The Bund - Shanghai

One of the major sights in Shanghai is undoubtedly the Bund. I dare say that it's the No. 1 spot for tourists, because it's always crowded. I visited the Bund a few times last summer, but mostly in the late afternoon / early evening, when it was about to get dark, because it was unbearably hot and humid and a central-European like me is not used to such extreme weather conditions and suffers a lot. Despite the great view over the river and Pudong, I didn't really enjoy the stroll down the promenade. It is worth going at night to see Pudong's colourful skyline, but you won't really see much of the actual attraction, the colonial-era buildings on the other side of the road, opposite the promenade.
The Lonely Planet Shanghai says about the Bund: It is the first stop for visitors, and the historic architecture houses a profusion of exclusive restaurants, bars, shops and hotels.
The thing is that the visitors stroll down the promenade and look at the towers across the river. Nobody really pays attention to the beautiful colonial buildings. You see people coming out of the metro, walking to the road where the historical buildings are and crossing the street to the promenade. The few people walking along this side of the road, either have some business to do, or walk to the next traffic light to cross the street or are some newly-weds who take photos.
This year, the Bund was my first destination on my first Saturday morning in Shanghai and it was a whole different experience. Why? Well, this time I went alone and became a target of fraudsters. It starts when you get out of the metro station East Nanjing Road and walk a few yards in the pedestrian area. Some women approach you and seem to be interested in you. They ask for your name, where you're from, how long you've been or are staying here, and much more. Their intention is to rip you off. My first encounter was seconds after I stepped on the pavement. A Chinese lady in her forties approached me and asked many questions in a very friendly manner. I told her that my name is George and that I was from Uganda. She couldn't pronounce the word Uganda, nor did she know where it is. She asked what language we speak there and I told her Swahili. She wanted me to say something in Swahili, so I told her "Cacavi et culu non extersi" which is Latin for: I shat and didn't wipe my arse. She smiled and asked what it means. I told her that it means "you are a beautiful lady". 
I once read in the German magazine 'Focus' that the Romans liked to scribble things on walls of public toilets and this is one of the things historians found on walls. An ancient 'status update' if you like. 
I got suspicious and asked the lady what she wanted and why she was asking so many questions, and she showed me some business cards with naked ladies, like the ones I found on my door in Guiyang. She mumbled something about massage and mentioned a few numbers, but I told her that I'm married and walked off.
When I got to the road with all the beautiful buildings, I turned left towards the British Consulate and consular mansion. I marvelled at the buildings and enjoyed my stroll on the empty pavement. There was music coming out from the garden of the consulate, so I went inside to see what was going on. There was a garden party with classical music, nicely dressed people and the entire setting took you back to Victorian times. There was an entrance fee to get in and included in the fee were some drinks and something to eat. I didn't go in, but continued my walk. 
I reached a metal bridge and crossed the street to the promenade. The corner to the metal bridge is a popular spot for newly-weds. What surprises me is that they prefer to have the metal bridge and a huge ugly building, like the ones in Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis' in the background, instead of having let's say the Russian embassy, a lovely old building next to the bridge on the other shore. But then, the Chinese love new architecture.
There I stood for a minute until a young Chinese lady approached me. She was all dressed like a tourist and started asking the same questions like the lady before. I told her the same story and she gave me an old mobile phone asking me to take a photo of her with the bridge in the background. Then she came out with her intentions. She wanted me to go to a restaurant with her somewhere nearby. I said that I had already eaten and she walked off without saying goodbye. I walked a few yards and turned around to see where she was. She was talking to the next foreigner.
I began to walk down the promenade and watched people instead of looking at Pudong's skyline. Amazing how many people try to rip off foreigners. It's women, men, couples, sometimes they act alone, sometimes with a partner in crime. 
I took some stairs and walked along the pavement to marvel at the colonial buildings and walked up the stairs to the promenade somewhere at the end of the beautiful buildings. There I stood for a few seconds to gaze over the river and two young men came next to me and started taking selfies. I knew instantly that they were fraudsters and turned around to leave. This is when one of the two asked me if I could take a photo of them with their crappy mobile phone. I refused and left. 
I walked back to East Nanjing Road metro station and while I was looking for one of the entrances, a Chinese lady came running towards me shouting 'sir, sir', but I said "not interested' in an icy-cold manner and continued towards the metro entrance.

I did this walk a week later and continued to Yu Yuan gardens and the area around and had similar experiences. Another week later when my friend and colleague Leslaw arrived, we went on this very same walk, but no one approached us, until we were in the Yu Yuan bazaar. There an older man tried his luck on Leslaw.

