Living in Shanghai is an experience all its own. To someone who has never been here, it's almost impossible to describe what this city is like, but I'll give it a try anyhow. Geographically, it sits at the mouth of the Yangzi river making it a huge transhipment port for the flood of goods both leaving from and coming into China. The Huangpu River (which flows into the Yangzi just north of the city) divides the city into roughly two halves--Puxi (literally "west of the Pu") and Pudong ("east of the Pu"). Puxi is the older part of the city, but it has been experiencing a huge building boom resulting in a lot of the "old" disappearing in favor of the new. Pudong is the ultra-modern new part of the city. Fifteen years ago, it was nothing more than a collection of small farm plots, light industry factories, and low-rise tenements. Today it is the commercial and financial heart of China. We live in Pudong right on the banks of the Huangpu River looking across into downtown Puxi.
Shanghai is big--really big. Nobody seems to know what the exact population is. We've seen estimates ranging from 13 million people on the low end to 23 million on the high end. Like most things, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle which still makes Shanghai not only the biggest city in China, but puts it among the biggest cities in the world. Shanghai is kind of the New York of China--not only commercially and financially, but attitudinally as well. Shanghainese feel that theirs is the best city in China and any other city is just kind of provincial. There is a definite rivalry between Shanghai and Beijing that reminds me a lot of the rivalry between, say, New York and Boston or New York and Washington D.C.
Shanghai is incredibly cosmopolitan. By some estimates there are half a million foreigners from around the world living and working in Shanghai. Speaking Chinese is certainly extremely useful for living here, but we have friends in the expatriot community who spend two or more years here and never bother to learn Chinese because they find they can do quite well without it. The incredible array of shopping venues boasts an equally incredible array of products and goods--both Chinese and international. From Gucci and Prada to peanut butter and Lucky Charms, it's all here. Just be aware that the box of Lucky Charms will cost you about nine US Dollars.
Shanghai is booming. The city's amazingly modern skyline testifies this is so--everything old is being torn down and replaced with everything new faster than you can blink. High-rise office towers, hotels, and luxury apartment buildings are shooting up everywhere you look. I can't vouch for the veracity of this, but one frequently quoted statistic is that a quarter of the world's inventory of construction cranes are here in Shanghai. One thing's for sure: Shanghai is an exciting place to live--a terrific vantage point from which to observe the massive economic and social changes taking place in China. We're happy to call it home for the next two and a half years.
Sunset over downtown Shanghai (Puxi) as seen from our apartment
Sunset Close-up
Downtown Shanghai (Puxi) as seen from our apartment
Downtown Shanghai as seen from the Pearl Tower in Pudong
The Pearl Tower--probably Shanghai's most easily recognized building
The Jinmao Tower and the neighboring World Finance Center (under construction) which will be the world's tallest building when completed (if only for a short time)
The Jinmao Tower--tallest building in China
The Lujiazui Financial District in Pudong. We live a fifteen minute walk away from here
Another view of Pudong--this time the Marriott and Xinmei Buildings
More of Pudong--the building on the right is still under construction
Modern skyscrapers in Pudong
The Shanghai Stock Exchange Building (cut-out square in the middle) and the China Telecom Building in Pudong
