We Say Farewell to Shanghai, But Not to Our Memories

We've been back home in Minnesota for several days now, so we should wrap up this blog.  Perhaps we're just mostly back; our sleeping schedules are still a little out of touch with the local clocks, and part of us is still at times in Shanghai.  Fortunately our early days back have featured cool temperatures, blue skies, billowing white clouds, and a few late Juneberries to pick in our backyard.

On our way to Shanghai we had a layover in Seattle.  At our boarding gate there was a large painted window high above us, perhaps 20 feet wide.  I took it to depict a couple happily cuddling, while dreaming of rivers and skies and stars and adventures to come.  And we did find adventures in Shanghai, some small, others larger, with friendly and helpful local people.  We often ate well, enjoyed wandering down new streets, and learned more about the ways of life in the (very) big city.  And more of the changes in Chinese life in the past generation or so.

Of course, a key part of Barbara's experience was spent with local people who were taking her class (she's the one in pink in the photo to the left).  This added to her teaching experiences in Hong Kong and Guangzhou last year, and to her understanding of the ways in which Chinese folks experience emotion and movement in ways she's found are different than the American students she works with in the Twin Cities.  I (Bruce) enjoyed brief chats and greetings with her students when I would meet her at her dance studio at the end of her (long) teaching day (around 6:00/6:30), but of course didn't get to know them as Barbara did.

On the other hand, my free time while Barbara was in class allowed me to explore Shanghai, often pleasantly surprised with what I might stumble upon.  One day I stopped in at the Shanghai Confucian Temple, which is the only one in the city which historically combined a temple in honor of the teacher/philosopher with an actual school.  The photo to the right is the statue which honors Confucius; there were no pillows on which to kneel by those who come to pray or worship (as for example in Buddhist temples), nor offerings, and I wasn't clear whether Confucius is sometimes worshipped or primarily venerated.  But, as a retired professor, I liked the idea of honoring someone regarded as a great teacher and philosopher.

At the temple I spent about an hour learning from a current university senior, doing a sort of work-study or internship by teaching visitors to the temple about tea.  There's an art and a ceremonial aspect to tea-drinking, including the way in which the tea (drunk in very small cups) changes flavor and aroma as each successive amount of hot water is added to the tea leaves or flowers (one might add water as many as eight times, whereas in the U.S. I usually assume that using a tea bag more than twice would be pointless).

Part of the connection with Confucius is that tea is also medicinal, and my young teacher explained which particular benefits tea provides as one reaches different ages--30, 40, 50, and so on.  At times, at a particular age, a person might need a boost for their digestive functions; at other times, for their energy; at still others for their thinking, or their sexual desire.  There's a special mix of teas for each decade, which evidently tops out at 70 (perhaps another reason why museum discounts in China begin at 70 rather than, say, 65?).  My teacher, it turned out, was studying to be a Mandarin-Spanish translator, and so we were actually able to exchange a few words in Spanish as well as English, to our mutual surprise.  An enjoyable experience (in part, probably, because I do still miss my own students).

A broad theme in our time in Shanghai was the ways in which the city (but also the country as a whole) has changed so dramatically in the past several generations.  We could see this in the Shanghai History Museum (located, perhaps ironically, underneath the very modern Oriental Pearl tower in Pudong).  Part of the story told there has to do with the political and economic changes which, particularly in Shanghai, were brought as part of the semi-colonial presence of the French, Germans, British, and Americans beginning in the middle of the 19th century.

But we could also see evidence of change in gender and family patterns.  For example, the photo to the right is of a traditional (but particularly elaborate) wedding chair in which a bride would be carried to her ceremony.  This one, for a more wealthy family, took ten years to put together, and illustrates hopes for a hundred sons to be born as a result of the marriage--a little unrealistic, surely, but important in dramatically illustrating the purpose of marriage, and the importance of having sons in a more male-oriented society.  Echoes of this desire for sons would later shape the outcome of China's "one-child" policy (adopted in 1979, and only recently lifted), when families limited to having only one son or daughter would, by various means (including sex-selective abortion once modern ultrasounds were available), do what they could to be sure that that one child was a boy.  Today, there are probably over 30 million boys and younger men who will not have a woman to marry, something of concern to Chinese authorities as well as to the men.

In the photo on the left, we see another history museum exhibit, recreating a shoe store window on the Bund (the main shopping area) in the early 20th century.  The slippers or shoes above show the fine handwork and embroidery desired for women's shoes (for women not doing heavy labor), but we also see two small, pointed pairs of shoes for women with "bound feet."  Girls whose feet had been (painfully) broken and kept small with tight wrappings and small  shoes were believed to be more beautiful, more desirable, and easier to arrange a good marriage for.  This practice was in fact already dying out by the early 20th century, but this (and other customs like the possibility of child marriage, and concubinage) were part of what attracted women's support for social change, one "plank" of Mao's platform for communist revolution and transformation ("women hold up half the sky").  Today, at least for educated urban women, the possibilities for women's lives have changed dramatically in the early 21st century--even though men still dominate most of the political decision-making at the higher levels.  Some of those young women (and young men) now do their college work outside China, including many American colleges and universities (including the one from which I recently retired).

Alongside changes in family life and gender roles, other changes have been at least as momentous: China has become a predominantly urban society in recent years, a dramatic change in just a few generations from a society which was largely rural, small-town, and agricultural until the late 20th century.  Related to this, China has lifted a strikingly large share of its population out of the poverty from which they suffered within living memory.  The comparison in both these areas with India is notable: both societies now have roughly 1.3 billion pople (India a bit less), but India still has a majority rural population and a large part of its people who are still impoverished and malnourished.  On the other hand, a third big change in China has been that income inequality has been growing rapidly, with a relatively small percentage of the population enjoying most of the new wealth that's been created (not so different than in the U.S. in the past two generations).