Yesterday, Gerasimos, my dear friend from Guiyang arrived in Shanghai and we went along the Bund, but since it wasn't very crowded, no one wanted to rip us off. But many people approached us outside East Nanjing Road station and in the Yu Yuan bazaar saying 'watches, watches' showing us brochures with fake Rolex', Omegas, etc..
Gerasimos wanted to have a coffee in a rooftop cafe, so we Baidu'd (Google is banned) and found Captain Hostel Bar. Unfortunately it's closed due to renovations, but the owners showed us the way to another rooftop bar nearby. That was closed too, because it opens at 6pm and we were there at 5.20pm.
So we went down a floor, where a really posh restaurant is housed, waited a few minutes for it to open, sat at the bar, had a look at the exorbitant prices (coffee 7 pounds, coke 4 pounds, cocktails starting from 16 pounds, etc), so we stood up and left.

We finished our day at Maya's Bar around the corner of SISU university. Drinks are cheap and dodgy, but the bar is cool and the owner is friendly.

River view. Pudong is on the right.

 Well, it's not Liberty...

Monument to the People's Heroes

Class of 2017?

 Newly weds

 Skyline of Pudong

Pavement under the promenade

The British Consulate

Colonial-era buildings

 Doesn't it look like The Bundestag?

 (Red) Bull

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ATH - SVO - PVG

I'm sitting on a crowded plane from ATH (Athens) to SVO (Moscow - Sheremetyevo) and will continue to PVG (Shanghai - Pudong) from there this evening. I shall arrive at 9.50 am local time, after a 20 hours long journey if you count the to and fro the airport.

Even though summer isn't the best season to visit Shanghai (too rainy, too hot, too humid), and even though one could suggest that it would be better to rather spend the summer in the 'Sommerfrische' as the Germans say, I'm looking forward to the next three months. 

It was uncertain until a few weeks ago where I'd go this summer. It was either Hull or Shanghai, but things took a sudden turn and that's why I'm going eastward instead of northward.

The first email from earlier this year sounded highly positive. It mentioned 50+ students divided in three groups, four teachers from Hull and a few from SISU. A month or so later, just before Easter, a second email arrived, saying that many students had decided to do the course in Hull and not in Shanghai, that's how Hull came into the game as a summer destination. Geoff, one of the people in charge flew over from Hull the week after Easter and thanks to Howard who did the recruitment in various places in China 50+ students registered. So we were back in the game and had to act fast with booking tickets and applying for visas.

Getting a visa was a difficult task. The Chinese authorities in the consulate didn't like one word in the invitation letter, which is 'teacher'. It says that we're teachers at Hull university and it states our duties (recruiting, giving information, etc.). It doesn't mention teaching, because we are not allowed to teach on a business visa. But still the word teacher is enough for the Chinese authorities to reject the visa application. 

I was asked to have a private word with the man in charge and he asked me many questions. It was like an inquisition. Two more joined the little gathering and it looked like a scene from the films. Only a lamp turned towards me was missing. I managed to convince them that I won't be teaching in Shanghai and that my duties will be as stated in the letter. 

After a long discussion and a second meeting with the very same gentlemen my application was approved and I received my passport with a 90 day business visa a few days later.

Ten or so days after receiving my visa, I am sitting on a fully booked plane to Moscow. I hate this leg of the journey, because it's always fully booked, noisy, narrow and it lasts four hours. The seats are not comfortable and there's limited space for tall people like me. I try to book an aisle seat if possible to stretch my legs a bit. The plane is usually full of young Chinese couples on their honeymoon and sitting next to such a toying couple that likes to tease each other and do all sorts of romantic things for four hours is a pain. Giving them the evil eye doesn't help. 

But it can be worse. You might find yourself sitting next to some drunk and smelly Russians. 

I arrive in rainy Moscow and have to wait for nearly three hours for my next flight. You exit the plane, get on a bus that takes you to the terminal. There you have to go up some stairs and go through transit check. There's always a long queue and it takes ages to go through. There's usually only one official checking passports, visas, boarding passes, etc. Once done, your hand luggage needs to be scanned, and there's only one scanning machine. All this takes place in a narrow room. Certainly not suitable for claustrophobic people. 
Sheremetyevo airport is in my opinion not an airport that makes you feel comfortable. It's long and narrow, seats are limited, toilets are dirty and despite the no-smoking signs, everybody smokes in there. The shops sell mainly booze and chocolate and it's crowded wherever you go. 

After spending my waiting time on a stair case, I board another fully booked plane full of Chinese. At least this leg of the trip is more comfortable. I'm flying with Aeroflot and they have besides economy and business, a comfort class as well. It's something between the other two classes. The seats are wider, more comfortable, there's a console with reading lamps between you and the next passenger, it's two instead of three seats next to each other, there's more legroom, the seats don't become a bed, but are reclining in a way that you don't disturb the one behind you, there are sockets to charge your devices, you get many drinks, food is better than economy, there's proper and no plastic cutlery, etc.

The almost 9 hour flight is long. I work on two translations, play a game on my iPad and listen to music. I also sleep a few hours until the stewardess wakes me for breakfast. An older Chinese lady, who sleeps most of the time is sitting next to me, which is more pleasant than the young toying couple from the first leg.

Good morning Shanghai. It has been a long journey once again.

