(Upbeat Chinese Music plays)
So day one here in Shanghai, it's a little
chilly, about 40 degrees or so.
This is the view from my hostel.
You can kind of see more of the older part of the city here, and you can see way in the
back is where I'm going today: The Pearl Tower.
I got to say the best thing about my hostel is it's about a two minute walk from the subway.
So I walk out of my building, take a right, take another right, and the subway is right there.
To ride the subways in Shanghai, you'll have to purchase either a daily or unlimited card
and load it up with value.
After that, you'll swipe in and swipe out each time you take a ride.
Not only is everything written in both Chinese and English, but the announcements are made
in both languages as well.
So I'm here outside of the Pearl Tower which goes up 351m.
I got my ticket right here, should be about 3 hours to get up, so lets take a ride.
From the top of the Pearl Oriental Tower, you'll get an amazing view of Shanghai.
From this bird's eye view, you can see just how quickly Shanghai has grown in just 30 years
In 1990 the population was 9 million residents, and in less than three decades the city's
population has exploded, it's tripled to nearly 27 million people, making it the fastest growing
city in the world.
You'll get an up close and personal view of Shanghai's three tallest buildings: The Shanghai
World Financial Center, The Jin Mao Tower, and the Shanghai Tower.
All three are the size of the Empire State Building or World Trade Center, they're huge.
One of the best features of the Oriental Pearl Tower is the level with transparent floors.
It's a little nerve racking, but you got to try it.
They also have this 3D video dedicated to the future of Shanghai with floating buildings
and crazy highways straight out of a science fiction movie.
So I just checked out the Pearl Oriental Tower.
I got to say it's my favorite thing here in Shanghai so far.
Being here and seeing this city from up high you can just see how far the city has come
in just 30 years.
When you walk around The Bund you realize what an international city Shanghai has become.
The towering buildings go on and on and on.
At this point I'm just waiting for it to get dark so I can see the buildings light up,
but I got to say, this is... this is amazing.
Just checked out the Shanghai Museum.
There is over a million pieces in the museum.
A lot of old ceramics, furniture, clothing.
If you're going to take the subway here, I definitely recommend taking the subway to the People's Square.
From there it's about a 5 minute walk and not too far is Nanjing Road which is where I'm heading next.
So I'm here in one of the most bustling parts of Shanghai called Nanjing Road.
This is one of the main shopping districts here in Shanghai.
Some of the malls here are crazy, they rival the size of King of Prussia or anything of that size
I mean they even have their own M&M store so...
Right now I'm walking down East Nanjing Road, as you can see it's a lot different at night,
it's all lit up.
I'm heading down to The Bund.
From here it's about a 10 minute walk to the water, I think everyone is heading to the same direction.
Everyone wants to see The Bund lit up at night, and who can blame them?
It's a beautifu l sight.
(Violin plays)
So one thing you have to watch out for when
you're crossing the street is people on scooters.
Just because it's a red light does not mean they are going to stop.
I almost learned that the hard way so...
(Violin plays)
I'm here along The Bund, seeing it all lit
up is a totally different experience than seeing it during the day.
One thing that I was a little surprised about is how oddly familiar everything in this city is.
If the signs weren't in Chinese I might think I was in New York City some places.
I'm starting my day by checking out Yu Yuan, also known as Yu Garden.
This spot was strongly recommended by my friend who's lived in Shanghai for four years, and
afterwards we're going to grab some of the best Xiao Long Bao in the city.
I was in China during the Chinese New Year or Spring Festival which is the largest human migration in the world.
Every year 1.4 billion people travel home to see family for two weeks just like we do for Christmas or New Years.
So I'm here at Yu Yuan or Yu Garden, a 5 acre garden that was created under the Ming Dynasty.
This was created for the political elite to kick back and relax, cause you know being
the emperor is stressful.
Yu Yuan offers some really cool walk-ways, and they have these ponds filled with coy-fish.
So I just ordered some Xiao Long Bao.
Just outside of Yu Garden you'll find some amazing Xiao Long Bao or Soup Dumplings.
Be careful when taking a bite, otherwise you might get sprayed in the face with a little hot liquid.
You can either take a bite and suck out the liquid, or you can do what I like to do which
is just pop the whole thing in your mouth.
