Zài jiàn Shanghai

I have been back now for nearly a week and I must say that I am in some ways really glad to be back. For me the exchange experience has been less drastic than for others, for I have lived in several countries already and have moved a lot throughout my childhood. However, having never lived in a large city before it was quite a change for me. Having now returned home the differences between living in a small village in Holland and a metropolis in China become evident.

Upon my arrival the first thing I saw was a large banner which awaited me at the arrival gate at Dusseldorf airport. Finally, I was no longer a minority! I was among my friends, family and girlfriend once again! We headed over to the nearest bar to have a small celebration. I had to walk over to the bar to order because as we sat down we were not helped. It was the first real difference I noticed, for in Western society labor is a large cost for businesses while in Asia labor is cheap and service is second nature.

My father in Shanghai

As mentioned my father arrived a day before the New Year which we celebrated extensively! And now I will add a picture of the speed at which we travel from Pu Dong International Airport to the outer city ring. The Maglev goes 430Kmph!!! On January first we spend the day relaxing and not doing much, I had to walk over East Nanjing Road from People square to the Bund, which on the morning of January first proved to be quite the challenge. It was crowded with people and the walk took me twice as long!

Arriving at the hotel we planned to spend the rest of the day visiting the Fake Market to show them what Shanghai has to offer. He was very pleased to find some of his watched copied and at over an hundredth of the price! The fake market is quite the experience, shop sellers calling and pulling you into their shops. The best response to give them is “Bu yao, xie xie.” Which literally translates to “Need not, thank you.” There are several fake markets scattered around Shanghai, the largest being in the Science and Technology Museum subway stop. My personal favorite is the one on West Nanjing Road, for it has the shops sorted by floors. Some of the shops have secret hidden compartments where you have to crawl through clothing racks to get to the secret room behind. And if you are nice enough you can then again go through the second compartment into the ‘ultra’ secret room. All in all it’s a lot of fun but be sure to inform yourself about the ‘real’ prices beforehand. Anyone reading this please ask me for information on any item. I think I have a vague understanding of what one should pay after my time there! (in the picture btw you can see the top floor of the market…yes, only in China)

Merry Chrismas and a Happy New Year!!!

Christmas and New Years Eve were a lot of fun! For Christmas we decided to celebrate it with a large group of people and not go out for dinner but for the first time in Shanghai cook a home-cooked-meal! We were with 5 Swedish, 4 Germans and a Dutch guy, me! So everyone set out to cook their national dish. The Swedes went to Ikea and got Swedish Meatballs and Glugg with of course mashed potato. The Germans made potato salad with Schnitzels and a fresh salad. And what did I, the Dutch guy do? I simply bought a lot of Heineken! Along with Christmas decorations and I helped out wherever possible, because I can’t really cook! So eating out in Shanghai was not a problem for me! It was funny to see how different nationalities all have their own little traditions. The Swedes watch Donald Duck episodes at 4 in the afternoon. While the Germans, when entering a home, have to spend at least 5 minutes admiring the Christmas tree. We Dutch don’t really have a Christmas tradition but my tales of this long bearded white male on a horse who has black guys as his helpers/slaves, did get everyone laughing!

Studying in Shanghai at SJTU

During my time in Shanghai, I of course also went to University. Some might forget this reading my blogs about Inner Mongolia, Tibet and Hong Kong, the constant parties and excursions I plan with my friends and fellow exchange students. However, one needs to consider something very important when on exchange. You have a lot of spare time!

When on exchange, and you travel to a country far away enough you leave everything behind. Your girlfriend, your family, your friends, your sport and even your own stuff! Keep in mind you can only bring a certain amount of kilo’s with you on the plane! So you spend hardly any time with them, this gives you so much time to do all the other stuff. Spending your days on the internet, simply browsing and looking at video’s or pictures is also over. For the internet in Shanghai was so drastically slow, it makes it so time consuming you simply leave it be.