One of the ways in which rural migration to the cities, population growth, and income inequality in China were evident when I wandered around areas where older housing was being torn down, likely to be replaced by huge blocks of high-rise apartment housing, most of which is too expensive for those who've been displaced to rent or buy (urban renewal and gentrification on a large scale!).  In this photo we see older housing which is being torn down; the bit of ragged blue design just to the left of center is a child's quilt that had been attached to the wall, now exposed after the outer walls were torn down.

I sometimes wondered who has benefitted from the large-scale social and economic changes China has experienced, and who has borne most of the cost.  Will those who are displaced from village life find real lives in the cities, or like many first-generation immigrants to the U.S. have to justify their sacrifices by the new advantages the city may provide for their children?  Who is able to shop in the very fancy malls and plazas, and who is likely to bus the tables after shoppers have left?  These are Chinese examples of larger patterns and challenges social change leaves us all to ponder: who most benefitted from the industrial revolution, and who most paid the price for it?  Who will most pay the price for the global warming we are already experiencing, growing out of the use of the fossil fuels on which that revolution was based?  I sometimes felt critical of China's policies, including the ecological damage their rapid economic growth has created for China's land, water, and air--yet also worry about parallel issues in our own society.

In the photo to the left, we are standing in front of the large statue of Chairman Mao on the campus of East China Normal University.  We had stayed at ECNU with St. Olaf students on the 5-month "Term in Asia" program in 2004-2005, and wanted to see if it was as we remembered.  By coincidence, that afternoon the graduation ceremonies were being held for ECNU students, so we saw many young women and men pulling on their red and black graduation robes, while proud parents and grandparents posed for photos.

In many ways, it's hard to characterize what sort of society China is today.  Mao's image looms over things, and China is  officially communist and a one-party state.  Yet in many ways it seems like a market society, with an emphasis on innovation and manufacturing for export, and for those with money an emphasis on consumption and lifestyle.  Young people who have the opportunity work hard to get an education (and this year's students, who had just taken the national exams to determine whether and where they might go to university, were anxiously awaiting the results while we were there).  Those few we talked with seemed to be making plans for their future with much of the same hope (and anxiety) we might see in the U.S.  It's a complex situation.

On our last night we went downtown and had supper at a popular cafe featuring Shanghainese dishes, several of which we hadn't tried before.  And then we headed outside into the stream of people headed to the Bund, to see the lights come on, on both sides of the river.  We looked across the water to Pudong along with the crowds (the tower on the left is the Oriental Pearl tower, under which sits the Shanghai History Museum: has the future buried the past?).  And we end this blog with this vision of a contemporary (even futuristic) life promised by the bright lights.

Barbara and Bruce, July 4, 2016

Dance, movement and other arts in Shanghai- from Barbara

From what we have observed, the arts have an important role in the lives of people in Shanghai.  While  people seem to work intensly long and hard during the week, on the weekends many relax.  Recreation seems to often consist of gathering in one of Shanghai's many large parks to move, sing, play or paint together.  Sundays in particular are a delightful time to wander and see families enjoying nature and expression with music or movement, with what seems like a zillion other residents of the city.

I remember this from previous visits to other cities in China- parks seem to provide more than just green, quiet space, but also a place to nurture more aesthetic  practices.  Our first weekend, as we stumbled through a 'smallish' local park, we saw groups of older women dancing jazzy line dances together (I found out later that they are often called the 'dancing grannies' since the groups are often make up of  older women - with a few men), trying to do the steps on the edge of the group. These 'grannies' are a tough, no-nonsense group of women, survivors of the Great Famine and Cultural Revolution.  During weekdays they are often barreling down the streets or sidewalks like mini-mack trucks, depending on where the bikes and motorcycles are parked and where the trash piles are that day.  On weekdays walking feels like a competion for space.  Defering to let someone else through is never an option..or perhaps even a moral deficit.

Anyway on this weekend they danced line dances together and were a delight to see. Wearing colorful pants and tops, they moved in unison to western music, helping each other learn steps or arm movements together. Despite the unison movement, there is not alot of eye contact or interactions among the partiipants. Skill doesn't seem to matter either, only rhythmically moving with others. At the same park, and right next to these lovely grannies, was a group of older men practicing some type martial arts form, or playing Chinese cards or Go, and on the other side a changing group of musicians. (Older men entered and left this musical group of mainly wind and reed instruments, but they were always enthusiastically led by another man acting as a conductor. This man seemed to be transported by the sounds they were making as well as enjoying leading others in its creation.)

Our last Sunday in Shanghai, we made our way to Zhongshan Park, a larger park on the western side of the city to walk and enjoy the multitudes of Shanghaians out in what might have been the only blue-sky day of our visit. (Bruce says there were a few more clear days, but I was probably inside teaching.)  We walked and wandered through this large green park, each corner seemingly filled with a different group sharing together in a different art expression.  Near the entrance was a large group of men and women dancing a partnered-two step type dance (to Chinese sounding music). There seemed to be two 'teams' one wearing red shirts, sequins and hats and the other wearing dark green shirts. The groups danced side by side, each in their own space. Around the edges older women stood, watching and energetically tapping their toes to the rhythm.


Nearby a single man calmly did T'ai Chi with focused intensity, completely oblivious to the crowds moving by. Next to him groups of men and a few young women were practicing a more active martial arts form with lots of hand gestures, kicks and quick turns. Next to them was a group of young men moving as partners in a form that I had learned as 'push hands'. (Push hands is an improvised movement form with physical contact and circular movements. The point of the form is to stay centered and not lose your balance while trying to upset your partner.)  All of this happend next to walking paths as other people walked or ran by, and occasionally paused to observe the movement forms.

