JOSH SNIEGOWSKI (film and video major) writes:
When I woke up for my second day in Shanghai, I felt like I had all the energy in the world. I’m guessing the reason for this was a mix between my excitement to see more of Shanghai, and the fact that I was really waking up around 6:00 p.m. Chicago time.
We met down in the lobby and took off for our first destination as soon as everyone was ready. When we arrived at Xintiandi, which now is a shopping area, this area appeared more like France than Shanghai, with expensive-looking stores and nice restaurants. Once we walked farther back into the area, however, we saw definite signs of Chinese history. The big cement arches around the doorways were inscribed with communist sayings written in Chinese. We were told the reason for this was that by writing these things, the buildings were considered sacred and therefore prevented them from being demolished. It obviously worked, seeing as they still stand in very good condition today.
Photo: At the Urban Planning Museum, viewing the scale model of present and future Shanghai. Photo by Liz Chilsen.
Our second location was the French Concession. Here we saw people living in very traditional Chinese housing. Bigger than most areas, it still resembled the poor sections of Chicago. Most homes had damp concrete floors and people used many things which were shared by the other people living around them. One thing that was very interesting was the area meant for old people to exercise. It resembled an American park for children, with extremely colorful bars and poles meant for climbing on. One man stood pulling wires which would, in turn, stretch both of his arms out. It was incredibly interesting to see.
Next, we ate Shanghai dumplings at the Taikang road market, which are considered a specialty. These dumplings contained soup in the middle and were delicious. More interesting than the food itself, however, was the building that we ate in. The halls were thin, but the building was tall and packed with people. We couldn’t find seats, so we walked multiple flights of stairs up in hopes of finding a place to eat. The entire building was filled with people and there were literally no open tables to sit at. Our group ended up having to split apart and sit wherever there was space. Sean and I ended up squeezing back into a corner with a Chinese family to eat. This was an experience in itself as I tried to manage with my limited chopstick skills as those around me ate with ease.
After eating, we went to learn about the city of Shanghai and where it plans to go in the future. We visited one building that contained a huge miniature Shanghai, which was awesome to see. After this we had the amazing opportunity of meeting the famous architect Xing Tonghe. He told us all about the World Expo and where he plans to lead the city in the future. This was a true privilege and I felt extremely lucky to take place in this experience.
Photo: Seated, Mr. Xing Tonghe, Josh Sniegowski, Sean Connor; standing, Natasha Egan and Hadley Vogel, with Mr. Xing's translator. Photo by Liz Chilsen.
From Mr. Xing’s presentation, we headed to another gallery, this time headed by Bizart. At this gallery, the piece of art that stood out the most to me showed a man getting slapped repeated times until he bled, while being belittled by another man. I assume that this was a criticism toward the government of China, but I would need much more time to think about this before trying to interpret what was being shown.
Finally, our group ate at a restaurant called Hotpot. This place was much like the Melting Pot located in Chicago. We had a boiling pot of some sort of broth and many different forms of meat and vegetables, which we cooked in these pots on our own. The meal was once again delicious. The best part about this time eating out, was that I felt that our group really got to know each other and become friends. Without this meal, our group would have never reached the level of comfort we have with each other.
Josh Sniegowski is a sophomore in the film & video department.
