A rising star in the east
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10/18/2002
As far as the eye can see in every direction, monumental construction dominates the skyline. There was a time, although this was a long time ago, that I used to think the "dreaming spires" of Oxford tall. But now, once again, I find myself continents away from that place called home.Every time I travel I become filled with the spirit to pursue those things that make any place what it is. Now finding myself sitting in the middle of China's rising star, what will I be pursuing? What will I find that makes Shanghai Chinese, or more to the point, Shanghainese? I could talk about an exponential rise to metropolitan status over the last decade, about a population of 14 million and rising, about cultural diversity or about the expected surpassing of a bygone Hong Kong. But this piece isn't going to go down that road. I'm not here to teach residents of Shanghai about Shanghai. Of course it's a learning experience, but the real nub here, is why foreigners should want to learn about Shanghai, or come here at all. Putting aside the financial opportunities that are endemic to any budding economic centre, there should always be a willingness to increase understanding between different cultures and societies. In an ever-expanding global economy, willingness is usually a consequence of interaction, as opposed to a cause of it. Cause here, as with most things, is the reserve of capital gain. Yet the people of Shanghai can be given credit for trying to buck this trend. Walking along the Bund on my first day I was approached by a Chinese man called Bill. To my delight Bill didn't want to sell me a fake Rolex, he simply wanted to talk. He had been learning English for three years yet he spoke with the confidence and interest of a degree graduate. Genuinely wanting to know about the UK and me, such mutual willingness meant any cultural misunderstanding would be surmountable. But irony still had one card to play. Eventually Bill informed me that he had named himself after Bill Gates, the Microsoft multi-billionaire, in the hope that this would bring him similar success. I guess money really does make the world go round. None the less, in the coming weeks, I hope to link with Shanghai on as many other levels as possible.
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