siemens is in use here. In 8 minutes and at speeds of 300-450km/h you can travel from the city to the airport. Crazy. The Transrapid is not only punctual to the minute - but also provides second-by-second information about the start and destination time.

Get an overview first. Up to the Shanghai World Financial Tower: Once you get to the top, you have a great view of the city (we had a nice view & smog, smog, smog). One of the tallest buildings in the world (492m) with the fastest elevator (over 60 km/h).

The inner city is called SHANGHAI New World - and where is the Old World? There is none :- ) A good reason to explore the city and its surroundings. So we set off with the taxi driver 'Joy', and the allied American Ben (currently on 'business trip'), to the countryside. By car, you can reach many nearby, still original areas within an hour. You pass many rice fields and traditional Chinese towns - the actual reason for our excursion, let's see how the people of Shanghai really live. Zhouzhuang Water Village, the 'Venice' of China. We had a very relaxed and smog-free day in the sunshine, including a boat trip - many beautiful old stone bridges, which are also the symbol of the city. It was good to see something near Shanghai that is older than 15 years :- ) In the evening we had to drive back to Shanghai through the rush hour, "only" 2 hours.

Our Japanese-German friendship from Tokyo was on the agenda the next day: Ye Xin arrives on time with a hat, sunglasses, New Balance sneakers and full of energy (yes, today we're running all over Shanghai!) at the hotel. We excitedly followed the sprinting Ye Xin across the intersections: "We can run 4 blocks quickly" - we arrived at our destination after 38 degrees and out of breath. Ye Xin knocked on a door (we thought we were going to a restaurant) - the door opened and it was actually a restaurant. However, exclusively for locals with advance reservation (4 tables). Yipieh - I love local food! A quick question if there is anything we don't eat - of course, we eat everything - and the 2.5-hour lunch begins :- ) Fish, meat, vegetables, soup, nuts - somehow everything and everything to share in the middle. Stuffed and with new acquaintances from the neighboring table, we roll onto the street ...

Then we wander across the "French Concession" area of Shanghai with Ye Xin - the most beautiful part of the city that was shaped between 1840 and 1940 and is still considered "THE best and most beautiful part of the city". Ye Xin still has to pick up her new business clothes from her personal tailor - practical: finally a real Japanese business dress (not in Chinese costume style) for me. Such great fabrics and such "normal cuts". I'm afraid I have a new order address in Shanghai :- )

And what's there in the side streets? The producers of Hermes, Balenciaga & Co sell clothes locally to locals. At 10% of the regular selling prices of luxury brands - I have never bought a Balenciaga silk dress so cheap. Joy!

The new trend in Shanghai and also in China: Celebrating coffee from all over the world according to the old brewing tradition. The special cafes offer beans from all over the world (Kona / Hawaii, Australia, etc.) - a cup costs 10EUR! Compared to that, Starbucks looks really weak. It was fun to see the weekend everyday life in Shanghai. The older men play cards on the street, the women take care of the kitchen & children ... You can only experience that if you have a local with you. THANKS YE XIN!

And what we have learned: Ye Xin's Shanghai rules:
I) Never rely on traffic lights - traffic lights are ignored by the Chinese
(The people of Shanghai are happy about every day survived "Yeah, survived today!")
II) Always have addresses in Chinese - hardly any Chinese understands English
III) Always keep an eye on the ground - you never know what you're stepping on. Doggie, poopoo, etc.

Despite a smoggy and really exhausting city, we had great experiences, delicious food and really good Chinese massages (no country is safe from Jens' massage check). However, the socialist market economy in China is frightening - the state's screening, for example, you are filmed by cameras at every intersection, the lack of privacy or even: Chinese people are not allowed to use Facebook, etc. It makes us appreciate our freedom in Europe even more!

On the day of our departure, we can't believe it - only been traveling for 14 days? The trip feels like at least a 4-week tour. We are happy that everything went so well and that we were able to get to know such beautiful things and meet such incredibly great and different people who have become more than just acquaintances (a visit to Berlin is expected).

A round-the-world tour is really recommendable - getting to know such different cultures, people, mentalities and countries in such short intervals was great fun! And if you can sleep well on the plane (like Jens - grhhh), it's unbeatable.

So the result: "The world is a village and distances are a matter of perspective". Just travel!

NEXT STOP: AROUND THE WORLD.