When we visited Shanghai in the mid-1980s, we walked along the Bund on a Sunday morning and were
literally surrounded by dense crowds of hundreds of curious but mostly-smiling Chinese who wanted to
look at us, talk to us in their minimal English and actually reach out and physically touch us. My
wife and I were the first live Caucasians they had ever seen. Parents carried their
one-child-per-couple proudly and the tots were gloriously dressed in multi-colored outfits. These
"only" children were visibly worshipped by their beaming parents. We also had a fabulous boat trip
on the Yangtze River, much of which was endlessly lined with obviously polluting light. medium and
heavy industry. We also visited the Great Wall before there were any tourist accommodations there.
We were taken to the Great Wall in a Toyota van that bounced and shuddered all the way from Beijing
to the Great Wall over a two lane, largely broken concrete and sometimes gravel road. We passed lots
of pedestrians, a number of one-lung gas-powered two wheel carts and some bicycles. The public
toilets at the Wall ( as in many places) were still pit toilets.
In Beijing, all the boulevards and streets were crowded with thousands upon thousands of bicycles
and very, very few motor vehicles ... a few trucks and the occasional military or government car.
The bikes bunched up by the hundreds at major street intersection traffic lights and in one big
mass, accelerated away from a dead stop the second the traffic policeman on an elevated platform
gave the signal. Our (mandatory) guide, a government employee who was head of the Beijing tourist
office, rode his bike 18 or 20 miles each day to work and home again, weather notwithstanding. And
Beijing's climate is very similar to the northeastern U.S.
The Bund looked like a movie set right out of 1930's Cleveland, Ohio. (Yes, I do know what "old
Cleveland" looked like. I lived in Ohio for 15 years, commencing with college in 1946 and worked for
the Cleveland Press from 1956-61. )
Each morning for three straight days, we were driven to the tiny, antiquated Shanghai Airport at
excruciatingly slow speeds through streets crowded from edge to edge with pedestrians and bicycles,
the driver steadily honking his horn every few seconds in a hopeless attempt to clear the way. The
first two days we were told that the flight to Xian had been cancelled and we were returned to our
hotel in Shanghai, where we continued to enjoy the sights until the next day. Finally, on the third
day we took off for Xian in a very old, tired, noisy medium-size Russian-built commercial aircraft.
No one ever told us "why" the delays.
--
Gator Bob Siegel EasyRacers Ti Rush
"Al Kubeluis" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
Quoted message said:Yo Bikers, Friend of mine is in China and sent following.
Quoted message said:Except for Yao Ming, I am the tallest person here. There are some foreigners but only in the
tourist area near the Bund in the Nanking shopping district here in Shanghai. We are 13 hours
ahead of you so I
right
Quoted message said:this on Sunday morning while it is Saturday night there. It is a city of contrasts. Some mornings
it is so foggy and smoggy that I can't see
beyond
Quoted message said:1/2 mile. Other days, I can see for miles.
As we have driven around, I have seen the Shanghai of the 50s and 60s and the Shanghai of today.
In the old days, everyone's dream was to have a basic apartment, a bicycle, a radio, fan, etc.
Over the last 7 years the city has undergone a construction boom and the area around Pudong across
from the Bund is ultra modern skyscrapers with modern architecture. It is truly incredible unlike
any I have seen in the U.S. In this area, the
dream
Quoted message said:is to own a modern condo, with a car (lots of Volkswagen and Buick), big screen TV, air
conditioning etc. You see both in the city. Every road
has
Quoted message said:a huge bike lane and people use it. There are cars as well. There are 6 million bicycles in
Shanghai.
Food, people, everything is different and interesting. People are
friendly,
Quoted message said:helpful and curious. China has the financial leverage and low labor rates capable of making it the
next great economic power. I have truly enjoyed this week even though all of it has been work.
Should go to tea gardens today if time permits.
There weather has been so bad that I wasn't able to get good pictures yesterday and Sunday looks
similar. I will try to get postcards or a picture book.
Jim