In another shaded location a woman sang, what sounded like an emotional operatic song into a microphone while being accompanied by several musicians playing traditional Chinese instruments. She was urged on by another woman who seemed to be inhaling the music and words of the song.

At another location, a huge group was dancing to a clapping line dance, hitting their knees, shoulders and hands together in rhythmic unison. The group was so large that it lined the walking path for yards.  People walking through this dancing gauntlet were also joining in with the rhythmic clapping as they moved through.



Further into the park, a large group of young and old practiced more T'ai Chi together, all wearing white or pastel colored 'pyjama' pants and tops. Their rhythmic movements were contrasted by others in a nearby large field who were playing football/soccer and flying huge fierce kites (right next to a sign saying "no kite flying"- in English!)

These collective practices seem to be reflected in my experience with my students in my classes. Whenever we moved together, I was struck by their enthusiasm and the deep pleasure they all seemed to feel moving expressively together. Unlike many of my students in the U.S., they move and interact in ways that reflect their inner experiences and also connect with each other.  I can't help but think that what I observed in my classes was nurtured by these other more pervasive cultural weekend practices. I also continue to appreciate the easy access to metaphor and beauty that are reflected in my students' words and responses.

Finally, there was a solitary man who painted water brush poems on the sidewalk (in Chinese and English), beautifully done.  People walked by, sometimes pausing to read what he wrote.  Later the poem would disappear, as the water evaporated in the warmth of the day. I have no idea if the poem was an original creation of the moment or a traditional one, but his intensity and focus was beautiful to feel.

Another few words about museums, of which there are many- usually filled with as many or more Chinese as foreigners. In addition to the normal art and cultural expressions museums (which are extensive and wonderful), we visited the Propaganda Poster Museum. A small hole-in-the-wall museum in the basement of an apartment complex (no photos were allowed, you will need to visit it yourself.) This museum contained old large political posters and what seemed to be a zillion 'Mao busts'. They also had early posters of 'Shanghai Calendar Girls' from the 1920's. It was interesting to contrast the very exoticized, pin-curled and made up women, lounging in semi-sexual positions (can you say 'Western sexualized gaze'?) to the clear-eyed, strong square-bodied women of the 'new Communist China dream' (1950's and 60's).  It was also fun to see posters of Communist officials; often there was the same poster that had been reprinted to eliminate or add in some official who was either newly in the ruling body or disgracefully kicked out.


Here's a final picture, of the romantic idealization of Chinese village peasant life. While I am not sure I would like to have been around for the horrors perpetrated by the Chinese Communist government, compared with the crowded, noisy, hectic street life that is Shanghai...the country looks pretty idyllic.
Bye for now; if you read this we would love to hear your thoughts.  Barbara

We Visit The Jewish Refugee Museum, and Mourn Orlando from Afar

As we thought ahead to our time in Shanghai, one of the things we had on our list of "things to do" during our almost three week visit was to learn more about the Jewish presence in Shanghai, particularly in connection with the flight of European Jews to somewhere safer during Hitler's rise during the 1930's.  So the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum was the place to go.

There are only two historic synagogues today in Shanghai, and it's the Ohel Moshe Synagogue and the surrounding neighborhood which are at the heart of the story of Jews in Shanghai.  There was a Jewish presence well over a century ago, including Jews from British colonies such as India (including Victor Sassoon, an influential presence in early 20th century Shanghai, who was responsible for building the Peace Hotel on the Bund).  But the Russian pograms of the late 19th and early 20th century led additional waves of eastern European Jews to choose Shanghai as a destination, followed by almost 20,000 Jews fleeing other parts of eastern Europe in the 1930's and even 1940's as the fate of European Jewry became more clear.  The synagogue in the photo to the right, adjacent to the museum, was built by Russian Jews in 1927, and was renovated by the local city government in 2007.  Interpretive exhibits are in small buildings nearby.

Others visiting the museum when we were there were mostly other Europeans and Americans (while most of the time we were in Shanghai it wasn't unusual to be the only non-Chinese at a place or event).  But our guide was a helpful young bi-lingual Chinese woman.  Oral history and old film clips indicated that the local Chinese community and the Jewish refugees seemed to get along well.  The large sculpture (photo at left) depicts the challenges and spirit of the refugees who found a home in Shanghai (once again, "strangers in a strange land").

We noted the plaque in honor of the Chinese Consul-General of China in Vienna, who saved thousands of Jews fleeing Europe by granting them visas to settle in Shanghai (as we had learned another diplomat, named Sugihara, the Japanese representative in Lithuania, did as well, when we visited the Holocaust museum in Vilnius in 1997).

We also learned that at this time (the 1930's) neither Britain nor the U.S. were open to taking continental Jews seeking to flee their likely death in one of the growing number of camps.  While large numbers of European Jews came to the U.S. earlier in the century (1890's to 1920's), the U.S. had passed an immigration bill in 1924 which put much more restrictive quotas on the numbers of those (of any faith) who would be admitted to the U.S. who were coming from eastern or southern European countries rather than northern Europe.  It was good to be reminded of the number of "righteous gentiles" such as the two Asian diplomats above who used their power to save Jewish lives, sometimes disobeying their government's instructions.   (In this regard, we remember the King of Morocco, when Morocco was still a French colony, who refused to turn over the Sephardic Jews whom he considered under his protection, to France at a time when French Jews were being sent east to their death).  We could not help think about how few (4,000) Syrians the U.S. has agreed to admit who are fleeing war in their home country today, compared to far more taken in by countries like Germany.

