Shanghai - Let's go!

After my time in Japan and South Korea, it's finally time for me (or unfortunately... I'm also sad not to be able to be in Seoul anymore) to start my semester abroad in Shanghai. However, in the first few days here in China, I noticed that a lot of things are different here.

So my journey started at the airport in Seoul and after about two and a half hours of flight, Jesper (a friend from Bremen and Maastricht) and I landed in the rainy and cloudy south of the 27-million-inhabitant metropolis. At the International Airport Pudong (PVG), the first surprise awaited us. We were supposed to be taken to the city center, which is 30 km away, within 7 minutes with the Maglev, a magnetic levitation train that reaches speeds of up to 430 km/h. So, we didn't have much time to enjoy this fast ride, but we were very impressed!

Arriving in the city center, after checking in at the hotel, we went straight to the Bund - Shanghai's 'hotspot'. With a view of the famous wall of skyscrapers (including the Shanghai Tower - 632m) and the Bund, the waterfront promenade on the western bank of the Huangpu River, we were convinced within minutes that this city has something very special. I will shorten the rest of the evening in a few words: Bar, Bar, Bar,... (just so much, Jesper overslept the checkout time at the hotel by a few hours the next morning..)

For me, it was a bit earlier to register at the university. When I arrived on campus, I met the first exchange students, with whom I would later live in the student dormitory. The registration took about 4 hours, during which I also got a student ID card and a bank card (very useful for setting up WePay - paying with your mobile phone)

Jesper and I then rode a bicycle through the French Concession, a neighborhood right next to the university, where many French people still live to this day. We were fascinated by the tree-lined avenues, the very nice restaurants, cafes and bars, and especially the old French villas. Before that, we had met Bo, a Chinese alumnus of the university, who gave us a very good travel guide with his perfect English! In still often very unfamiliar China, his tips and tricks help me almost every day.

In general, China is very different from the Asian countries I know. Many people don't speak English, the food is often very foreign (but if you find something good, it's very delicious!), I haven't seen any supermarkets yet, many people are not as open/nice as Koreans or Thais, and websites like Google, Facebook or Western newspapers are censored. On the other hand, I haven't seen any city so advanced in many things like Shanghai.

- Electronics (everyone has at least one mobile phone, everything is paid with WePay and I have 1GB of internet every day for 30€ per year)

- Very authentic Western and Chinese restaurants, bars, and cafes

- Transportation (over 3 million shared bikes, Maglev, and the second longest subway system in the world)

- or any service apps that make life easier (there is an app where you can order almost anything to your home within an hour)

Based on the impressions so far, I can only say that I am very much looking forward to the next few months, which will certainly bring many new experiences! My next trips: Suzhou and Yellow Mountain

Philipp