University life is very different from in the Netherlands. The classes are hands on and you really need to prepare. Part of the grade ranging from 20 to 50 percent of the grade includes; class attendance and class participation. This means you need to answer questions and show up for class. This does not automatically count for all lectures but it does for the majority. Some teachers give out surprise quizzes, which you need to complete before you leave. Its mainly done to check attendance but the quizzes are marked and affect your class participation grade!The university takes up very little time as far as lectures are concerned. For every class there is only 1 lecture a week which consists of 2 hours in a smaller classroom with roughly 30-40 students. We exchange students always sit at the front because the Chinese students always arrive earlier than we do and occupy the back rows. They do this because most of them simply sleep during lectures. The most memorable phrase I will probably hear in my life is when our lecturer said: “And now a question for the exchange students because all my Chinese students are sleeping.” We looked back and indeed all of them were heads down on their desks!

Am I Chinese?

One of the assignments of our exchange is to describe the different stages we experience while being abroad. The first stage being the honeymoon period; arriving here everything is different and all experiences are new and exciting. This was very true for me in the beginning, having hardly slept on the plane I arrived at 7 am in the morning and stayed awake until the early hours of the following day! Mainly due because you arrive in an environment where you need to keep going. One needs to get registered, find your room, explore your surroundings and make new friends. This is especially difficult and exciting when you are in an environment where you do not speak the language and the culture is drastically different from what you are used to.

Hong Kong

My trip to Hong Kong I had planned well in advance, I had arranged to be there when my uncle would also be there so he could show me around the city where he has stationed his company and one of his factories. I fly to Hong Kong for roughly 90 euro’s each way which for European standards can be considered reasonably cheap! Arriving in Hong Kong you immediately notice the cleanliness of the place. They are extremely cautious of infection and bacteria, there are signs everywhere: indicating the amount of times the conveyer belt is disinfected per day, the fine for spitting in public (as the Chinese often do) and the fine for littering. The city is clean and calm for Shanghai and Beijing standards, people wait in line, no one pushes or shoves. People are polite and say thank you and beckon you to go in front. Everyone is in harmony and it does not matter which nationality, race, age or gender you are.

TIBET!

My girlfriend left on the 14th however I could not rest for long for on the 18^th I had scheduled to go to Tibet. We had only decided to go on this trip on the 7^th, so we had to do a lot of planning! Friends of mine wanted to do this and asked me if I wanted to join, a chance to go to Tibet is a chance I would never let slip away. So I had a lot to do before I could leave the University for nearly two weeks. We managed to get the go-ahead from our teachers after we promised to finish all the homework ahead of time. This meant that the four days I had between Joske leaving and me leaving for Tibet were spend behind books and laptops. We worked extremely hard to finish all our homework two weeks ahead of time but we managed to do it! Finishing of 3 reports and two presentations in time, arranging with our other team members that we would make the reports and they would do the presentations.

The four of us left late at night and entered the train that would take us from Shanghai directly to Lhasa, once again China’s impressive constructions prevail. We had to plan and book our entire tour ahead of time. One has to get this all done and sorted before a visa is issued. Lhasa is located at 3600m and we planned to also visit the Mt. Everest which is located nearly 2km higher at 5400m. The decision to take the train was therefore not taken without careful consideration. The train ride takes 49 hours, nearly a 1000km of the railway is at an altitude of more than 4000 meters, with the highest point of the track at the Tanggula Pass at 5072 meters. The long ride would give us some time to adjust to the altitude; the wagons are pumped with oxygen to make the ride a little more comfortable.

We ate on the train and played cards, reading up on Lhasa in the various information books we brought. We were with four people and we decided to buy second class, hard sleeper seats. This meant we shared our little cabin with 2 Chinese, in our case we got lucky and we shared it with a friendly young couple, who unfortunately did not speak any English. The train ride was long but the scenery made more than up for it, we stopped only a few times and each time we hopped off, sprinting to the food sellers on the train platform to buy some more food for the rest of the journey. However, as soon as we arrived we realized we would have to sit in that train for another 49 hours on the way back, all of a sudden the train ride seemed really long!

Upon our arrival we met our guide who took us to our hotel. In the middle of Lhasa, the first thing we noticed was that any physical effort we undertook was extremely difficult. Breathing is heavy, you are constantly out of breath, it does not matter how fit you are or what your build is. The only people not affected by altitude sickness are the Tibetans, it’s said to be in their genes. That first night was difficult to say the least, all of us hardly slept that night and spent most of the night near the bathroom. We tried to battle the sickness by drinking a lot of water, which is the only real remedy. We drank near to 4 liters of water a day and made sure that we did things slowly.