(A p.s. here: in a recent New York Times, there was a story about the discovery of a tunnel dug by Jewish prisoners in the woods of Paneriai, near Vilnius in Lithuania, where over 70,000 Jews were murdered, and buried in deep pits which Jews were forced to dig themselves.  The tunnel was intended to provide an escape route, and evidently at least a few Jews did get away to tell the story even though physical evidence has only now come to light.  Bruce visited this site at the end of our sojourn in Lithuania in 1997, when we were there with the Fulbright program.)

Around the same time as our visit to the Jewish site, we learned about the massacre of 49 LGBT young people, many Latino/a, in Orlando back home in the U.S.  The shock of this event, the front page story of one of the two Shanghai English-language daily papers, was difficult enough, but we also felt our distance from home most keenly at this moment.

And while Orlando is a world and two generations away from the Shoah (Holocaust), the two seem related: in a general way, we see the way in which an "Other" becomes feared as destructive to one's own way of life, morality and identity, "worthy" of persecution.  But also, in a more specific way, we remember that gay men in Germany were also sent to the camps, wearing a pink triangle to identify them rather than the yellow star of David.

We found it helpful in the context of Orlando to share in at least a very small way in the Shanghai Pride celebration.  Pride, here, has become an increasingly important and complex event for local people who are choosing to explore or live lives other than those assumed to be normal, perhaps even required (to fulfill strong expectations about family and children in a culture where it's still hard for many to imagine what a gay or lesbian family could be).

There were a variety of events, though reflecting LGBTQ movements which remind us more of the U.S. in the 1960's (pre-Stonewall) than what we in the U.S. have really only created in very recent years in terms of legal acceptance (and where even in the U.S. gender and sexuality issues still present challenges for many).  Shanghai has 24 million people, but there's no big, public Pride event, no parade or march or vigil or protest, but rather a series of events open to all but which must be sought out.  This year's theme is "I Am Me," perhaps indicating an emphasis on exploring, affirming, and celebrating identities and lives more than overtly political efforts and movements.

We visited the art and photo exhibit at the Xin Cafe (as noted in the poster on the cafe window at right).  It was small, but had some powerful images--particularly one by a Japanes artist, such as a photo in which a naked man is standing alone in a desert amidst swirling sands, and another in which the man is sitting cradled in a rock formation--both reflecting some of the sense of isolation, of waiting, that some LGBT people here still feel.  A colored drawing showed the joyful wedding between two women (a hope for the future, as legal marriage between two people of the same sex is still not possible in China), and another about two men who are searching through the various sexualities that seem to be present within them.

The cafe also sponsored a showing of a film in which a gay policeman (struggling with his identity and feelings) has a night-long discussion with the gay man he's arrested "cruising" at one of the public bathrooms; each finds new ways of seeing who they might become.  We should note that, of course, LGBT movements in China aren't really "pre-Stonewall" in an important sense, as now there are so many places in the world where new lives can be imagined and even lived (and explored by Chinese folks via the internet, or in person now that a number of Chinese can now afford to travel), that the development of Chinese LGBT spaces and movements is much influenced by what's happening elsewhere.

We close this post here, physically present in our cozy Minneapolis home, well taken care of by two former students while we were in China, but also still wandering a bit in our minds and hearts along the side streets of Shanghai.  

A Hard-Working People: Small Enterprises, Sunday Escapes

Life abounds with contradictions, and that's true of China as well.  (As with this blog: we flew out of Shanghai Monday morning, arriving back home when it was still Monday evening in Minnesota but Tuesday in Shanghai, after crossing the international date line--and are readjusting slowly to our conventional lives.  But for the purposes of this blog, I'm going to write as if we are still in China--which in some ways we still feel like we might be, encountering Minnesota as a little strange.)

One contradiction in China is that it's an officially communist state, with part of the economy state owned and controlled.  On the other hand, everyday folks often seem engaged in what can only be seen as very entrepreneurial or market activities, often in the form of small businesses like storefront cafes or vegetable stands, or sometimes scavenging for recyclable materials to sell.  Such activities seem widespread, at least in our experience walking the streets and side-streets; one gets the impression that in China there might be more people working for themselves, or at least with their family or a few friends, than working for a more formal, large-scale organization or employer.

In the photo to the right, we're walking down a typical "older" style street, something dating from the first half of the 20th century.  The housing is apartment style (we didn't see any single houses in Shanghai outside some of the wealthier areas, such as the heart of the old French Concession), two to three stories high, with small shops and businesses on the street level, and living areas above ("living" is apparent: one might see folks hanging their morning washing on the porches above, or sometimes brushing their teeth or otherwise getting ready for the day: "private" and "public" seem to overlap more than back home).

To the left we we see an even smaller shop, where the man in orange is making small "manti" (a sort of dumpling), steamed in the stacked bamboo-wicker baskets.  There are also hard-boiled eggs in the white container towards the bottom of the picture, cooked in black tea (this makes a nice pattern in the egg, but also lends a distinctive taste).

Part of what impressed us is that such shops are often set up early in the day.  We might see people unloading the delivery of a day's supply of vegetables to sell (these are small shops, with little storage area), to catch customers walking by starting around 7:00.  This also means the small delivery trucks, or sometimes heavily-loaded motorbikes, are also starting their rounds early.  People who sell food are shaping the dough for their dumplings, or chopping ingredients, or getting the cooking plate or pot heated up.  And many of these shops are still open in the evening, often not shutting down until mid-evening (there's a lot of street life in Shanghai, unlike Minneapolis, where you can still be wading through the crowds after dark.)

