Shanghai

How do you describe a city with a population of over 17.11 million and a population density of 2,116 people per square kilometer (China Daily 2003)? Big.

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to take a day trip to Shanghai with my Chinese teacher and four classmates. We took an early train from the Hangzhou City Train Depot and arrived in Shanghai just after nine. By far, the train is the most convenient and safe mode of transportation in and out of the city. In just 70 minutes, we arrived at the South Train Depot with immediate access to Shanghai's immaculate modern metro system.

First on our agenda included a private tour of a violin factory. Our Chinese teacher is good friends with a manager of a local violin company and the two of them were able to arrange a tour. When I heard that our class would be going to a violin factory, the first thought that came to my mind was a large warehouse with scurrying workers and noisy machines. However, this factory not anything like that, instead it was a small classroom-size room with 5 craftsmen coaxing maple into beautiful musical instruments. The subtle skill of the violin makers was enough to keep me there all day, watching them shave the wood until it was whittled to their approval.

With a short taxi ride the nearest metro, we hopped back on the subway and made our way to Shanghai's "Times Square." Unlike Times Square though, there is only foot traffic. Duolun Lu Cultural Street 多论路文化名人街 is a wide brick-paved street lined with big name stores and restaurants. They aren't just the big Chinese names either, Duolun Lu Cultural Street is very international, you can find just about anything you have a hankering for. Since we were hungry at the time, we found a fine Chinese restaurant on the 8th floor and dined on Beijing roast duck.

By this time, the day was waning fast, but we managed to fit a couple of more sights into the day. First we went to the Yuyuan Gardens, the dwelling place of the Pan family in the Ming Dynasty era. Then we caught cabs to the Bund, the waterfront with a view of the Shanghai skyline and the historical place of foreign development. Finally, we took a stroll down "history lane," a road with remaining old architecture and plaques about famous intellects of Shanghai.

Fighting late afternoon traffic, we managed to catch our train back to Hangzhou with only minutes to spare. Once in my seat, I quickly fell fast asleep. Shanghai really is big.