China, Shanghai - Walking Around the City

I got into Shanghai pretty late, but luckily the airport shuttle bus was still running. Armed with directions from the bus stop, I got to my hostel with no problems.

Once I got up the next morning, I asked the guy at the front desk how to get to the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center, but he had no idea what I was talking about. It was mentioned in the $45 travel guide I bought, I know, $45! and was definitely high on my things-to-do-while-in-China list.

After a brief Internet search, I found the address and had the receptionist write it down in Chinese so I could just hand it to the cab driver. And it’s a good thing I did, because it was not easy to find. It was in the basement some obscure apartment building complex. But it was well worth the hassle!

There was only one other visitor when I got there, and the curator was so excited I was American that he gave me a private tour of his impressive collection. He went through and read all the Chinese to me, and pointed out symbolism, paying extra close attention to the anti-American sentiments expressed.

His collection was rather remarkable. He had accumulated more than 3 decades worth of original posters, from 1949 – 1979. Each decade had a different theme. There were posters that expressed Chinese pride, and the sanctity of families. The images were of strapping young men working in the fields, or pretty women tending to the house. Some posters expressed specific government goals, like raising more pigs for fertilizer and the importance of birth control.

There were posters dedicated to communist brotherhood with Russians, North Koreans Cubans and Chinese, all embracing. Commentaries regarding the United States involvement with Russia were abundant, denouncing American Imperialism and greed. In fact, I don’t think I saw mention of America without the word ‘Imperialism’ next to it. And I just LOVED the portrayal of American soldiers, they looked like sea monsters! I bought a copy of ‘Children of New China’ because, well, first of all, it’s a classic! I mean seriously, just look at it!

I love that these chubby little babies have taken up arms against the Americans, who are sluggishly making their way to land. Each branch of the Chinese military is represented here, along with common citizens driving a tank and heaving an explosive of some sort. And the Americans are cowering before the ruthless Chinese babies. Classic!

I also bought a poster called ‘Resist U.S. and Support Korea to Save Neighbor and Ourselves.’ It features North Koreans destroying American advancement with nothing but their commanding presence. I love that the American is green and beastly, crippled before China’s might.

It was common for the U.S. to be represented with the dollar symbol. In one poster the Chinese were stomping on money while denouncing capitalism. There was another poster that featured a U.S. official breaking a stick of some sort over the back of an oppressed citizen. But don’t worry, there’s plenty of intolerance to go around. The British were symbolized with cigars, a homage to Winston Churchill, and the French were easily discernable by their big noses. There’s even a poster of children striking the Gang of Four with bayonets while dressed in traditional Chinese garments. Seriously awesome stuff.

It wasn’t until the 70’s that Mao was portrayed as the rising sun in the iconic images I have learned to associate with Red China. Even though Mao wasn’t featured until the 70’s, propaganda art started because of him. And there were heaps of illustrations with Mao, Stalin, Marx and some other bloke I’d never heard of, his name starts with an E. These images were huge too, they took up the entire wall sometimes.

The curator was glad I appreciated the anti-American attitudes expressed. He was definitely a fan of the Land of the Free, he had more pride in the U.S. than I will likely ever have. I’m not saying I don’t have American pride, I do, but this guy, well I’m surprised he didn’t have a tattoo of Ol’ Glory being shredded by a Bald Eagle on his chest. But then again, maybe he did, I never did see his chest. Hmm, note to self...

The other patron of the museum hopped on the exclusive tour I was given, but since he was Canadian, he didn’t much matter :) There were posters denouncing the Vietnam War, and posters of happy, prosperous Chinese families eating dinner together with a picture of Mao in the background. There were posters inspiring space travel and consumption of Chinese beer, a salute to heroic steel workers and developing a strong presence in the field of science. And even more posters I can’t right remember, but it was all very cool, and I definitely scored big with that North Korean poster I procured!

After this museum I tried to see the sight of the First Chinese Communist Party dedicated to the founders, I had a whole communist theme in mind for the day, but rush-hour traffic didn’t allow it. So instead I walked around the People’s Square. I have to admit that even though I carried my camera everywhere I went, I had long since grown to hate snapping a shot at this point. It tends to happen on the tail end these monster expeditions, and subsequently, I didn’t quite capture the feeling of Shanghai, or much of the city for that matter. But hey, give me a break! I took over 600 photos in 2 weeks!