I go through immigration, take my luggage from the belt, walk though customs and look for a driver holding up a paper with my name on it. I find the young man and follow him to the car park. I was told by one of the ladies from the China office who booked the driver, that the car would be a Buick. It's not a Buick he manoeuvres out of the parking lot, but a VW Touran that makes me think of the recent scandal. At least a posh one with brown leather interior. The driver offers me a bottle of water when I get in. 

Almost an hour later we arrive at the guest house on campus where I stayed last year. I go to the reception and am told that there’s no reservation for me. I’m asked if I know who made the reservation, but of course I don’t know. I message a few people and get a reply from the China office a few minutes later telling me that they're looking into it. Some more minutes later I receive another message saying that a teacher from SISU booked a room for me, not in the guest house but in the SISU hotel, a ten minutes walk. This teacher arrives a few minutes later to pick me up and walk me to the hotel. The hotel is located at the corner of two main roads, it’s an old communist building and looks shabby from the outside. The style of the lobby is not worth mentioning, but I immediately notice that there’s no air conditioning and that the air is coming from a fan. I check in and have to carry my two suitcases up some stairs to go to the lifts. I arrive on the 12th floor, find my room, open the door and find myself in a tiny, dirty, filthy, hot and sticky room. I’m sweating like crazy and try to find the switch for the a/c. I find one and turn it to 3, only to realise that the room doesn’t have an air con, but just a simple ventilation system. The air coming from the ceiling is not cooling the room at all. The windows are dirty and even though they are closed (you can't even open them, they are possibly blocked) you hear the noise from the street as if you were there. I can’t imagine myself living in this room for three months and send some messages around and ask to be moved somewhere else. 

I’m dead tired, sweaty and have to finish and submit my translations, that’s why I don’t take any action yet. When I finish my translations, I walk back to the guest house and ask if there are rooms available. There are. I'm shown a few rooms and choose one on the 16th floor directly opposite the room I had last summer. It’s nice, clean, friendly, spacious and offers a great view. I take it. I'm advised to stay in the hotel for the night to avoid double paying and move in in the morning after 8am. this I do.

I go back to my sticky and depressing room and take a long bath (the best thing about the room is that it has a bathtub), work on a project for an American firm and go to bed. I get up at 6.30am, go to the breakfast room at 7, see that the room is very big, very communist style, which I like, even though it has a depressing aura, there’s only one other guest there and the breakfast is very poor. I have a toast and a fried egg and leave. At the check out I’m told that I don’t have to pay, because I’m a teacher and that the school would pay. Really? I don’t think that’s true. Since they refuse to take my money, I return the key and walk off. A few minutes later I’m at the SISU guest house, check in, get my key and go up to my room. Hardly there, I receive a message from Arthur from SISU asking me why I didn’t pay. I explain and he tells me that that was a mistake and that I have to pay. When I go back to the hotel in the evening, the receptionist doesn’t speak any English, but we find a foreign girl who speaks Chinese and translates for us. The receptionist can’t find my booking and asks me to return on Monday to ask again when the manager is there.

I'm going to meet my foreign colleagues in a cafe on campus and then we walk to the meeting room in the building we will be teaching this summer, where Howard our boss for the summer, will hold a staff meeting. All the Chinese colleagues gather together, there are some familiar faces from last year and there's lunch spread out. Howard tells us all about the various modules and changes and afterwards the colleagues of each module gather in little groups to discuss the proceedings.   
Arthur, our helping soul, hands out our office keys and shows us where it is. I have to smile when I see the room number: 404. Four means death. 

My day finishes with a visit a the 'Blind People Massage Parlour'. There's a massage parlour a few minutes walk from campus, where all the staff are blind. The treatment is absolutely fantastic. You feel like a new person afterwards.

SISU Hotel off campus

SISU Guesthouse on campus

 My cosy room

Views from my window (river with dirty water, metro station under the flat red roof)

 Part of the campus from above

 Double death

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Square dancing

I have mentioned in one of my earlier posts that the Chinese like all sorts of activities and that they are quite active and sporty. A colleague has told me that around twenty years ago a crisis hit the country and wages and pensions were cut. Depression hit the people and they felt they needed to do something in order not to get crazy and kill or harm themselves. So they started gathering on squares to the so-called square dancing.
Now you see, predominantly older people, early in the morning and in the early evening, en mass on various squares, gathered in groups of all sizes either dancing, doing yoga, performing Tai-Chi or some other sort of activity. Depending on the area, many gather in parks too. In central Guiyang for example, there are no major parks, so people meet on squares or on a platform by the river. In Shanghai for example, where there is a park near the university I work at, it gets very busy early in the morning. And with early, I mean early, 5.30 - 6.00am is starting time, at least in summer.
What started out of depression has become a nationwide movement and even the younger generation joins in. You see grannies dancing with their grandchildren and also middle aged people doing yoga or something else.
The first two videos where taken from the window of my gym in Huaguoyuan in Guiyang, that's why there's no sound. It was on a weekday around 7.30am. The third was taken on a square in downtown Guiyang on a Sunday afternoon.

The following videos might not show or play on iPhones and iPads.