Mmmmm.
That is really good.
Haha.
That is really, really good.
(Chinese music plays)
Shei Shei (thank you)
So I just had some Guan Tang Bao, the way you eat them is either a straw.
The liquid inside is very hot and at the bottom there is usually pork or some meat.
(Chinese music continues)
So I just saw the China Art Museum and I got to say, it is not for anyone who has a fear of heights.
You go up these big steps and then the elevators keep going up and up and up.
Very cool, definitely check it out.
China Art Museum.
After the museum, I met up with some friends that were living in Shanghai.
Nick is actually living with his wife Zahra here in Shanghai.
They've been here for about 6 month?
Nick: Six months now, we came here actually in August.
Just jumped on a plane from New York.
Knew little.
Didn't know where we were going to live, didn't know anything about our apartment, and came over and relocated.
Today we are in beautiful Tianzifang.
Tianzifang is about a block away from our home, it's right in downtown city center Shanghai.
It's kind of like a little touristy spot with a bunch of boutique shops.
Zahra: It looks like real food, I think it's adorable.
Nick: You can literally get anything that you want manufactured here.
Companies will make contact with China.
Bring it over here, find a factory.
They can bust out a quick prototype incredibly fast.
Robbie: What is that?
Zahra: I think it's a fake Chinese passport.
Oh, this is amazing!
These are dumplings of every animal you can think of.
They're so cute.
Pigs and penguins and ducks and...
I think this is like Spongebob?
Bears.
Robbie: Later in the night, Nick and Zahra took me to an awesome hookah bar where we
discussed living in Shanghai and working as teachers in the city.
Zahra: And I thought I was going to feel like a freak when I came here.
I often, won't see another person of color... and what I mean is African heritage for weeks at a time.
It'll be like two weeks before I see somebody that looks like me.
And I thought that would make me feel really uncomfortable and feel like a freak, and I
really don't.
Concepts of beauty vary from country to country, in America I get made fun of because I'm so pale
Someone asked my friend if they would... like she had to hold their baby and they took a picture of her and their baby.
Robbie: A lot of parents will do that, they want a picture of their kid with a foreigner.
Zahra: You are more of like a celebrity here.
Nick: Check your privilege Rob! haha.
Zahra: And no one has done that to me, and no one does it to Nick because they think Nick is Chinese.
So...
Robbie: They have a lot of these international teaching programs
Nick: It's very different these two languages, Chinese and English, they're so different. It's difficult to get some of the tones so they'll hire a native speaker so they can
learn a native cadence and pronunciation. They learn grammar better than us.
Zahra: I get so many offers for private tutoring, like people want me to tutor their kids privately,
that I can't even take all of them.
They want their kids to be competitive in the global economy.
They often set you up with housing.
That was honestly one of the selling points, like okay, you're going to move to a foreign
country, and I don't need to pay rent and I have a job, and I don't need to worry about
finding a house in this massive city.
That's really scary.
Robbie: For my last day in Shanghai, I hopped on a public bus and worked my way to the water
town of Zhujuiajiao.
Oh man, what a great way to end my trip here in Shanghai.
Made a new friend today, his name is Kenny.
Kenny has probably had one of the most interesting lives that I've ever heard.
He's lived in London.
Kenny: Yes, in Hong Kong, in England, in France, in US, in ugh...
Australia, New Zealand.
Robbie: So do you have a favorite place, out of all the places you've been?
Kenny: Actually...
New Zealand.
Queenstown.That's the most beautiful town I ever imagine.
Okay?
Every now and again I still think about it, when I am tired, when I'm exhausted, when
I am down, I think about it.
I want to always go back.
Robbie: Do you watch The Lord of the Rings?
Showed me around the town a little bit.
Totally took me back to riding the gondolas in Venice.
This part of town is really cool, you really get a sense of what Shanghai used to look like
and a lot of that history a has been a little bit swept away with the building
of all the new sky scrappers and things.
Kenny: Life is like history, it's like a movie, okay... when I look for it now.
I'm 62 years old, and I think the most important is, to do things you feel most comfortable
and to be with people you most... ugh... you feel most
Robbie: At home with?
Kenny: Yes!
And then ugh... that's it.
Nothing, nothing is more important... then the people you love, the people you care, that's it.
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