Taking things slowly was apparently not what our guide had in mind, the first morning we were driven to the Potala Palace. It’s the large monastery in the center of the city build on a hill. It stands tall in this city and is a safe haven for Buddhists from all over the world. Everyday there are believers who circle the entire palace while swinging their prayer sticks. It is impressive to see that even those who have so little are so devoted to their belief. The temple itself is a masterpiece with over a 1000 rooms which house prayer rooms, statues and ‘stupas’ which are tombs in which the monks are buried. There are so many other things to say about this palace but I guess you will just have to travel to Lhasa and find out for yourself.

Apart from the dozens of temples we visited the scenery grabs you as it is so diverse. One moment you are surrounded by lakes and hills and the next moment one is driving through a desert. Some areas of the Himalayas are sheltered from rain all year round and are therefore excluded from rain. We spend a lot of our time in the car, firstly driving over 300km from Lhasa to Sighatse after spending the first two days in Lhasa. It’s a nice drive because we cut through the mountains via valley and also climb over the top of some mountains which results in beautiful views. We visited the Nmatso lake which is the second highest salt water lake in the world at 4720 meters. Arriving at Sighatse later that day we find a local restaurant where we are able to enjoy our first yak steak, which tastes amazing!

The next day we wanted to leave Sighatse again in the early morning to be at the Mt. Everest before the sunset. However on the way to the mountain there are a lot of security stops and checks. Your visa needs to be in order and you need to have the appropriate paperwork. However, our guide had not yet gotten our papers and visas so we had to wait for the police office to open. So after leaving late we tried to get our driver to pick up the speed and hopefully drive over 100km per hour. Unfortunately 102km of the 350km drive was over unpaved, hairpin turned tracks, constantly driving up and down mountains. During these twists and bends we climbed to the highest point I have ever been, 6256 Meters! Due to the low speeds we were driving we unfortunately missed our sunset and had to view it from a distance. We arrived at the Base Camp and drank some sweet milk thee with the locals that are stationed there.

Our rooms consisted of 2 beds and 4 covers but that night was still the most unbearable and horrific night I have ever endured! The Base Camp is at an altitude of roughly 5300 meters. The windows are single layered and some of the tiles in the window are missing so the only protection you have from outside is a thin curtain. We wore all of our clothes while sleeping but still we were freezing! However, it wasn’t so much the cold that really got to us; the altitude sickness was far and far worse. We all suffered from intense headaches, upset stomachs and restlessness. Because we were desperate to make sure we did not miss the sunrise, we decided to wake up at 6 and leave the camp at 6:30.

We were all awake for pretty much the whole night, constantly hoping our phones would indicate that it was close to 6 so we could put this night before us. When this was finally the case we re-screwed the light bulb in place to illuminate the cold rooms. Our water which we had brought with us and kept with us next to our beds had frozen, indicating that the temperatures in the room had gotten below 0. Outside the temperature had dropped far below that and reached -25 degrees! When we went outside and got in the car to drive to the furthest point it was still pitch black outside. We waited in the car for the sunrise to start and as soon as the tips of surrounding mountains became vaguely visible we started on our journey to get closer to the Everest.

We left the safety and relative warmth of the car and walked roughly 2km towards the mountain. We had to climb small ‘hills’ which are rock barges that make the area behind it inaccessible for cars. Once on the highest point of the valley we were in, we waited for the sun to rise. Temperatures rose only ever so slightly and it was freezing cold, roughIy -15 to -10 degrees, I was wearing short and long thermo underwear both bottoms and tops, together 2 long polos and 2 sweaters and a jacket. Over my long thermo underwear I wore sweatpants and over that normal jeans. Then two pairs of ski socks and two pairs of gloves, in combination with mountain boots purchased at the fake market in Shanghai and a beanie. Wearing this entire still provided little to no protection to the cold that you are exposed to on the mountain. By the time we were on the location where we wanted to view the sunrise it was 8 o’clock. The sun was not even close to passing over the tips of the surrounding mountains. We had forgotten that we were positioned in a valley and therefore had to wait for the sun to get higher in the sky before we would have been able to see it. So after roughly half an hour of waiting we decided that we would head back! One of the girls that were with us suffers from bad blood circulation and is naturally a lot colder than the rest. Her fingers and face was starting to turn blue so this was a clear indication that we were in over our heads and not prepared to face these temperatures. It would have been unhealthy to stay at that altitude without the proper clothing. Heading back to the car the sun was still not visible. We made the right decision to go back in time, and we still got to see the sunrise from the pitch black to the morning light casted on the largest mountain on earth.