So, small shopkeepers work long hours, and many shops seem open every day.  They depend on selling a high volume of relatively inexpensive products over a long day, as near as we can tell.  (The photo at right shows "our" own street around mid-evening: remember that because Shanghai is only half the distance as is Minneapolis from the equator, the sun is actually setting earlier, around 7:00--which also, by the way, means the Ramadan fasting required for local Muslims in Shanghai is for a shorter "day" than in more northern latitudes.  But I digress.)

Daily deliveries of supplies for small shops (less needed for clothing shops, most needed for food suppliers--local people like their fruits and vegetables fresh and are fussy and knowledgeable).  Cooked food is usually cooked right in front of you (for take-away) or right when you order (to be eaten at one of several small tables set up for the day for a very small shop, or for one of 4-6 "inside" tables for a little larger one).  But all this means there is stuff to be gotten rid of--cardboard boxes, for one thing, which we see being loaded on a motorbike cart (with a large flat surface in back) by an enterprising recycler, a daily task.

There are a few garbage bins, and it's picked up from time to time, but there's really no room for bigger bins (the buildings on a side street like the one above are continuous, and the shops already spill out at times almost into the street--so no room for big bins).  There are sometimes narrow allies, but they are often already in use for drying clothes, or parking one's motorbike, or where people may wash up at large square sinks against the wall--so again no room for giant bins for giant trucks to pick up.  Styrofoam is also gathered for recycling, as we see in the photo to the right--piled high (and precariously) on a regular bicycle with a little platform to tie the load to above the rear wheel.

Metal is also sometimes recycled, in this photo stacked high on a small motorbike's shelf, and driven carefully into traffic; it usually is found at remodeling or construction sites, rather than part of everyday recycling opportunities.  Wood is the fourth material one sees piled high and pedaled away.

And so, by the evening's end, the small shops have usually closed (except for popular take-out food stands), things are tided up, doors or gates have been pulled shut, and the (weary) proprietors are hoping for a good night's sleep.

What do local families do to relax?  It's possible that for some small shopkeepers there are few days off, as they rely on long hours and volume sales.  But I did find crowds at the Shanghai Zoo on Father's Day (also celebrated in China), which "costs" time but not much money (though it would be hard to take the kids and not get snacks and little stuffed Pandas).  Here we see a father and son watching the pandas; the kids are loving it, while the pandas seem oblivious to our excitement at seeing them eat their bamboo shoots.  They're large and cuddly-looking, but seem primarily interested in eating.

I liked the zoo.  It's mostly about the big, "standard" animals: giraffes, big brown bears, alligators, lions and tigers, along with the must-see pandas, with few interpretative materials (especially anything in English).  But it does also have a lot of great parkland, bamboo "forests," and lakes with bird species I hadn't seen before.  And lots of pretty adorable kids, having a good time with their parents and grandparents.  I'm hoping that the shopkeepers and noodle-sellers and vegetable sellers also have time to get to the zoo once in a while.


 It does seem unlikely that they would have the time and enough money to get to the new Disney theme park, which just opened last week near Shanghai.  There've been loads of advertisements for it (which you can see in the Metro stations, for example), one of which you can see below.  The entry costs are high, and of course there are meals and souvenirs to buy to take home.  The only family we met who were going was one we met at our hotel, at breakfast, who were from out of town, staying for a couple of days, and very excited, especially the kids.  But you'll note in the ad the family looks rather "successful" and implicitly middle-class.  And rather "Western" in stylish sports/play outfits (paradoxically, most likely made in China!), and rather "white" in color (common in a lot of clothing advertisements for women, though skin "whitening" creams seem less common in Shanghai than we've seen elsewhere in China, or I in India).

 With this, we conclude a rather long posting!  Stay tuned for a couple more, as we complete our travels in Shanghai in our head and memories, even though we are now back home!  

 

 

What would a blog about Shanghai be with out mentioning the food (From Barbara)

[Note: Barbara wrote this post, but here I am, Bruce, adding a bit, as I see she included a photo I took of my favorite bakery's little buns.  The filling is sweet bean paste; the crust is tasty and sturdy, covered with sesame seeds.  The bakery was on the same street on which pianos and string instruments have been sold for generations.  It took me a couple visits to realize that "my" buns usually weren't out of the oven until around 1:30, when the young woman would set a tray on the counter to cool for a while before loading them into the case for customers.  Like myself.  Lurking about and waiting!]

Shanghai is a food lovers paradise. So much variety at almost any hour of the day, including a bunch of foods I might try once but would probably not eat on a regular basis. Bruce has already talked about our hotel breakfast. If we didn't want to eat at the hotel (with the benefit of free coffee and tea, and all you can eat veggies, yams, rice, congee and watermelon), all we have to do is walk out to the street and take our pick from a multitude of street stands, with fresh options every step.

At one shop a man is spreading a crepe batter on a flat burner, then cracking an egg on to the crepe, sprinkling it with various veggies, sauces and other chopped but unknown to me, foods. Then it gets rolled up, burrito style, eaten as is, as you walk down the street. Next door they are frying small dim sum (little dough wrapped ground pork), and next door you can buy a piece of watermelon or fruit, or a hard boiled egg, and down the road you can get some rice gruel (congee) with spicy, sweet, hot, salty, crunchy things to spoon on top for additional flavor.



It continues for blocks and blocks. You can also get fruit juice, bubble tea, milk tea or milk coffee at separate stands. (The only thing we have had trouble finding is lovely pots of tea. We havent actually gone to a tea house, but in less expensive restaurants asking for tea is responded to with bemused grins.). All of this is available every day, although it seems to peak on Sunday mornings.

