Episode 14 brings us into the new year!
The end of the year was a somewhat interesting time for me. While I didn't get any time off for the holidays, we still didn't have much going on. In fact, I quite possibly may have been the only expat that remained in Shanghai - most other families went home for Christmas and the New Year... or at least went on a vacation.
On the other hand, we thought it would be nice to experience the winter holiday in Shanghai. Truth be told, it wasn't particularly nice. I was expecting more fanfare for the holidays, but alas there wasn't much in the way of caroling, hayrides, or Christmas concerts. There were some nice lights around town though, especially on the newly completed and operational Shanghai Tower:
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| My first night photosphere - from the overpass at Lujiazui |
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| Accompanying Tiny Planet |
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| Second night photosphere, from the Riverside Promenade |
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| And its Tiny Planet |
Instead, we continued doing little mini-adventures. First up after Christmas Day was a double header at Qibao Ancient Town and Jinjiang Action Park!
Qibao Ancient Town is the smallest of Shanghai's famous "water towns". But it makes up for its lack of size with its proximity to downtown Shanghai (it's by far the closest water town to where we live) and its plethora of local snacks:
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| Streetside pet shop selling turtles |
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| Cute themed bags and packs |
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| Candied Fruit |
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| These little cakes are filled with a red bean paste and have a texture very similar to American style pancakes! |
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| It wouldn't be a water town without a canal or two |
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| A temple sits on a peninsula on the other side of the town |
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| The "main attraction" is these narrow streets chock full of eats |
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| Like crabs, meat on sticks, squid on sticks, potatoes on sticks, eggs on sticks, pretty much anything you can think of on sticks... |
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| Let me take a selfie.. |
Jinjiang Action Park also has its place in China's history - it was China's first modern amusement park, built in the mid-90s. It's actually kept up a pretty decent level of maintenance, which was quite surprising to me, albeit a pleasant one! But since it is the oldest and smallest of the nearby amusement parks, it also doesn't have quite the patronage of some of its newer, flashier counterparts. Which meant less crowding, which is always something we appreciate! Also, its low price of admission (60 RMB or about $10 USD grants you admission into the park plus vouchers for two attractions - upgrade to a 100 RMB entrance fee and you get vouchers for six attactions!) means it's a pretty budget way to have a good time as well!
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| No lines? On a weekend? Sign me up! |
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| This ride made us really dizzy... |
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| It had a classic "flume ride" |
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| This river rapids ride was quite impressive and very well kept up! |
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| This ride features a reverse vertical drop that takes you backwards all the way back through the ride... |
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| I was the only one of us brave enough to ride it! |
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| The park is very well manicured and makes for nice strolling |
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| The double header day wore out the kiddos... |
A few days later, New Year's Eve caught up to us. Recently, Cherry has made friends with a wealthy lady from Fujian whose daughter goes to school with Sofia. As an aside, China, and notably Shanghai, features quite a large number of so-called "noveau riche" families that were in the right place at the right time during the opening up of China's economy. Cherry's friend is one such family, who came from a poor village but found the right business to get into. Fast forward about 10 years, the family business now has over 400 employees, and she just got a Maserati as her birthday gift from her husband! And we've seen dozens of examples of these kinds of cases. That said, it makes for a very interesting contrast with the common folk who live in the city, who often scrape by on around $1000 USD/month for a family of 3 (or 5 if you include the grandparents).
What the noveau riche has also done is created a huge market for luxury goods, services, and houses. Besides the aforementioned exotic cars like Maseratis, Ferraris, and the occasional Rolls Royce, the streets are full of Louis Vuitton and other fashion brands that typically sell for no less than 20,000 RMB (about $3500) for any given article. The new rich often travel overseas or to Hong Kong to give birth to children, where they will spend the traditional 1-month post-partum period at a full service "post-partum resort". Giving birth in Hong Kong also ensures "international" status for their children, allowing them to attend the international schools like Fifi's in hopes of equipping them with a command of English and exposure to Western style education. To avoid the risks of inflation, the new rich turn to purchasing property - many of the houses they purchase are several million USD in value... and the value of their homes is rising due to the high demand for housing in Shanghai! