March 10, 2024
If Beijing is the heart of China than Shanghai must be its soul. After my third visit to this city, I am still intrigued by how vibrant it remains. Shanghai is one of those cities that must be experienced rather than toured. There are three reasons why I think it is so dynamic.
- Location. Shanghai is located on the Huangpu River where countless barges and ships tool along unmarked lanes. There are 125 berths for ships to dock and Shanghai is the starting point for 231 worldwide shipping routes. Shanghai has produced so much commerce that the new international cruise port can process 1 million passengers per day. Yes, thar number is correct-1 million per day!
China has created an ecosystem around shipping, representing 40% of China’s GNP. That amounts to 2.5 trillion dollars or 53% of all of China’s trade values. We see a lot of 18-whellers on US highways but 85% of all goods traded are transported by sea. China is the world’s largest ship builder. Almost every ocean shipping container in the world is built in China including 100% of temperature-controlled containers. Much of that money flows through Shanghai making it a hub for international finance and the home of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, one of the largest stock exchanges in the world.
This commitment to the development of water routes is not new. The Grand Canal is the largest artificial river in the world. It extends 1,104 miles between Beijing and Hangzhou. The oldest sections of this essential vehicle for trade were completed in the 5th century!
2. Architecture. Shanghai has been described as the “showplace” of the economy of China. Featuring several architectural styles such as Art Deco and shikumen, the city is renowned for its skyline.
The central meeting place for all of Shanghai is The Bund. This over a mile and a half-designed masterpiece is a pedestrian walkway that hugs the Huangpu River showcasing the Oriental Peart Tower and the Yu Garden. A combination of Central Park in New York City and the Arc of Triumph in Paris this thoroughfare is brimming with activity from sunrise to the wee hours of the night. Everything can be found here: juggers, shops, food venders, incredible views. Safe, clean and friendly and one of the world’s best people watching locations. It’s hard to believe in 1990, this entire area was farmland and rice paddies.
3. People. Shanghai has a checkered past. Opium was used judiciously as medicine in China. If you remember from school that circumstance created the first war on drugs-The Opium Wars. For centuries China was an isolationist and self-sustaining country. Emperors viewed all non-Chinese as “foreign devils” and thought that there was no foreign product worth opening its ports to. At the same time, England was intoxicated with Chinese tea, silk, and porcelain and desperately wanted a product of similar value to be used as currency in trade. The British came up with a sinister plan to smuggle Indian opium into China in order to barter for tea. At first, opium became a recreational drug among scholars and officials, but soon became a punishing addiction throughout the providence. People would do anything to get access to opium creating notorious “opium dens” and Shanghai became a city marred by brothels, crime and death. In 1839, the Emperor sought to abolish the opium trade by confiscating 20,000 crates of opium. The British retaliated with naval warfare and the “Opium Wars” lasted nearly four years.
The long-term impact of opium on the Chinese culture was long standing. It was not until 1950, that Chairman Mao eradicated the consumption and production of opium. Ten million addicts were forced into compulsory treatment and dealers and growers were executed. Unfortunately, opium production shifted to Southeast Asia and spread to American soldiers serving in Viet Nam. In 1971, 20% of soldiers regarded themselves as addicted.
This cultural dynamic is similar to Medellin, Colombia, a city I am very familiar with. For two decades “the king of cocaine” Pablo Escobar, terrorized the citizens of Medellin with hideous crimes with immunity. His net worth in 1991 was 30 billion dollars (77 billion dollars today) Yet, Medellin was recently named one of the most innovative cities in the world and does not remotely resemble Medellin of 30 years ago.
Just as it is with human nature, when we overcome adversity, we do not want to dwell on the past but celebrate the future. Those who live and work in Shanghai and Medellin do that very well-and it shows.
These are two cities that should be on everyone’s travel bucket list.
Thanks for travelling with us…