Later in the day, there are a multitude of fried foods: flat fish, chicken, spring rolls and of course more dim sum - you can get these any time of the day it seems. Other food includes noodles, noodles and more noodles. Noodles can be eaten any time of the day apparently, in soup, dry, with Szechuan spices and peanuts, or mild with scallions and lots of other variations. Most appear to be freshly made or pulled (unfortunately for me- Barbara- most are made of wheat not rice.) Lunch can be anything from a fancier 'government' restaurant (often on the second floor of the building, where you can select from a variety of dishes to be shared by everyone at the table), or a smaller private place, which is small with tiny tables, often handwritten menus, and where it seems that you can just say what you want and they will make it for you- fresh on the spot. In these places you can have soups, noodles (of course) rice and a meat cooked in a clay pot or (big surprise) a huge array of dim sum. 

Dinner is the same as lunch. This evening we stopped at a hot pot restaurant (on the way to the subway, we pass a street of hot pot places, so it seemed appropriate to try it before we left). We sat down and the very helpful waitperson handed us a list of ingredients (in English, so I didn't have to use my handy cellphone translator). We picked some veggies, wontons, and fish (the waitperson let us know when we had ordered sufficient for two people). Following that a large chimneyed tureen was placed on a hole in our table. It was incredibly hot (it has glowing charcoal in the chimney core), the tureen filled with broth (from meat, onions, and other spices I couldn't recognize) and boiling violently. The various foods we had ordered arrived and we submerged them in the boiling broth to cook. Later we fished out the cooked pieces to dip in a sesame/hoisen sauce to eat- once it had cooled down. A great and fun meal, except if the day is hot and humid (we both got very red-faced being so near to the heat). The photos is of a very tired and hot Bruce with the hot pot chimney slightly visible. 

Another interesting meal was suggested by the brother of a friend who runs an art gallery in Shanghai. (He is Canadian.) This restaurant had a very Japanese feel but was filled with optical illusions. It is officially called People 7 in the French Concession.  To enter, you need to know that you have to run your hand between two pieces of carved metal, to open a large gate. Once past that entrance, there is a second entrance, also a gate, before you enter the restaurant. Inside, the lighting is subdued and the steps up to the restaurant are glass so it is hard to know what's a step and what is not. Once seated, we were surrounded by trees and greenery. Suprisingly for Shanghai, suddenly it was quiet, dark and I felt like I was in a tree house. The food was amazing- a variety of dishes mixing Japanese, Korean and Shanghaian foods. One particulary challenging part was that the bathrooms had walls of mirrors with dark lighting.. so it felt like I was in a maze, and it took some time to figure out where to go. 

Some surprises for us, as we contrast food in Shanghai with Chinese food in the US. First many dim sum places (the funky neighborhood ones) absolutely don't have tea, only beer, water and bottled juices. Rice is less present than we were expecting too. It can be ordered but it does not automatically come with meals, and often it comes at the end of the meal, rather than during.

More thoughts to come, but today is our last day, it is sunny and not too hot yet. We are off to Zhongshan Park to see and maybe join the older people dancing, doing t'ai chi, water brush paintings and what ever else we find.  

Temples, Churches, Mosques, and More

One might think that there would be few opportunities to visit religious institutions in mainland China--or at least other than those that are historically significant (we've seen that China is proud of much of its historical heritage going back thousands of years).  But we've encountered a variety of temples (Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist), churches (Catholic and Protestant, and even one Russian Orthodox), and mosques here in Shanghai.  Most are currently active, some with resident monks or nuns, most with local visitors who come to worship in their way.

 In the photo to the right, we see the Fazangjiang Buddhist Temple.  When I (Bruce) visited, both the resident monks and local worshippers were busy with their respective activities.  As with most places of worship, the city has grown up around even the most historic locations, so it's common to see centuries-old sites surrounded by towering new buildings (many 21st century).

I'm slowly getting a sense for some of the rythyms in temple worship for local visitors.  Nearly all seem to come for a relatively brief period, singly or with a friend, to pray before the statue of Buddha, or other related figures (such as the Goddess of Mercy).  Some offer a few coins or bills in the offering box in front of the cushions upon which worshippers kneel.  

I realize this sort of observation is superficial, even if I'm often feeling moved by the beauty of the moment, the architecture of the temple, the attitude of the worshippers, and the need many of us feel to connect with something larger or more meaningful in some private and daily moments in our lives.  But I feel out of my depth in trying to actually convey what's going on for people who at least for a few moments choose to make temple worship an important time in their life, and what it might mean in any theological sense.  

 Here we see the Taoist temple in Suzhou, which dates back to 276 A.D.  In our experience, Taoist temples feature a far greater range of images, usually large statues, some gentle, some fierce guardians, some wise; there may be dozens or more.  Some temples are dedicated to the worship of important historical figures, such as a general who protected the town in long-age times, to whom current requests for help may still be brought.  Burning some incense seems more common in these temples (by worshippers).  Both Taoist and Buddhist temples seem peaceful during ordinary days.

To the right is a photo of the main altar at the Catholic Cathedral built in Shanghai in the 1840's, during the time when Western powers sought "concessions" of parts of the increasingly busy port of Shanghai to gain a share of the lucrative trade in eastern goods. (Such transfers of land and local political authority were not voluntary for the Chinese, and made China a semi-colony until concessions were finally abolished a century later in the 1940's).  