After the cold morning we visited some more monasteries and started our journey back to Sighatse and the day after we drove back to Lhasa. Arriving there late in the evening to finally have the first good night’s rest we’ve had in days. With the Everest at 5300m and our hotel in Sighatse at roughly 4000m it was nice to be back in Lhasa at ‘only’ 3600m. After this nice rest we traveled to the Ganden Monastery, it is located on the top of a mountain range and overlooks a valley, a truly magnificent sight! We observed the high monk chanting and teaching to his fellow believers and gotten a private tour of the place from an English spoken monk.

The following day we headed down to the Samye Monastery. To get there you have to cut through the desert. The monastery is one of the most special ones as it was one of the oldest in Tibet. Up to earlier this year foreigners were not allowed in the temple! The highlight of the temple is the depiction of the 14^th Dalai Lama. This is strictly forbidden in Tibet but there is one portrait of him which is allowed by the Chinese rulers. After the tour we enjoyed some more sweet thee on the porch of a local restaurant, and we watched as the packs of stray dogs walk through the empty streets in the deserted area. We returned home to Lhasa for our last meal in, yak steak of course!

Following morning we headed to the post office for some post cards, then buying a lot of supplies for the train ride back. We had to share a 6 person cabin with 7 people seeing as one of the bunks was being shared by a couple who would take turns in who gets to sleep. The way back was a lot less exciting as we had expected. A lot of reading and listening to music, with regards to food and drinks the way back was slightly more challenging. Seeing as after a few stops a large military platoon boarded the train and claimed all the food and beer!

Tibet was all in all a wonderful once in a lifetime experience! It was not a ‘fun’ holiday because most time was spend in cars and observing temples. But it was an eye opener to see the wonders of the Everest and the landscape that surrounds it. Meeting the local Tibetans as well as the Chinese that now share this land after 1959. Due to the position that I am currently in I cannot go into more detail on how this relationship is going but in short the Tibetans are being suppressed to a certain extent. However, it must be said that the Chinese are investing a lot of money and resources into improving the county with regards to quality of life, infrastructure and wealth. However, their methods can sometimes be questionable.

Beijing

My trip to Beijing with my girlfriend begins with a 1300km train ride from Shanghai Hongqiao to Beijing South Railway station, luckily the ride travels at a speed of 300 kilometers per hour so the ride takes less than 5 hours. It was nice to show her what the Chinese are able to build. The Chinese have been busy over the last few decades to build large landmarks that prove Chinese engineering and moral. The Bullet train ride only costs 65 euro’s each way, the seats are like an airplane and all face in the forward direction, they are turned around as the train stops to face the other way on the journey back. It’s quite an experience with all the Chinese surrounding you carrying their packets full of meat and treats for friends and family in the other of the two cities.

In Shanghai we had been so busy visiting sights, meeting friends, going to clubs and along all of this studying. We were so exhausted that the first two days we spend relaxing and enjoying being together after so long. We ate at our hostel and the next days just walked around the city center. The first thing we visited was the Olympic City. The Watercube after the Birdsnest were very impressive and it was nice to see it up close. It was hard to imagine it being packed with so many people from all over the world for the opening ceremony. It’s a shame that the huge stadium is no longer in use, apart from being a tourist attraction. After the Olympic city which is only accessible by tuk tuk, because the metro line to the city is closed and therefore no longer in use, we visited the center of the city. Walking through the main shopping street which, after seeing East Nanjing Road in Shanghai, is a little disappointing. But the food market is one of a kind. Live scorpions on a stick along with a wide variety of other bugs which can be eaten after being deep fried alive.Arriving at Beijing we notice instantly some of the main differences between Shanghai and the Capital namely the price and the crowdedness. Firstly tickets for the subway are half the price of what they are in Shanghai, 2RMB which boils down to €0,25 and for students its only 1,2RMB, too bad we found that out once we got back in Shanghai! Secondly, in Beijing it does not matter what day or time of day it is, it’s always busy in the subway. We thought that we knew what crowded meant when we saw people pushing and elbowing their way in the subways at rush hour in Shanghai but that just a normal ride in the subways of Beijing.

