New York city, where I have worked on almost a weekly basis over the last year, can be called nothing but small. After staying in a hotel like the one in Shanghai, surrounded on all sides by 50 story buildings as far as the eye could see, there is nothing to be said except that New York is small by comparison. I’ve also come to the conclusion that service is a lost commodity in North America. In business settings, we give such lip service to service being the driving force behind Western “success”, but I have to say that both service and growth pale in comparison to what I observed in Shanghai.

Why is this? If nothing else, it raises some interesting questions about western culture. On both the way over here and several times in Shanghai, I’ve had very interesting discussions with people regarding the recent elections and the morality (if I may call it that) of America. It raises some interesting thought lines. I believe that to a large degree, we have purposely discarded the Christian foundation on which both Canada and the United States were founded. We are on the path to becoming more and more like the European union, which purposely excluded all reference to God or Christianity in its constitution only a few weeks ago. The loss of this foundation, leads to a secularism exclusive of any Christian principles. It means that people do not want to see a Christian in the Whitehouse, nor do they want morals guiding the country. Individuals fight for their rights. They do not wish to be submissive to anyone, and certainly not one who is openly a God-fearing man.

What a contrast here in China! We tend to think of Tiananman Square only 15 short years ago, and maybe it isn’t all that far back. While here, we spent considerable time with our very genial and friendly hosts. They were more than a little hospitable with their description of local customs, sights and culture. However, when a single question about politics came up, they immediately averted their eyes and said quietly that they could not talk about that. There was no question in their mind that they were to be submissive to the government and not question its ultimate authority. But is this worse than our “progressive” society? We assume that certain “rights” belong to us and we can question any and all authority. It means that small things like service simply disappear. Why should we be subservient to someone else? It is little wonder to me that the mountain will be cast into the sea?

I had a very interesting discussion with two colleagues today about how the Lord must look down from heaven and be so grieved with how much we have “progressed”. We fight against terrorism around the world, while we fight for the “right” to kill 4000 unborn children each day in America. While our conversation was more on the lines of churches and division, the differences in culture just seemed to be accentuated in my mind. Service in business and family seem more of a reality in Chinese culture than in America.

Anyway, I know that to lapse into political commentary is not a profitable exercise. The Bible shows that things will only get worse. It just seemed striking to me that a communist culture could teach us so much.

To catch up a little on last night, I went to a restaurant which is considered to be “the” restaurant in Shanghai. It’s called the M on the Bund and was written up in the New York Times just a few weeks ago. I was disappointed in that the food was Western in taste, but the rhubarb crumble was more than worth coming back for. Actually … forget the food. The view from the restaurant was as spectacular as anything I have ever seen within a city. The restaurant was directly on the Bund with a rooftop patio that looked directly across at the Pearl Tower and the Jinmai building. It was SPECTACULAR. There was no other words to describe it.

One of the more interesting things of note were the hundreds to thousands of barges, freightors, and local Chinese boats that somehow managed to keep from ramming each other as a traffic jam of water traffic flowed both ways through the canal. They ranged from being lit up like a Christmas tree, to no lights at all. It was truly a mix of old and new.

Speaking with locals, they said that Shanghai was changing so rapidly that it seemed completely different from month to month. They showed me a building which was designated as the highest building in the city only 16 years ago. By comparison to the hundreds (and I don’t use that word lightly) of buildings / skyscrapers that I could see all over the place, it was tiny. The growth is exponential. In fact, it has been so explosive, that the Chinese government is restricting incoming investment dollars to slow the economy. While it may profit some, I read in the newspaper that the average salary of a Shanghainese person was $USD 2500. The funny thing is that the pace of life seemed slower and general happiness higher than America. All very interesting to observe. Smile!

So I’ve spent the day wondering about Shanghai, and I have some tips for you…

On what to visit

There is absolutely no question on this. I spent most of the day visiting many of the major attractions including the People’s Park, Jinmao Tower, the Huaihai shopping district, Taiking Plaza, MaoMing road, Jing’an Temple, Nanjing Road and a million other places. If you only have one day to do the city, head for the Old City. I only spent about 2 hours wandering through the Old City streets, but you could easily spend a week. It is absolutely everything and more that you would expect of “old” China. A cacophany of sounds, smells and visuals assail you from start to finish. Looking up, every square foot of view is blocked with clothesline criss-crossing the street as high as the buildings. Below, you can buy everything, and I mean everything, from the small shops. If you could imagine every food from fish to dog to pigeon to vegetables and fruit, you would pretty much have it. Buying from meat shops that hang the meat like these places was a little more than I could handle, but I did find some absolutely incredible little booths with pancake-like breads. One place to go? Old City. Don’t miss it.

On how to get there

You’re going to be walking a lot, so you better be prepared with the right shoes. Oh wait, walking … You’re going to need some tips about the rules of walking here. If you’re standing at an intersection about to cross and you hear a whistle, throw yourself backwards, you’re about to be run over by about 100 bicycles, mopeds and scooters. That whistle would be the traffic assistant. They let you know when you should stop by whistling. They let you know you should go by whistling. In fact, it might be better to ignore the whistle. If you’re standing at a crosswalk and the light shows “Stop”, you better obey, you’re about to be run over by about 100 bicycles, mopeds and scooters. If you’re standing at the crosswalk and the light shows “Walk”, throw yourself backward, you’re about to be run over by about 100 bicycles, mopeds and scooters. If you’re walking down the sidewalk, and you hear the sound of a motor, throw yourself against a tree, you’re about to be run over by about 100 bicycles, mopeds and scooters. I’m pretty sure the safest method of getting from point A to point B is to take a helicopter.

