China, 2010

One of the things I love about the Chinese is that they value the artistic side of life. And not just paintings and sculptures. They see art in nature. For example, in many temples and palaces, they will simply frame a slab of marble stone with a beautiful pattern, or erect an interesting stone formation as a sculpture, or even just create a window frame with a view onto a tree or garden.

It is Sunday, my last ‘free’ day before my workshop tomorrow. Last night, it was good to get off the campus and into the city. The underground is excellent – very clear and simple, with constant updates. The trains have electronic maps of the tube lines, where a flashing red dot and a green arrow tell you exactly where you are and the direction you are travelling. And it is ‘cheap as chips’ – about 20p to travel anywhere in the city. Even the taxis are cheap – about £5 to go from the centre to the outskirts of the city (and Beijing is bigger than London).

Having said that, I have been very content here in Beijing and I could easily spend a month here, just writing, walking around the lakes and parks and occasionally heading into the city for a change of scenery. There are some amazing buildings downtown, many of which were built in preparation for the 2008 Olympics. From what I can gather, the Olympics had a dramatic positive effect, not only in improving infrastructure and public transport, but also in reducing pollution and opening up to Western ideas.

Tomorrow night, I take the overnight train to Shanghai, sharing a compartment of 4. It is a bit strange to be sleeping in a ‘room’ with strangers, but I am looking forward to it. It brings back memories of the two day train my sister and I took a few times from Cape Town to Bulawayo. There is something wonderful about watching the world speeding by outside the window, having time to read, falling asleep to the clickety-clack gentle sway of the train and being woken with a cup of tea by the train stewards. I don’t think this journey will be quite the same, but it should be interesting nevertheless.

I have just arrived in Shanghai, around 8 am, and headed for the KFC near the station to get a coffee and donut. The coffee is nothing like coffee, even by my low standards, but it’s hot. The donut is delicious – a bit like Churros. The train journey was great – such a wonderful sensation being rocked to half-sleep. I shared the cabin with a family – a grandmother and two granddaughters, I’m guessing. The grandmother had this amazing exercise routine when she got up – very gentle, like slow-speed aerobics, or swaying yoga. No wonder she looked so healthy.

Today, I will probably just make my way to the hotel – a few more train hops away – and then prepare for my talk tonight at the China-Europe International Business School (CEIBS). Tomorrow, I will head into the city to see what I can of the World Expo 2010, although I have been warned that most exhibits have very long queues.

My time in Shanghai and China has been all too brief. There is so much to see and explore that I expect I will keep coming back for the rest of my life, especially given my interest and affinity for the culture.

Of course, Shanghai is not only ancient but rapidly turning into one of the most modern cities in the world. Some people say it lacks soul and that it is too commercial – all brands and no substance. But I like it – it’s vibrant and constantly changing.

The Expo was just a glimpse into what is possible in this city now. There were some fabulous buildings and exhibits, even though I only saw about a quarter of the Expo site. It is probably no coincidence that the quietest pavilions were the eco-design ones, while the oil and Cisco (technology) displays were among the most popular. Some, like the China and Saudi pavilions had 7 hour queues! I’m not sure any exhibit is worth such a long wait, but it just shows the excitement and thirst for new experiences among the Chinese. The Expo is getting 500,000 people a day!