The third day went a little more according to plan; we left early on a prescheduled tour of the city and the wall. We had booked a small group tour but because we arrived out of season we were the only participants. This meant that we received a private tour of first Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and later the Great Wall. All of which were equally impressive, our guide spoke slowly because his English was not all too great. The Forbidden City is overwhelming; buildings are huge and show the vastness of the Ming Dynasty. Along with the huge Tiananmen Square which in China, in contrary to the rest of the world, is famous for being next to the final resting place of Mao Zendong, not at all for the reasons the rest of the world knows of its existence. These phenomenons are a constant reminder of the influence the Chinese have on their people.

After the square and the city we drove a long way to the wall, stopping on the way to look at a jade factory. The wall was even more impressive than the previous two sites. We visited the original wall in Inner Mongolia, but this was something completely different. This wall has been restored and maintained and is a very impressive sight to see. We had 3 hours to walk up and down the wall so we had to hurry, it’s a long way to the top and we needed a few rest stops which were more than welcome to enjoy the sights. Once at the top we were however more than rewarded by the beautiful views and finally some fresh air!

It was a shame that our visit had to end the day after, our train would leave at 3pm so we decided to take all of our stuff and visit the Summer Palace before left. It was a big mistake, I had to carry our 20kg carry on all the way up the summer palace hill and then through the sights to the subway and then finally sleep in the train. The Palace was quite impressive and beautiful its located on a hill next to a lake. It includes a more than 700m painted gallery, several temples, halls and other recreational buildings. The most impressive thing about the 2,2 square kilometer vast lake is that it is entirely man made! The soil used to excavate the lake was used to build the large hill on which the palace is build. As mentioned before these large and extensive builds just keep showing the power of the Chinese.

We enjoyed our time together; it was much needed after being apart from so long. After our trip to Beijing we had a few more days in Shanghai but then her time here in China also had to end.

Visitors

My mom, brother and later my girlfriend finally came to visit me in Shanghai! This was a relief because I missed them quite a bit! I managed to wait with visiting the main sights here in Shanghai because I knew I’d have to visit them with my mom, dad, brother and girlfriend. All of them would be picked up my mom and brother were first to visit. What pleased me the most was that I was finally able to show them some of the things I told them about such as; the pushing and pulling to get in the subways, the constant spitting on the street and the little corner shops and street food sellers. Let them experience a slice of my Shanghai that was my goal. I had such a wonderful time with them and was sad to see them go after only 8 days. During their stay I was extremely busy with the University. I had so much homework to do during their stay. I would wake up at 8 to travel around 45 minutes to their hotel which was located in the center of the city, People’s Square. We would then go sightseeing through the city and at the end of the day I would then take one of the last subways home. Arriving home at eleven at night I would study until 3 in the morning then quickly get some sleep and the next day again. It was quite exhausting but the only way to make the most of their stay while not affecting my school work.

Most memorable was also the scooter ride I took with my little brother to and from the university. Being only 15 years of age I let him ride my scooter through the busy streets of Shanghai which was quite a frightening experience, seeing as he had never before ridden a scooter! The other highlight that stands out over the rest was the Shanghai ERA Acrobatic Performance. A friend of mine had managed to get me amazing seats to the jaw dropping performance! I think they both also enjoyed our trip to Hangzhou where we cycled round the lake and got to enjoy the sights of West Lake. For them though, I think, the best were the trips to the various fake markets. Haggling with the shop owners and constantly being amazed by the vast variety of products available for next to nothing prices. They were so keen to make sure they had enough presents and gadgets that even on our way back to the airport we had to make a small detour to get the final things from the market! Thank you both again so much for coming!

