Shanghai : the beginning

Shanghai is actually the first city of Asia that I have seen.
It was really really exciting. Why??...do I really need to explain the facts, the figures, the history linked to this city?

First, I have never been in a city soo crowded : 23 million.
Shanghai is "the new york of Asia", with all the skycrapers, the taxis, the nightlife (omg...the nightlife is just amazing compared to Paris, I'll explain later), the dimensions. In Paris, the one crowded place I can think of is Chatelet les Halles : the center of Paris, the crossroads of all metro and RER lines here, where all the people from the suburbs meet too.
Well, in Shanghai : it's this almost EVERYWHERE. But surprisingly, it's also very modern, the metro lines are bigger than Paris ones and still think the old RER of Paris is worse by far than Shanghai's.

But Shanghai is in China. And China is 'slightly' different than France and any European Countries. First, no democracy, all truths are not said. A few days after being in Shanghai, my roomate and I were talking about pickpockets (I assure you in crowded places, you can't help thinking about your purse, especially if a Chinese guy comes at you - you don't know him and says : WATCH YOUR BAG   : )   ...). So once a friend of her denounced a pickpocket that had obviously done a bad job in the metro to the "government police"...and she went to the police with him and they just beat him up, he was bleeding. And the police said "don't worry he is going to go to a camp for a few years...". True or False I don't know, but that it is not fun.

I have to use a VPN, that I paid for, 10 dollars for 2 months, only to have access to blogs, facebook and youtube. It's horrible how easily you feel annoyed not to be allowed to go to the websites you used to go freely. More than I thought. The fact is you soon want to communicate to the other people you let back, family, friends and to the new people you keep meeting all the time as well.

Besides, the connexion here is actually really slow. Gmail often switches to "basic html view".


At the beginning here, I also felt homesick, especially for the environment and the quality of life and the "spririt of Paris". Why? You'd rather not drink water other than in a bottle you buy here. It's so annoying. The first day in my new flat, I take a good and long shower and opened my mouth a bit and I didn't drink it but I could taste the water and I spat a lot because it was just horrible. Now I don't feel anything :) so it's ok. I was also a bit worried to wash my teeth with this water but the effect soon disappeared.What else :

- they are different trashes to recycle but no chinese actually recycle. Instead, poor people come and sort out the trash with their hands (without gloves) and sell it.

- taxi and car system : OK there are a lot of electric vehicles and bicycles here but there are TOO much vehicles so that doesn't count. When it's hot it gets worse. Fortunately there are not so much sands and dust here so my eyes (I were contact lenses) didn't suffer that much. The people don't have the priority over the cars. So in any street you cross, you have to see in BOTH directions, many times, and usually follow a Chinese can be a wise option. I have still feared to be run over 4 to 5 times. And people klaxon to say "I am coming" or to say "come on the car lights are going to be green in one second". But It's been 3 weeks I ve been there, I often think the klaxon means "imminent accident watch out, someone could have died". And my heart bounces sometimes!

- the spirit of Paris : the manners, the way of thinking of the Shanghainese people is....special.
For example : people spit, burp, and fart (both males and females).
In the metro line (I sometimes find it funny) but they can push you and basically run towards the free seats. Of course, they never say sorry when they push or touch you (in France, if someone touches you just a bit, they say "sorry", which is the opposite ridiculous extreme).
In the elevator, they never say hello or goodbye. It's not because I am a Laowei (foreigner) it's just like this.

The city has also a lot of malls like "Printemps" or "Galeries Lafyette" like hundred times more. It's very superficial. I love shopping and fashion but I don't see the point are strwling through EMpty alleys of shops where people must be so bored to work there with no customers. Because the offer is much higher than the demand.
Also, because you are a Laowei, they come to you and harass you when you are passing by small shops. Today a Chinese just cut my way in order that I take his ad.
The Shanghainese are also very impatient. It's funny. They can't live without noise, music and ads all the time, a bit like children, everything is timed. Like the seconds passing are written at the redlights, or, in the metro there are TV's every 8 meters showing the news, and it really shows in how much time the metro is going to pass, second by second.

Next to that, you can find Chinese that are SO helpful. They would show you the street and come with you, they would write down in Chinese characters what you are looking for. Some are very friendly. It's too bad I've not met enough for the moment. I am staying with international students (that's still amazing).


What I love in Shanghai is the architecture, fashion and the atmosphere, you can feel the Shanghainese are proud of their city, you can see very fashionable women and men, with a great personnality just observing them is fascinating. I am never bored when I go out, even alone. Whereas I think I would feel lonely in Parisian streets, walking alone. Because everything is different, fresh, new. And you can find Chinese people willing to meet you anyway :) which is very positive. Skycrapers are all different, all amazing, beautiful...but the houses big residential buildings are boring and horrible. That's the ghetto in the eyes of westerners : in France, it recalls, the HLM bars. It's not charming at all. I really think they should conceive more beautiful building standards for their coumpounds (a coumpound is a group of residential buildings with sometimes it's own pool and park and sport area, with security guards).

You can also feel that Shanghai is "the city to be". All the time! You feel lucky. Three weeks after coming here and I am beginning to wonder "omg, it's going to end so fast" 4 months of adventures to come :D yeah!