We weren’t convinced, not until the striking contrast of our next destination confirmed a surprising suspicion:
Shanghai is quiet, clean, and pleasant.
We should preface this post by admitting that we often abhor large cities. They tend to be loud, dirty, and unpleasant. The cacophony and ever-present danger of active machinery (traffic, construction, commerce) is pernicious. The refuse of millions of people squatting in the same spot on the map festers in dark corners. To us, strolling amidst trees and mountains is always preferable to monuments and tall buildings.
Shanghai is the third-largest city in the world with 24 million residents and, magically, it seems to be avoiding these classic pitfalls of the major metropolis.
First of all, the streets are pleasantly quiet. They bear minimal traffic, and it is subdued. Far more than cars, we encountered electric scooters, which hummed the down the road in veritable silence. And, no horns! There were many signs banning the use of horns—and they worked. I can count on one hand the number of times I heard a horn honked in the whole time we were there. What a pleasant change!.
And clean! Who would have thought? No litter to speak of, no overflowing dumpsters, no broken trashcans distributing their wares down the street. Instead, either through vigilance, coercion, or possible brainwashing, they have managed to make the accumulated nast of millions of people be… somewhere else.
Pleasant! Everyone we encountered was friendly and smiling (a pretty dramatic contrast to where we are now, but more on that later). They enjoyed commenting on our three boys (especially when they were wearing their packs), touching their hair, and taking pictures with us. Everyone was understanding about our limited language skills (very limited) and often enjoyed sharing the few words of English that they knew.
In all, I wish we had stayed longer, and I suspect we’ll come back when we get a chance.
Have you been to Shanghai? What were your impressions?
Anne and I were in Shanghai not too long ago, as part of an organized tour of China. I do recall that it was a more modern city than I expected (comparable or better than anything in the U.S.). I don’t remember the quiet, or cleanliness, but perhaps that is because we went from Shanghai to another city in China — which was probably almost as nice. So we did not have the urban contrast that you have foreshadowed.
It does sound like a great place for you to begin the international part of your grand trek.
Looks lovely. Paul’s dad graduated for “Shanghai High” or better know as the English School — King’s English, that is. Used to be many more Russians than these days. Shebalin were escaping the revolution in Russia. Smart move to hop the Trans-Siberian RR to Shanghai.
We are headed the other way, deeper into Siberia, but we read about the flight to the east of which you speak. Must have been an epic journey!