TANYA ROBBINS (fiction writing major) writes:
This morning started out at the French Concession section of Shanghai at a Starbucks (the most American thing we could have possibly done!). We went to a small village-like area called Xian Tian Di, or New Heaven. All the original buildings from Old Shanghai are still there and we got to look inside a few of them. They are very small and cramped and sometimes the owners of shops live directly behind them. We walked around and saw a lot of shops and different food markets as we walked to catch our bus to go to get some lunch.
We got fried pork dumplings, which were pretty tasty. Now, I'm not a fan of pork, so I mostly took out the pork, but I did give it a try first. The soupy juice inside of the fried dough was very good. After consumption, we went to the Urban Planning Museum and saw a mini replica of the city of Shanghai, at least what's in the inner circle, anyhow. I think at least three or four Manhattans could fit inside of Shanghai. It's huge! You could see where the older parts are because the buildings are shorter and cramped together as where in the newer parts there are many skyscrapers and architecturally unique buildings. After that, we went to meet up with the head of the biggest and most important architectural group in Shanghai.
How many people in the world can say that they have met the architect of the major buildings in Shanghai and the head architect of the 2010 Shanghai World's Fair? I can. Xiang Tonghe of Xian Dai Architecture is a very prestigious man who made us all feel very welcome today when we went to his business to hear a lecture on the concepts for the future of Shanghai and the World's Fair. We went into a board room with the fancy leather chairs and big rectangular table. We were served traditional Chinese candy, bananas, dragon's eyes, oranges, and water. It wasn't at all what I was expecting, but then again I don't really know what I was expecting, anyhow.
The theme for the 2010 World's Fair is "Better City, Better Life." It is going to run from May to October, which is about six months, and an expected total of 17 million people are expected to attend, roughly 400,000 per day. It is being held on either side of the Huangpu River, and that site was chosen because some students from all over the world gave proposals for it and it seemed like the best place to have it.
The expo is 5.28 square kilometers, and many of the old buildings that are in that area have been renovated to accommodate new facilities for the expo. Some buildings were demolished to make space and some new buildings have been designed as well, including new buildings for each country's portion of the expo. Some countries create their own concepts for design and some use buildings that have already been created.
Guess who has yet to submit their design for the fair? The United States, of course! Only about one third of the buildings from the fair will remain after it is over. The theme and China Pavilions, International Conference Center, and Art Performing Center are a few of the buildings that will stay. There are 1,800 seats in the Art Performing Center, and it is the hub for all art performances.
We learned also about some new skyscrapers that are going to be built in the future. A 492-meter-high one and a 580-meter one are just two of the many that Mr. Xiang showed us, along with a very interesting statistic. Apparently, before 1949, when communism was created, there were about only 100 houses with more than eight floors, and as of 2005, there were more than 10,034.
The weather has been a bit chilly and very cloudy. It was sprinkling a lot today and the woman who is basically our tour guide told us that it is much smoggier than usual.
The Chinese don't seem to use a lot of toilet paper, because there is barely any on the roll in our hotel room, and in the bathrooms there is very little if any at all. And mind you, in Shanghai there are two different types of toilets, the sitting, normal kind that we Westerners know, and then the kind where you simply squat over what looks like a urinal in the floor. I have yet to try to second option, and hope to avoid it as long as possible.
What I've really noticed about Shanghai, since we've been traveling a lot by foot and by bus, is that people will simply walk out in front of cars, and that also cars do not stop, almost ever. They would just as soon run you over than stop to let you cross the street. There are tons of bicycles and mopeds, and they don't stop, either, so you really have to watch what you are doing and where you are going at all times. The drivers here are crazy as well; they cut you off so often and drive really close to your vehicle. It gives a whole new expression to driving offensively and defensively. Here doing both are a must.
It is definitely a different experience being an American here in China. We get stared at constantly. People will stop walking or biking just to watch us walk by. It's like they've never seen white people or Americans before, like were from outer space or something, it's really awkward. I don't really understand it, I guess, and try to ignore it as much as possible.
For dinner we went to a hot-pot place, where there are two big vats of boiling soup in the center of the table and you get raw meat and vegetables to cook inside of them. Personally, I didn't really like anything that was ordered or the taste of the soup, but I really liked the concept of it. We all had a fun time eating and laughing and trying new foods and duck's blood and tarp.
We walked back from the restaurant to Motel 168 where I sit now, freezing at my computer and trying to figure out why the internet doesn't work. I think I'm going to go cuddle up in the nice hard bed with a blanket and read some of the book I brought with me. Goodnight.
Tanya Robbins is a junior in the fiction writing department.
