Luckily, the aviation world is still very complicated. These complications sometimes can be an opportunity. This spring it was an opportunity to visit China again. After some magic with the airline booking system, a 3-day transfer in Shanghai was confirmed.
Writing this post almost 6 months after the trip, being in a somewhat messy state, I feel again this magnetic power of Asia. I am looking forward to visiting it again soon! It didn’t disappoint me a single time so far. And that is part of the reason I am circling back to the central part – languages.
But for now, I am remembering these thousands and thousands of steps I did during those days. It was worth it.
China is in a unique state now: it is pretty accessible, very modern, sometimes far beyond anything else in the world, but you can still find signs of tough years here and there.
My guide told me that this park is actually a square. But why a park then? He said that squares are usually places where people come to protest, and in China it is very easy to fill a square of any size. But there shouldn’t be protests. This would upset some people of power. That’s why there shouldn’t be a square in the square’s place. There should be a park. So, there is a park.
How many cameras and flags do you see?
Streets
In Shanghai and overall in China, you feel safe. Even with sometimes messy surroundings and naturally less friendly people than in Japan (nothing wrong with it, every culture is unique and that is its beauty!), you never feel even a sign of danger. Feel free to explore! There are so many fun, alive, and unique places to see.
These “bottle” and “opener” skyscrapers are hilarious though 😀
With the first signs of evening, all lights start filling the main streets. Food, snacks, drinks— everything is right here. Some are interesting to try. Some more traditional parts are still a bit too much for me.
Shapes and colors
Shanghai felt much different from Beijing. Colors are different, and shapes are too. Traditional roofs in Shanghai subjectively have longer corner tips and curve up. There are more flowers, naturally, as there is a very different climate.
These White Rabbits are my personal addiction. So good, so creamy. I would buy this huge candy without a doubt if I had more space in my luggage.
The most iconic view of Shanghai is actually the view of Pudong. Nowadays, it is a part of Shanghai, yes. But this is not quite the same. Long time ago, this part was “looser’s part“; there were a lot of poor neighborhoods, almost no businesses. And now this is what people call Shanghai before visiting it or getting to know what Pudong is.
It is worth sleeping well or taking advantage of jet lag to stay longer during the night here. Probably this is true for the whole of China, but Beijing was much colder, so Shanghai was more pleasant to be in late hours. So much color, so bright.
Here, looking at one of the most beautiful night city sceneries, I made a wish. This is one of the biggest and most important wishes I have ever made. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to know if it is succeeded until I visit Shanghai again. At some point, even just visiting the same place will contribute to a large part of this wish.
Back again
In Shanghai, I encourage every transport enthusiast and just curious person to go for the Transrapid train to Pudong airport. This is the only functioning commercial Maglev line in the world. Before the pandemic, the train was allowed to go even faster, but now it is “just” 300 kmh.
Insanely cool feeling when the train takes off from the rail and starts accelerating very quickly. Under the teal seat covers, the original German-made seats pattern reminds me of my destination. This is the same blue-with-white-dots pattern you see in S-bahns and some of the RE trains. I like to see such details making their way so far. A long night flight went faster than expected.
Echo 