My visit to this church was interesting partly because most of the land around the church has recently been bulldozed for modern building projects, and it appeared I wouldn't gain access to the cathedral itself.  But I noticed that one door in the wall was ajar, and meekly let myself through.  And after wandering about I found a pair of older women cooking up something for the day's lunch.  I motioned an interest in seeing the church, and one had the key to the church doors and kindly let me in.  I appreciated have some very quiet moments to explore and sit.  The panels above the altar are the key moments in the Christian story; like much of the art in European cathedrals, they make more visual the story that those in the pews would not have been able to read.

 The old French Catholic Church in the photo to the left is part of the town of Qibao, one of the older "canal towns" important in cotton growing and export which we explored one day.  It dates back to 1867, and so also goes back to the time of the early concession period of Shanghai's history.  It's still actively used, and the doors were unlocked the day Barbara and I visited--no one was around, but like churches in Europe is often left open for anyone who wishes to sit or pray for a few moments during a busy day.  All the literature in the church is in Chinese; I assume these churches would no longer be considered "mission" churches.

 To the right is the sanctuary of the Mu-en Church, long a Methodist Church in the heart of downtown Shanghai designed by a famous European architect, and now a non-denominational church and the largest Protestant congregation in the city.  I attended the Sunday morning service one day (the photo was taken after its conclusion; I'm reluctant to take pictures of a religious service itself).  As a former Methodist I could follow things, though all the hymns, readings, and the sermon were in Chinese.  One of the young ushers, and the man sitting new to me, kindly helped me figure out where we were in the service.  Interestingly, the church has a woman pastor.

And I think I'll wrap up here.  More in a future blog on our visit to a mosque during Ramadan, and to the Jewish Refugees Museum (at the synagogue which sat at the center of the neighborhood here which helped take in Jews fleeing Nazi Germany whom Britain and the U.S. were unwilling to accept).  

Our time here is nearing an end, but we'll keep our little feet walking, and add a few more posts before we go.   Thanks for reading!   Bruce and Barbara

Some random thoughts from Barbara

Nihau from Barbara (Until yesterday, I have been busy teaching while Bruce has been exploring and discovering many amazing things. He has also had more time to work on the blog.)

It is challenging to synthesize my impressions of Shanghai, the city is huge, complex, varied and in so many ways, I can only get glimpses of what is below the surface.  Here are some random thoughts on a rainy Saturday morning:

I loved teaching my class, an Experiential Anatomy course that is required for all students wanting to become dance/movement therapists. It was a small group of students so there was more time for conversations and questions and it was an intense delight working with them.  As we moved together, looked at pictures of the human body, did partner work to locate bones, muscles and other parts of the body, they helped me understand how they related to their own bodies and movement. Our conversations ranged from discussing about the relationship between 'scientific' concrete perspectives of the body (e.g. Western anatomical concepts) and spiritual views of the body (e.g. what is left when someone dies). Where or what is the relationship between Chi and the Dantien (energy and the energetic center of the body from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspectives) and the physical structures of the body. And when we danced together, there was such a sense of freedom and play- the movement was so full and symbolic and expressive. It was beautiful to watch. We also met in an huge centrally located ballet studio- with multiple studios and one where the Royal Danish Ballet rehearsed when they were in town.

Wandering around the city after class, I loved the way that people's lives dont end at the walls of their houses. Walking the same street to the studio each day, I would see the same older woman, sitting on the same chair on the sidewalk and watching life go by. Sometimes she would be eating, sometimes cutting her toe nails, sometimes talking with neighbors (in a loud high voice). A few buildings down on the second floor people brushed their teeth or washed clothing on an outside sink, or on the street level people were cutting vegetable, chicken, meat or other foods in preparation for the day.

Most likely they also worked nearby at a tiny food stall, cooking downstairs, a hand written menu and steep stairs up to a 'loft like' upper level with tables and a low ceiling. Further down the block people were setting out vegetables  and amazing fruits (like logans, waxberries, mangosteens and durien as well as peaches, plums, watermelon and more), or shallow vats of fish, still flopping fresh, or smoked ducks, chicken and pork- all ready for selling as the day warmed up. Later, as I walked home, the same street would be neon-bright, filled with people and 'hawkers' from the restaurants (often located on the second floor of the same buildings) enticing people to come in and eat. Of course much of this is what I imagine they were saying, since I dont read or understand Mandarin.

Traveling around has been very easy, despite the language challenges. I am grateful for apps such as I translate so I can communicate slowly with people we meet. (e.g. I can type in what I want to say in English and it automatically translates into Mandarin, and with a quick poke at the screen, this can be reversed and then can type in Mandarin and it translates to English.)  During the one day break between my classes we took the train to Suzhou, a local canal town with beautiful gardens. (We went on Monday, in part because I had the day off and also because we had heard that it is very crowded with touists on the weekends).  Once we figured out where we could buy train tickets, the signs guided us to the waiting room, we followed the masses to the train and easily found our seat. The high speed train was exactly that... super fast. It took us about 25 minutes to get there (a 2.5 hour car drive) and then we wandered out to explore.

After making our way through the gauntlet of people offering maps and tours, we too a bus to the center of town. We wandered around, visited several Tao and Buddhist temples, a tiny garden comprised of beautiful 'wind stones', with paths that wove in and out, over and under these huge stones, taking us on mysterious journeys. (This was somewhat challenging since it was raining and the stones were very slippery.) We found a local family restaurant and pointed our way to lunch, saw the outside of the I.M. Pei museum (it was closed on Monday.) and then returned to the train station to make our way home. While the experience was a bit soggy, we are also appreciative of the 'kindness of strangers' who helped us with their bit of English (our Mandarin is incredibly limited). And I was as struck by the lovely nature of many of the people we interacted with as well as the beaury of the town (well in China it is a town, it is actually has a large population).


