1. Chazal Aurélie Université Blaise Pascal (Clermont Ferrand) Major : Eco
MY IMPRESSION OF
SHANGHAI

2. 1) Bigger city ...
The skyscrapers : The most famous place in Shanghai is probably the Bound where
you can admire worldwide known skyscrapers like the Pearl Tower or the bottle
opener shaped Shanghai World s Financial Center situated in Pudong new area.
Those impressive building are a symbol of the city economic development. I have to
say that you feel really small next to those gigantic towers. The other thing I like
about Shanghai urban landscape is that skyscrapers have unusual shape and seem
to be always taller, always more strange-looking.
The streets : One of the the first
thing that surprised me when I
arrived in Shanghai was how large the
streets were and how long it was to
cross them. I am used to 2 lane or
three lane roads, and it takes time to
get used to the 6 or 8 lane roads of
Shanghai. The intertwined elevated
roads are another strong symbol of
modernization and can be quite
Xujiahui impressive at first.
The university campus : In France, and especially where I come from we can t even
talk about campus as our university is just a group of 3 buildings. I was surprised all
the grass and trees on campus. I love the atmosphere of our campus, it is not only a
place to work but also to rest, exercise... And everyone can come, we often see
families or elders and not only student and professors like in France. Everything you
need is there, there are shops, restaurants, stadiums.
Gardens : It is quite surprising to find huge gardens in such an urbanized city. I have
to say that it is really nice to be able to walk in a greener environment once in a
while. Chinese gardens such as Yuyuan garden or even Guilin Park are perfect places
to exercise or fly your kite. And it is always amazing to see groups of people doing
taichichuan in the morning all together even if they didn t know each other before.
The only exception to the «bigger» rule is people, girls are especially much smaller
than in Europe, which can be annoying when looking for clothes or shoes as they
rarely have big sizes.
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3. 2) ... cheaper life
Bargaining : One thing I love about China is that you can
almost always bargain. My first experience was in the fake
market in Pudong. Everyone speaks english there and you
are supposed to lower the price of everything you want
to buy. I don t really like fake bags or shoes but I love
bargaining.
But the funniest experience is to bargain in small shops
using chinese. I actually think that every one who came to
China ends up knowing 2 sentences : 太贵了！ 便宜点儿！
Moreover it is much more interesting to bargain in small Fake market
shops as you often get much lower prices.
The food : Being able to eat for less than 1 euro is also something I am going to
miss when I go back to France. I was a little afraid at first to try typical chinese food
as I was not sure to like it but it turns out that I love it. There is an incredible
diversity of dishes and I can try something next everyday. I didn t really know what
to order at first but now I love ordering random thing without really knowing what it
is going to be. I especially like the restaurant with rotating tables where they bring
you many various dishes and you can just taste a bit of everything. Those kinds of
tables are also much more friendly and I like the fact that everyone is eating the
same food. It is a good representation of chinese sharing spirit.
3) Traffic and means of transportation
The traffic : At first I feared for my life every time I crossed a street as I am not
used to having to be careful while crossing with the green pedestrian light on. After
a while I finally understood how Shanghai traffic worked but it is still very different
than French one. Firstly there are a lot more scooters and bikes and the thing is
they often don t stop when the light is red, they ride on the sidewalk and above all
they don t stop, you have to get out of their way or they will honk or scream. This
is particularly disturbing for me because in France pedestrian always have the
priority, even when crossing the street when cars are coming.
The metro : I was pleasantly surprised by Shanghai metro. It is easier to understand
than Paris one and the best thing about it is that it is really cheap. Everything is
also written in English even if I think that I would have no problem getting by if there
was no translation as it was really well organized. The other thing that I appreciate
about the metro is that it is really clean and I always feel safe.
One thing that I don t get is that people rush into the metro without letting others
get out. And when there is a free seat people are literally running to get it. But the
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4. thing that I like the least is when the train is crowded and people push you to get
out even if you are also getting out.
Taxis : While I never take taxis in France as they are too expensive I almost take one
every day in Shanghai. I like the fact that you can always find one almost
everywhere. And most taxi drivers like speaking with you, even if my chinese is not
really good I always manage to be understood. Taking the taxi is actually a really
good way to practice speaking chinese. The only thing is that safety rules are very
different than in France : you often can t fasten your seat belt when seating in the
back seat and they often agree to take 5 people which is quite convenient but not
the safest thing to do.
4) Going out
KTV : One of chinese people favorite place to go to have a
nice time together. The good thing for us is that you can
always find some english songs, and even french ones in
the biggest KTVs. I am really not used to sing in karaoke
back in France but chinese KTVs are really different and
everyone who comes to China must go at least once to a
KTV.
Night clubs : Shanghai is one of the most dynamic cities I
know and it never sleeps. When going out at night all the
KTV
lights are still on and there is a large choice of night clubs. I
was a little disappointed to see that most of them are
packed with european or american people but if you are lucky to meet chinese
people it is nice to see that they are more friendly than westerners. Chinese people
are dancing all together and I like the fact that they invite you to join them.
The other good thing about chinese night life is that you can easily have fun without
paying any entrance fees or anything at all.
The best place to go out is without any doubts the french concession. There are
many very animated streets there with restaurants and bars.
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5. 5) More Traditional places
Shikumen (石库 ) : I had the chance to go to
an old neighborhood where you can see
shikumen houses. Da laoshi invited me and
some classmate to visit his old family house
which is a shikumen so I actually was lucky
enough to see the inside of those traditional
houses. It seems unbelievable to think that 50
families or more could live in such a small place.
I also learn that these houses didn t have a
bathroom before the World Expo when the
government decided to apply the «Better city,
better life» saying by installing bathrooms in
every houses of Shanghai. I was really glad to
Shikumen
see a more popular neighborhood and I was
amazed by the friendly atmosphere there.
There were people playing cards in the street, every house had a balcony where you
could speak to your neighbor while doing the laundry or else.
Xintiandi : I could not speak about shikumen without speaking about Xintiandi. This
place is really interesting as it is one of the most dynamic neighborhoods, especially
at night but it is also a place full of Shanghai s history. Indeed, you can find
shikumen but it is also the place where the first Congress of the CCP took place in
1921. And the best thing is that it is a car free area where you can find a more
peaceful atmosphere.
As a conclusion I would say that Shanghai is a city full of surprises. It is know to be
China s economic center but it is not just high buildings and large roads. I like the
fact that there are so many different places that everyone end up feeling at home.
One of the things i also appreciate is that people are most of the time helpful and
welcoming. And for those who can t adapt to chinese food or way of life there is
always the French Concession where you can find western style restaurants, bars
and shops.
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