disclaimer ... these are some of the things i did ... others may follow at their own peril .
Shanghai is one of the largest cities of China with a population nearly as much as my state kerala . So you may expect a hustling bustling congested city . The answer is No . Or being the seat of communism you expect red dress clad men and women all doing the same jobs and getting the same pay and leading a middle class life ... No. Snake fry , dragon roast .. No . Then what is it ?
Inspite of a population more than 2 crores for a city the city has an infrastructure that rivals cities like munich in germany . 8 lane roads , 3 tiered flyovers , buildings interspersed with gardens and small canals the city has imbibed the values of the 5000 year old chinese culture , the work ethic of communism and the zest for the modern life and that balance is seen in that city . There are skyscrapers which are more than 80 floors high especially in the Bund area but many areas have beautiful villas with gardens on either side of wide roads (check out my facebook photos). I heard China has some regulation on occupancy of a certain area . It is not possible for a person residing at a village to come and buy a place in the city just like that . He can come and work in the city but depending on his skills etc .. Not randomly as in india creating slums like in cities of Mumbai or even in big cities in USA where they have poor neighbourhoods where people from outside cannot travel safely . The end result of all this at least for a visitor like me is a beautiful city which doesnt have the shoving pushing character of a crowded city . I have put up some photos in facebook where none of them shows like its from a city of 2 crores ... Another advantage of this setup is the low incidence of crime . Everyday i was walking 4 kms at 8-10 pm and i felt very safe . Consider walking like that in many of the "developed "countries and you may even get murdered .
Now about red clad men and women ... there are no redclad men and women in shanghai . When i went there it was winter and temperature was between 3 and 10 degrees . Everyone was in stylish winter clothes with jackets , puss in boot shoes . And this being China and Shanghai being paris of the East the public had two options . All the luxury brands at their luxury prices where available . From Prada to Gucci , Louis Vuitton to Rolex all of those were available especially in Nanjing Road which is the largest shopping road in the world 6 km stretch . And some of the brands largest shops in asia is also at shanghai ? Gucci . For the people who are not into brands me included there are reasonably good quality winterware available in the shopping area . Before going to China i had a feeling that it had many cheap price things available . But coming here i realised the Shanghainese mostly used high end products or the medium priced ones . No ones dress ( i was as expected checking out the girls winterware ) looked cheap . My point is there were no cheap looking products at least in Shanghai . There was a big crowd in applestore and iphone is very popular .
Shanghai is one of the largest cities of China with a population nearly as much as my state kerala . So you may expect a hustling bustling congested city . The answer is No . Or being the seat of communism you expect red dress clad men and women all doing the same jobs and getting the same pay and leading a middle class life ... No. Snake fry , dragon roast .. No . Then what is it ?
Inspite of a population more than 2 crores for a city the city has an infrastructure that rivals cities like munich in germany . 8 lane roads , 3 tiered flyovers , buildings interspersed with gardens and small canals the city has imbibed the values of the 5000 year old chinese culture , the work ethic of communism and the zest for the modern life and that balance is seen in that city . There are skyscrapers which are more than 80 floors high especially in the Bund area but many areas have beautiful villas with gardens on either side of wide roads (check out my facebook photos). I heard China has some regulation on occupancy of a certain area . It is not possible for a person residing at a village to come and buy a place in the city just like that . He can come and work in the city but depending on his skills etc .. Not randomly as in india creating slums like in cities of Mumbai or even in big cities in USA where they have poor neighbourhoods where people from outside cannot travel safely . The end result of all this at least for a visitor like me is a beautiful city which doesnt have the shoving pushing character of a crowded city . I have put up some photos in facebook where none of them shows like its from a city of 2 crores ... Another advantage of this setup is the low incidence of crime . Everyday i was walking 4 kms at 8-10 pm and i felt very safe . Consider walking like that in many of the "developed "countries and you may even get murdered .
Now about red clad men and women ... there are no redclad men and women in shanghai . When i went there it was winter and temperature was between 3 and 10 degrees . Everyone was in stylish winter clothes with jackets , puss in boot shoes . And this being China and Shanghai being paris of the East the public had two options . All the luxury brands at their luxury prices where available . From Prada to Gucci , Louis Vuitton to Rolex all of those were available especially in Nanjing Road which is the largest shopping road in the world 6 km stretch . And some of the brands largest shops in asia is also at shanghai ? Gucci . For the people who are not into brands me included there are reasonably good quality winterware available in the shopping area . Before going to China i had a feeling that it had many cheap price things available . But coming here i realised the Shanghainese mostly used high end products or the medium priced ones . No ones dress ( i was as expected checking out the girls winterware ) looked cheap . My point is there were no cheap looking products at least in Shanghai . There was a big crowd in applestore and iphone is very popular .
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