One last thought for this blog (more to come) but the weather is clearing up so its time to go and explore a bit. Not to state the obvious, China and its population is huge. Shanghai streets are always busy and there are moments when I seek out parks for a bit of quiet and space (although sometimes they are repairing or improving the park so it is dusty and noisy. Oh well!!! The Subway is cheap, fantastic and easy to use. Always alot of people. although there has only been one time when the crowd felt a bit like a sausage-making factory. People are always on their cell phones..often using WeChat, the local free app that allows more connection than China Mobile or other options. Being connected to others via phone is constant and a priority. I remember reading about programs to cure cell phone additions in China, and this makes sense to me- people walk, go down stairs, take escalators, cross the street, eat while talking on their phones. Notice in this photo of the subway, how many people are on the phone. And usually there are more than this.

 One last story, this morning we were having breakfast at our hotel and two families with a few small children sat at the table next to us. Because there were so many of them, we offered the extra chairs from our table. Instead one of the dads came to eat with us. (I am assuming that chairs need to stay where they are supposed to be and people can be moved around.). Through the wonders of iTranslate, it turns out his and another family were here to go to 'Disney' for two days. The two little girls were excited, the boy infant probably was happiest with parents and eating and didnt care. AT some point the girls came over and shyly said hello, with lots of giggling. They did stay for a bit before moving to the table where Mandarin was being spoken. It was a lovely moment of connection...albeit through the cell phone..so I guess its not all bad.

OK more to follow, let us know your responses if you want. This is an amazing place to explore and learn about.  Also note, some of the stories dont match the photos, some images are remembered but feel too personal to take as a photo. Also want to acknowledge the several huge world events that have been occurring- the Orlando Massacres (hard to be far away from vigils at home, its barely mentioned here), the failure of gun control in our own government..and of course..as of this morning The British vote to leave the EU. The world is a wild place right now..somehow China seems more sedate compared to the rest of the news.

Thoughts While Riding the Metro

Here in Shanghai riding the subway system, the Metro, presents few real problems.  It has an extensive network of routes, most of which have been built since we were last here (with students) in 2004--about the same time period during which those responsible for subways systems in places like New York have slowly concluded that it's possible older American systems are falling apart.  That's pretty amazing.

It's also inexpensive (at least for our pocketbooks), usually about 50 cents a ride or less (U.S. money), perhaps 2-3 Chinese Yuan.  And it's evidently quite reliable, with trains coming every 3-4 minutes, at least those we've been riding.  Lots of people here like it, and ride it, and it's hard to imagine how so many millions of people would get around the city every day without it.  It's even nice and cool on the trains, nice in a place that's sometimes full of humid, monsoon weather.

Yet, there are a few things we do find curious.  One is the signage, including some directions, some warnings, and other messages.  They can be puzzling at first, until we conside the context in which they are posted--the subway.  Yet even then we remain curious--the windows don't open in the train cars, and the train won't start moving (evidently) unless the doors are all safely closed. So it's seems that little "popping out" would be possible.  Yet there's little harm to our minor confusions; we assume that such messages make perfect sense to those who can read the original Chinese.

But a more interesting question awaits.  What's the "etiquette" of offering one's seat to someone who's standing--perhaps even insisting they take the seat you've abandoned?

This has often happened to us on the Metro.  We're standing, apparently able to stand, and someone else, always someone Chinese (not a surprise; we're usually the only non-Chinese we see on the Metro), points to a vacant seat, or even stands up and pointedly calls us to take it.

And interestingly, the "us" is often me (Bruce).
I'm not sure that's because I look older, perhaps more unsteady, more vulnerable, or what (could be!).  Barbara does look, and is, younger by almost five years, but she also has a more energetic and lively way of moving--all those years dancing.  I wonder, too, if being male carries some status that conventional western patriarchal etiquette wouldn't predict.  Or being a foreigner, a visitor, and I've become the "victim" of local hospitality (yet which I often welcome!).  I should add that sometimes local folks have even re-arranged themselves a bit so that a seat opens up next to the newly-seated me for Barbara, and then there are often smiles all around.  It's possible we make a cute (but old) couple, and small gestures of consideration (and romance) have been in play.

All this could be part of the truth.  We do see local Chinese people being offered a seat, but usually in more obvious circumstances--a mother with a small baby, or a woman very pregnant, or an older woman with a cane.  I think I need the services of students from the social research classes at St. Olaf, who could more systematically keep track of what the patterns really are: who offers, who's offered, who accepts, the gender patterns involved, and so on--this is hard to figure out based on our own anecdotal experience.

Or we can just be grateful, once again, for "the kindness of strangers," which has more than once, in more than one country, come to our aid.  And for which we are grateful each time!

Let's close with a few views of those local people, doing everyday things!

Parks are important, and well-used, by some local folks.  This one has room for four basketball games at a time, almost always played by men in the 20-35 range when I've stopped by to watch (this is right near Barbara's studio).

This particular one square block park also has a soft-surface walking path around the perimeter of about a quarter mile, and there are often older folks walking the path, or in the early morning doing some stretches.    There are always lots of people walking--often to work, to shop, to visit, and so forth--in the photo below walking on a pedestrian overpass to avoid heavy traffic.
 In the photo below, in the Yuyuan Gardens and park, in Nanshi (the Old Town), you can see people of various ages and abilities (some parks have paved paths which make wheelchair access more possible), and of course parks are a free place to take little kids, handy for those who do not have large apartments or may not be able to afford destinations that would be costly (like the just-opened Shanghai Disney world).  Parks are also nice for Barbara and me--always some nice people-watching, including groups playing "go" or card games (guys), or playing musical instruments.

With that, we sign off for the moment, but will try to do another posting soon.

Barbara and Bruce!