The Town That Time Forgot

Today, on the way home from the Chinese New Year performances at the children's school (additional blog to follow), Brennan referred to the village we pass through, right outside of the school gates, as "the town that time forgot." I have written about this town before, how poor it is, and the contrast between it, and the high tech American school down the street. This statement made me start thinking about other things in Shanghai, and how they compare to what we see in the United States.

The cargo trucks which we see on the streets of this city everyday, look like they drove right out of the 1950's. Whether they are that old or not, I do not know, but the design, at least, does not appear to have changed since then, and they all look very weathered. The taxis all seem to be '80's style VW's.  Run down and stinky. Painted in crazy colors, like "aquafresh" green. 

Most of the time, the locals here do not wear bike/scooter/motorcycle helmets, but if they have taken the time to don headgear, it appears to have popped right out of a Godzilla movie, or maybe Hogan's Heroes, and is usually not secured to their head. Here it is very common to see an entire family (usually one man, woman and child) riding into town, to school, etc, on the same bike. Baby or child sandwiched in between mom and dad. Or couples, man in the drivers seat, women riding side saddle on a board attached over the back wheel.

Outside the gates of our compound, they are building new housing. The crane they are using, appears to be a hand-me-down, passed on from generation to generation for the last 40 years. Some of the materials they are using look like they have also seen better days. Rusted metal bars, broken bricks. These will all be concealed in a thick layer of cement. In China, the bricks go on the inside of the structure, never meant to be seen by the eye, unless the building is going up, or coming down. 

In Shanghai, there are no drive-thru restaurants. Take out, actually requires getting out of the car (unless of course, you order Sherpas, like we do, and have it delivered to your door), and your food cannot be paid for with a credit card. Regulations on food, such as milk, eggs, and meat are just recently starting to catch up with western countries. Fresh fruit and vegetables are sold off of trucks and carts parked throughout the city. Many locals buy their food on a day by day basis, as not everyone has a refrigerator.

This "lost in time" theory, can also be very charming, though. In China, you can walk around the corner from a five star hotel, and feel like you have just time travelled to a quaint 1940's Chinese village. A place where things are simplified from the hustle and bustle of today's world. Where neighbors sit and chat outside for hours at a time, while they shuck corn, or snap green beans. Above their heads, their laundry is hanging on a line to dry.  

Shanghai is, at the same time, very modern. Here, there is a five story science museum, which is like none I have ever seen before. There is a Maglev train. There are Ferraris and Porsches. Starbucks is everywhere. Five star hotels, five star restaurants, upscale malls, countless expat compounds, International schools, and western companies. Disney is very close to a deal with the Chinese government, to build its largest park in the world here. They are on their way to a third and fourth terminal at the airport. They have recently opened a cruise ship port. The soccer events for the Olympics were here last year, and in 2010, they will hold World Expo in Shanghai. 

I guess these things are what keep Shanghai so completely engaging to me. I never get tired of watching out the window as we travel the streets of the city, as I will always see something I have never noticed or seen before, or something that I expect I will never see again.