A lovely trip to Shanghai! The weather was warm and the skies were blue. Planes, trains and automobiles took me all over the Shanghai and Jiangsu area with amazing speed and ease. I feel so grateful to everyone who took the time to meet with me talk with me—such precious little time was well spent together!
Updates
Leisure
The nostalgic, colonial feel of the French Quarter is intoxicating. People sat along shaded avenues, dining al fresco in the balmy air of late autumn. Overall, my favorite destinations were the Bund and the
Shanghai Museum. I also had some new wool suits tailored—affordable, chic, and completed before my flight home!
Business
I opened a chinese bank account and cell phone, hopefully will make payments easier for Chinese customers! WeChat pay and Alipay will soon be up and running. Payments, international or otherwise, continue to be a headache, but I will continue to chip away at this project.
People
I was also delighted to meet with several former classmates of mine from the Chinese Language Flagship program. Their support and collaboration has been incredibly valuable. I take heart in hearing about their struggles and successes because the tale they tell often resonates with my own.
Finally, Sixth Tone, a Shanghai-based English-language news website. If you don’t read it already, I definitely suggest you browse the latest headlines! Their thoughtful take on modern Chinese society has constantly been a fresh air in an environment where much of china-related news can be chalked up to doomsaying.
Travel Tips
I had some “learning opportunities” along the way that I thought I’d share with you!
To and From PVG
The MagLev turned out to be slightly underwhelming. With tickets at 40RMB a pop and a trip duration of about 8 minutes, I felt slightly dissatisfied at the end of the ride. Hair-raising speeds of up to 300+ kilometers/hour were amusing and the trip is worth doing once–just maybe not twice. On the way back to Pudong Int’l, I took the airport shuttle, which was very convenient and only 25RMB—a much more reasonable price.
Film Photography
I was so excited as I packed my retro Nikon film camera into my suitcase. I had grandiose plans to fill this blog with shots from the city street scenes. But all my plans came crumbling down as I opened the package of prints, only to find that each and every sheet was blank. I listened with chagrin to my photographer friend as he explained that X-rays ruin film as bags are passed through security screenings. In order to safely fly with film, it must be placed in a lead-lined case to prevent damage.
Cheers to all my friends near and far! Want to know more about my trip? Send me a message or tweet at me @rachelcritelli.