So this year was the year of the Expo, and there was tons of hype over it. People at the hostel were talking about it, and I even met a few travellers who had mentioned it along the way. Basically, what it was a gigantic presentation on different countries and each country has a different set up. The outside of the structure was different and specially tailored. For example, Canada’s exhibit was a giant ‘C’ shaped building, rather uninspiring if you ask me, while China had opted for a more traditional oriental facade. These expos were situated at various places around the city and drew a great many people. I, however, thought the entire idea was more than silly, so I didn’t go. I mean, seriously? I went to a couple of country fairs in elementary school, and honestly, if I wanna learn more about a random country, I’ll just visit it thank you very much. Anyway, this is the mascot of the Expo, a ripped-off version of Gumby, only blue and modernized.

Anyway, back to my day. Along the way I ate some dumplings from a street vender that was oh-so good, and entirely likely it was from an animal I would have preferred not to eat. I stumbled across a movie theatre that was playing ‘Inception’ so I bought a ticket. I enjoyed the movie, and after it ended, I made my way to the subway station, only to watch the last train pass me by. It was 11pm and the subway was closed! SO STUPID! London does the same thing, and it drives me nuts!

Besides being annoyed, I was also in trouble. I hadn’t bothered to get the address of my hostel and had no idea how to get back. Fortunately I remembered the subway station it was near, so I told a taxi driver where I needed to go, and he quoted me a price that was much to high, so I kept on shopping until I got a reasonable rate.

So I told the guy, ‘Lumbard Station,’ assuming he knew where it was since he agreed to drive me there. As it turns out, Lumbard Station is not on Lumbard Road, which is where he took me. Luckily for me, I remembered one of the two roads I had to walk down to get to my hostel the night before. Unluckily for me, I had no idea what the cross street was called. And the only reason I remembered the name of the road was it reminded me of the Korean word for chicken, which is dak.

The cabbie dropped me off at a random intersection, and having no idea where I was or where I needed to go, I started my search for a hotel that would have a concierge and Internet access. No luck. The only business I found that was open was a massage joint, which made me wonder, what kind of massages are they giving at midnight on Thursday? I went in and asked the front desk if I could use the Internet. I should say, I completely get that not everyone speaks English. And that’s fine. But I think we can all agree that the word ‘internet’ is globally understood. The kid at the front desk called a few other kids into the lobby, who all gawked and pointed at me, and pretended not to know what I was asking. They kept saying ‘no Internet’ and wanted me to pay them to use the computer that was clearly online. I was so mad. Then they told me I needed to get a massage to use the Internet. I told them I’m lost, I just need the use the Internet for 3 minutes and I’ll go. Not only where they completely unhelpful, but they were rude and insolate too. So I stormed out of there angrier than I’ve been in a long time.

As I was walking away I thought of what I should have done, as what generally happens. But I was so irate that I turned on the spot and went right back inside. Now, I’m not entirely sure I’m doing myself any good by posting my next course of action on this little ol’ blog of mine, I don’t wanna jeopardize the cool-headed, wise traveller you may see as, but, well, I’m gonna. I went inside and they were all still standing there, laughing over my fate, and I asked, ‘Are you going to help me? Can I use your Internet?’ to which I got a resounding no. So I spat on the floor and shouted an explanative my aunt and uncle don’t need to read. And I walked out the door. And that was that!

Having successfully completed my very expressive form of protest, I was pumped with adrenalin. I briskly walked back to the random intersection the cab driver had dropped me off at, and for some reason, that moment, I recognize exactly where I was and knew how to get to my hostel! I had stood at that same crossroad for 15 minutes, and couldn’t place where I was, but for some unknown reason, my internal GPS system turned on, and I marched back to my hostel feeling confident and empowered!

The next day I walked along Nan Jing Road, which is uber posh and reminded me of Manhattan. It has been the main market for, like, 500 years, stimulating trade and the tremendous harbor just down the road. There were shops selling Cartier, and, gosh, I don’t know what else, but just looking through the window it was clearly above my limited budget. But it was fun all the same. There were flashing lights and gigantic signs that flashed different digital advertisements every few seconds and a wide assortment of American cuisine options. I tell you, it was good to eat me some Subway. It’s Mmmm Mmmm good. No wait, that’s Campbell’s soup.

I checked out the Bund, which is a riverside walk that features the noteworthy Shanghai skyline. It was a nice walk, but I’m not entirely sure why it’s feature at the top of every ‘must see’ list. But all the same, I haven’t seen a good skyline in, well, years; since I went to L.A. I guess. And the surrounding buildings reminded me of London and Big Ben.

