Day Trip

One of the perks of living in Nanjing is that there are high-speed trains to Shanghai leaving every 30 minutes, most of which will get you to the western edge of the city within an hour of boarding the train.  From there, you can catch one of two metro lines that will give you access to the city's expansive metro system, making logistics easy even for the most directionally challenged of us (not that I would ever label any of my friends as directionally challenged).

I took advantage of this perk the other weekend when Barney was in Shanghai taking care of business. I spent the lunch hour and early afternoon wandering Nanjing Street (somewhat like Fifth Avenue, except not really), and then met up with Barney around 2:30. After a brief discussion of our options, we decided to check out this shopping area in Shanghai called 田子坊 tiánzǐfāng. I didn't really take pictures because I was so caught up, but here are some Google Images that might be of interest. It was the coolest shopping area I've ever been to in China. For people familiar with Beijing, it's somewhat of a hybrid between 798 and Nan Lougu Xiang. It had art. It had crafts. It had old-school hipster glasses. It had kitsch. It had jewelry. And oh my goodness did it have food. Barney and I didn't have a lot of time, so we didn't explore as thoroughly as we could have, but from the various cafés, Thai restaurants, and New York pizzerias that I did see, Tianzifang is definitely a place for people craving international cuisine. I guess Shanghai in general is a good place for that too.

That line was an excellent segue into the point I actually wanted to make. I am so glad I didn't list any universities in Shanghai on my preferences for scholarship placement. Would I have loved living here? Absolutely. I would be all over the place trying to get to know a city with as many layers as Shanghai seems to have. I would also be all over the place trying to live the international lifestyle Shanghai so obviously enjoys. What I would not be doing is learning Chinese, nor would I become more familiar with the typical Chinese lifestyle. In fact, Shanghai is about as far from the typical Chinese lifestyle as one gets.

Shanghai seems like a wonderful, crazy, unique place, and I would have loved to get to know it better. But my aim in spending a year in China is to develop a deeper understanding of Chinese culture and society, an aim that would have been poorly served in the country's most Western city. Therefore, Shanghai, I will only see you on weekends. In many ways, you will be the New York to my Yale.

Sigh. If only.