On prices to pay

When you get up in the morning, you could be like me and walk into the bank, put your ATM card into the machine, and have absolutely no idea how many dollars (Juan) you should be taking out. Instead, you cancel your transaction, walk next door, look at a small piece of jewelry, estimate what it’s worth, and head back to the bank knowing that you need X amount of dollars. Or, alternatively, you could do what I didn’t do, and check ahead of time and know the appropriate amount to withdraw. Having this in mind, don’t do an equal comparison of prices from US to Chinese dollars when you’re shopping. They might tell you that the orange is worth 15 Juan, but the person after you is only going to pay one. Everything is negotiable.

On languages to speak

Actually, english will be suffient. In fact, every individual on the road knows perfect english and is most eager to try it out on you. “Clothing, Watches, DVDs? Clothes, Watches, DVDs? Very good.” Everyone knows it. You should have no problems here. And you know what? You can get Omegas and Rolex watches for less than $5. The prices are truly incredible.

On understanding what people do

I’m pretty sure that every man over the age of 65 is sitting in the park playing cards or some board game. I wanted to get pictures of them, but I feel kind of weird taking pictures of people in their “everyday” life, so I didn’t take many at all. All mothers, grandmothers and children under five can be found in the Old City markets. If you close your eyes and listen carefully, you might even be able to hear them bickering and haggling over prices. (That’s just for the deaf people, I don’t think the rest of us should have any problems.) From here, job descriptions split. There are the tens of thousands of “traffic assistants” (which assist the traffic in helping run over pedestrians) and city jobs of everything from mopping sidewalks to scrubbing light poles. (I’m not kidding, I saw both today.) How many men does it take to plant a single bush? Well, it took the 12 men I saw today at least 20 minutes to get the job done. One man to direct 10 other men how to smoke, and one man to actually plant the bush. There is no question that this is a communist country. But then the road splits because there is a high-powered section of town that seems to be business and banking. It’s still not Boston. The pace of life seems to be slower.

On foods to eat

Go with the locals. The food will come and come and come. Dishes and dishes of “things” that you have no idea what it is. And it’s like a tap, except you can’t turn it off. Hairy crab soup. Hot & sour soup. Squid. Hairy crab. Fried eel. Non-fried eel. Shrimp. Prawns. Abalones. Mandarin fish. Fish that you have no idea what it is. More fish. Beef. Wrapped beef things. Tofu. Bean curd strips. Beans. Cucumbers. Mushrooms. Local spinich-type stuff. Ummm … and those are just the things I could tell what they were. That was just supper tonight. You just need to be in for the adventure. And drink lots of tea. They say that helps. I’m not sure about that, but the way they pour it is really cool. They hold the pot about two feed back from the cup and with a long, thin spout it shoots straight forward about 24 inches and lands in the cup without spilling a drop.

On what I plan to do now

Go to bed! Smile.

Nee how! So I figure that I have stayed in a LOT of hotels over the last 5 years. You can pretty much figure that I’ve stayed in one of the nicer hotels in every American city as well as some very expensive places in Great Britain, Germany, France and Brazil. If you asked me yesterday, what was the nicest hotel that I’ve stayed in, it would definitely have been one that I’ve been to in downtown San Francisco. That’s all changed. Count that out. There is no way that I’ve ever stayed in a hotel as nice as this Marriott in downtown Shanghai (which I’m writing from at the moment). To adequately describe the service, the view and the room would pretty much be impossible, but I can try. When I first pulled up to the hotel in the private car they had waiting for me at the airport (with my co-worker), there were two people there on the curb to meet us. One of the girls immediately came up to me with a “Mr Allan, please?” From there, the personalized service did not stop with no less than two people attending to me the whole way until I was in my room with my luggage (no going to the front desk – that was all pre-arranged or something – will I have to pay?) and had a full meal and dessert sitting beside me. I have never experienced service like this. One disconcerting thing is when you have these people coming right into your hotel room with you, wanting to know if there is anything they can get me. It wasn’t in a bad way, just unnerving from a personal space perspective to have this attendant there.

Seeing as my room is on the 51st floor, there can hardly be, but an incredible view so I won’t get into that. I’ll just take some pictures and put them on the site when I get back.

Lastly, the room is beyond all other rooms. There is a towel that I used after my shower this morning (we’re +8 in timezone so it’s now Monday morning while it’s Lord’s Day night back home) that barely brushed the ground when I held one end up as high as I could. I’m sure it was 8’x4′ and a bullet could not have penetrated. Then ignore that for a second and move to the shower where there is 6, yes 6, shower heads pouring water on you from above and all around. Consider for a moment that two full walls of the hotel room (corner room) are fully open to see the city, and that includes the bathroom. (Being on such a high floor means that no one can see in.) Move outside the bathroom for a moment to a room full of soft lighting, four real bonzai trees, and piles of fresh fruit and water. Opening the closet, you will find the most luxurious bath robe, slippers, and accessories that I have ever witnessed. I’m sorry! It’s really hard to even hold any others up to this one. And did I mention the view …

So all this after landing in Shanghai last night at 20:30. Even after being up 26 straight hours, I wasn’t that tired and browsed a very “happening” street called MaoMing road. Very upscale, interesting and vibrant. I never really get hit with the jetlag much if I force long days like that, sleep when it’s dark and get up at normal time (08:00 this morning). Well, I’m out to do some exploring today and then some good dining tonight. Does all this sound fun? It is. But I miss Heidi and Newborn 1.0 terribly. Smile all!