I was on a mission to get some souvenirs, and as I mentioned, Nan Jing Road was way beyond my budget, so I kept on the lookout for some cheap markets with street vendors set up along the street. My reasoning was, street vendors probably don’t pay rent, so I could hopefully get some good bargaining done. Well, I walked and walked, and when I thought my feet just might fall off, I kept on walking, and what do you know? I found such a market. And it was CRAZY packed.

Which reminds me, I forgot to mention this unbelievable statistic. I’ve been to big cities, a few of them now, and let me tell you, on a whole, I’ve never experienced claustrophobia... until I came to Shanghai. So these figures could be completely off, it’s hard to know what source is legit and not, but when I compare Shanghai to other large cities I’ve visited, the numbers are staggering. New York City has an estimated 8 million people, and when you include surrounding areas like the Bronx and Brooklyn, that number goes up to 10 mil. London, which is so sprawl it takes hours to get from one in to the other, brings us to about 12 million people, Seoul is a whopping 14 million, and on any given day, there are 23 million people in Shanghai! This number, 23,000,000, includes commuters and tourists, without would be closer to 19 million. But I think we can all agree, that many people in one place, is, well, staggering. There were times when I honestly felt like I was crammed in the crowded subway carts careening below the city, it was so jam-packed!

At a certain point in my walk, the Chinese military came out from nowhere and were marching and directing traffic and showing all kinds of authority, though I never did find out why. Maybe it was a holiday thing, I dunno, but it definitely alarmed me to see the city teaming with such a strong military presence. Luckily there was no call for Americans to rush to the embassy, so I was relieved, but still, it wasn’t something necessarily revelled in.

Before I found the kind of market I was in search of, I was walking along Nan Jing Road and nearby side streets, keeping my eyes peeled all the while, when a man came up to me and said there were some cheaper stores around the corner he’d like to direct me to. Well, I was feeling a bit desperate and couldn’t believe I was having a hard time finding a store that sold magnets for crying out loud, so I reluctantly listened to him. I had heard of this particular service before, certain stores send out scouts to find unsuspecting tourists who fancy a knock-off Gucci bag, and they get a percentage of whatever the person buys. I, however, did not want a Gucci bag, but was definitely kicking myself for not buying memorabilia when I had the chance. So I follow this guy down a well-lit, crowded street, and he turns into a deserted dark alley. And I just stopped right there. He turned to see where I had gone, and once he saw me standing there, asked what’s wrong.

‘Well, you’re a strange man, that’s a dark alley, and I’m in a foreign country. I think this is where we part ways.’

He smiled at this and asked, ‘Would it help if I had a friend come along with us?’

‘Uh, no, I don’t think so, I would just be outnumbered. Thanks for your time though,’ and I headed down the familiar and indescribably safe-feeling road I had been walking down all day. Deal or not, it just seemed like the prudent thing to do.

Finally I bought all the trinkets I’d been putting off buying, and in the midst of all this last minute shopping, I accidentally left my ATM card in the ATM machine. Ugh! I didn’t realize this until many hours later with countless miles behind me, and since it was my Korean card, I couldn’t call the bank to cancel it because the English speaking line wasn’t open on the weekends. So I had to call my dad and have him put some money in my U.S. account and hope for the best. As it turned out, I was fine, so no worries. And at least this happened on the last day of my massive trip.

Speaking of money, the Chinese money is pretty cool:

With no money left, so to speak, and a flight back to Korea approaching soon, I spent my last few bucks on a subway ride back to my hostel and packed for my last leg of this journey. And boy, was it a marathon! I had a layover somewhere in China, I don’t remember the name of the city but I’m sure it had an ‘x’ and ‘ing’ in it, and upon arriving at the Seoul airport, I had to get to my friend Val’s house, which was an hour and a half away, and spend the night. I had long missed the last bus to Andong, so in all, it took me 37 hours to get from Shanghai to my apartment. Like I said, what a marathon!

Aside from a disastrous beginning and end, my trip to China was fantastic! I saw some really cool sights, got to check the Great Wall off my ‘things-to-see-before-old-age-riddles-my-body list’ and took some amazing images, if I do say so myself. If you read this entire China missive, wow! Props to you, and if you didn’t, well, the pictures are worth a gander. Thanks for sharing this extraordinary journey with me, the more the merrier I say!