With the first group of visitors out the door it was only two days later that finally my girlfriend came to visit me! Those two days were spent being extremely busy with homework because I did not want to do the same as I had done during the previous week. This was made even more difficult because another friend came who also wanted to spend time with me during those two days of rest. We went out every night even the night before my girlfriend would arrive! I came home at 4, it was carnival but it meant I had only two hours of sleep in for I had to be at the airport at 8 to pick her up. Luckily she was worn out from the flight so we had a relaxing first day.

With Joske, my girlfriend, it was pretty much the same routine; the Pudong Boulevard, the skyscrapers, East Nanjing Road, fake market, temples and restaurants, nothing was spared. Luckily she would stay more than two weeks so we had time to spread it out and avoid having such a hectic schedule. I was so pleased that I was able to show her where I lived and showing her what is beyond my living room wall, for this is all she saw when we would Skype. She got to meet my friends, join me in class to the university, and most importantly get a taste of Shanghai Nightlife. I’m sure the Crazy Vodka Party will not soon be forgotten!

To do something special together we decided to take go away for a few days, just the two of us, and visit the capital of China, but more on that in my next blog.

After returning from Inner Mongolia

After a tiresome but unforgettable week in Inner Mongolia, life in Shanghai could go on. This really is one of the most diverse places to live. I eat twice a week at our local Muslim restaurant. Freshly made noodles with vegetables and meat, however what kind of meat you are never quite sure, the only thing you know for sure is that it’s not pork! Other days you eat at the Park Hyatt, located on the 101^st floor of the highest building in Shanghai. These are just some of the large differences in standards Shanghai has to offer.

The city never sleeps and is never dull, that is one way to describe this place. You go to a house party of a friend of a friend and you meet a guy who works at the German Embassy. After a few beers he informs you about a German Conference that will be held the next day. With the promises of free beer and German sausage we head out. We end up that day at the garden Intercontinental Hotel in the Expo area of Shanghai. Surrounded by skyscrapers we stand in this beautifully decorated garden drinking Paulaner Weizen and having some traditional German sausages and sauerkraut. Mingling with German expats stationed here in Shanghai we have a wonderful night which off course ended with a large bus taking us to Zapatas a notorious Shanghai Expat club!

Inner Mongolia blog long overdue

Dear all,

I've been crazy busy the last month and don't know where to start. At the end of September I started of on my first trip. After heavy discussion, me and four of my friends decided to go to Inner Mongolia, which is located in the north of China. We did not go to Hainan or Macau or the Yellow mountains because these are traditionally the more tourist places and seeing as we were traveling in the 7 Day National Holiday we thought it would be wiser to avoid those places. So we left by plane with a company called China-SSS which in my personal opinion can be referred to from now on as China-Ass. I must mention it is the RyanAir of China but the trip was not pleasant. Throughout the flight someone was screaming nonstop through the microphone in Chinese, it turned out this was advertisement and the seats were smaller than anything I have ever experienced. I’m 1.85m and I could not sit straight and had to sit sideways to fit into those ‘for Chinese made’ seats. Just another way of experiencing Chine!

First Month in Shanghai,

Dear all,

We'll as some of you might know there has been a rather serious metro crash here in Shanghai. The line involved is Metro Line 10, which just so happens to be the line which all students of the university take to the uni everyday, seeing as it is the only line that stops at Jiaotong Station. Non of the exchange students were on the train during the impact. Yet some traveled just before!! So It gave them quite a fright and now everyone had to walk quite far or take a taxi to get to the uni. But all that aside I have survived my first month in Shanghai and what a city it is!

My first week in Shanghai

Dear all,

Now finally settled in my new

apartment in Xuhui District in Shanghai I can finally say I found my place. My Shanghai experience started off a little troubled. With me not knowing where to go from the airport, to getting a small double room with a disgusting bathroom, having to register in Chinese etc etc. So what happened?

I have arrived in Shanghai, China!

Dear all,

To start off with I'd like to give you some simple advice, if you ever want to study in China, learn the language!

I arrived in China on September 1^st, I did not know where I had to go and definitely not how to get there! Luckily I arrived at Shanghai International Airport at 7:00 in the morning local time so I would have the whole day to figure out what was what. All I knew was that I had supposedly got a room at the Minghang Campus of Shanghai Jiao Tong University. However it was not yet clear to me whether this Campus was actually just a different part or actually somewhere else in the city. It turned out to be the latter.