At Shanghai University w/local students and Pearl TV Tower
At the Bund
The tallest building in the world
The modern city of Shanghai
Another favorite sight was definitely Shanghai. I found that everything that we had the opportunity to see was a great experience. Overall, Shanghai is China's most advanced city and as an American it was interesting to see the power that China holds. America is the epitome of stressing capitalism and it is a leading world power in all aspects of business, commerce, and modernity. Comparing Shanghai to America's developed cities is quite interesting and as America's relations with China continue to grow closer it will be interesting to see the impact of this prosperous relationship and the opportunities it will create throughout the world. Posted below are some simple reflections of what we saw in Shanghai.
On May25th we flew to Shanghai. Shanghai is an extremely young and modern Chinese city. It is the financial and business center of China. Shanghai makes up 30% of the Chinese economy. It contains a population of 18million people and 6million foreigners. In Shanghai it is obvious that there is a lot more economic liberalization practiced in order to improve the Chinese economy overall. Our first stop in Shanghai was the Oriental Pearl TV Tower. It is the tallest tower in Asia and the third tallest tower in the world. The antenna of the Pearl Tower is over 387ft alone. The tower is in the heart of the Budong, Blue River, which divides Shanghai into East and West. I noticed that it is an extremely modern city with an endless number of innovative high-rises. The tallest sky rise in the world is being built here and will be 96 stories high. The average price of real estate in Shanghai is $3,000 per 1sqm. Even though there is a population of 18million people, only 6 million have cars because there is a lot of traffic and congestion. It was quite interesting to see that the most expensive apartment in Shanghai is six million dollars and is owned by the Chinese government and an American venture. This is a prime example of how America has become heavily involved with Chinese business and has a strong influence on the Chinese economy. After the Pearl Tower, we went to eat at a typical Shanghai restaurant where the regional food is known to be much sweeter and milder than other Chinese dishes. After lunch we visited Shanghai University. It is known to be one of the best universities in China, however Beijing University ranks first. At the university we met many Chinese students, professors, and the Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. The students were extremely intelligent and spoke incredibly good English. The students from Rollins and Shanghai engaged in a long debate about the differences between American and Chinese lifestyles, politics, and student life. The students told us that they take about ten classes a semester where they are allowed to choose their own schedules. The university contains over 30,000 students. After our visit to the university we went back to our hotel, The New Century Hotel, where there were many tourists from all over the world, including India, Italy, Germany, and many Americans. After a short rest we went to a dinner show where the waiters wore roller skates to serve the food. There were many singers and dancers which provided very fun entertainment. After dinner was over we went to the Bund at nighttime. The Bund is a famous spot at night where once can walk along the river walk and see the entire Shanghai cityscape and skyline. The skyline is breathtaking with it’s vast amount of gorgeously illuminated buildings. Many boats cruise around the river, and the city brilliantly glows in a complete spectrum of colors. At the Bund there are many European inspired buildings from the British Quarter. The Bund is the most popular gathering place for local Shanghaier’s to go with their friends and families at night.
Unfortunately, our trip was winding down and May 26th would be our last day in Shanghai. On our last day we went to the Yu Garden of the Ming dynasty. The garden had beautiful greenery and was a main compound for the emperor and all of his wives. The emperor had thirty-two children in total. The Yu Garden is a large shopping street where many local Shanghaier’s go to shop, and eat. It is an extremely popular and crowded place to go on Saturday’s. After the gardens we visited the High Tech Park, which is the main research and corporate hub of many powerful companies, such as; GE, Amway, and Motorola. After the High Tech Park we went to the famous Nanjing Road. The road is the main shopping street in Shanghai. It is bustling with mobs of people and is filled with hundreds of department stores. It was truly a shoppers paradise. We concluded our amazing trip throughout China with a Shanghai acrobat show. The acrobat show was extremely exciting and impressive that had many courageous and talented acts. It included plate balancers, roller skaters, hula hopers, table jugglers, and a brave motorcycle show. Sadly, the following morning it was time to board the magnet train, the fastest transportation system in the world. The magnet train took us to the airport in less than seven minutes with the highest speed of 430 km/h. To arrive to the airport by bus from our hotel would of taken over forty minutes. The difference and speed was incredible. Our flight back home to Orlando totaled to over sixteen hours, but the long plane ride gave us plenty of opportunity to rest and reminisce about our incredible journey traveling through the middle kingdom. China is an amazing country with many modernly cosmopolitan and powerful cities with huge economic and political power, but it also contains many small charming villages where traditional Chinese culture can be found. China opened my eyes to a new world, and I hope one day I will be able to return to China and get to see what the future has in store for this great
Unfortunately, our trip was winding down and May 26th would be our last day in Shanghai. On our last day we went to the Yu Garden of the Ming dynasty. The garden had beautiful greenery and was a main compound for the emperor and all of his wives. The emperor had thirty-two children in total. The Yu Garden is a large shopping street where many local Shanghaier’s go to shop, and eat. It is an extremely popular and crowded place to go on Saturday’s. After the gardens we visited the High Tech Park, which is the main research and corporate hub of many powerful companies, such as; GE, Amway, and Motorola. After the High Tech Park we went to the famous Nanjing Road. The road is the main shopping street in Shanghai. It is bustling with mobs of people and is filled with hundreds of department stores. It was truly a shoppers paradise. We concluded our amazing trip throughout China with a Shanghai acrobat show. The acrobat show was extremely exciting and impressive that had many courageous and talented acts. It included plate balancers, roller skaters, hula hopers, table jugglers, and a brave motorcycle show. Sadly, the following morning it was time to board the magnet train, the fastest transportation system in the world. The magnet train took us to the airport in less than seven minutes with the highest speed of 430 km/h. To arrive to the airport by bus from our hotel would of taken over forty minutes. The difference and speed was incredible. Our flight back home to Orlando totaled to over sixteen hours, but the long plane ride gave us plenty of opportunity to rest and reminisce about our incredible journey traveling through the middle kingdom. China is an amazing country with many modernly cosmopolitan and powerful cities with huge economic and political power, but it also contains many small charming villages where traditional Chinese culture can be found. China opened my eyes to a new world, and I hope one day I will be able to return to China and get to see what the future has in store for this great
country.
-Christina B
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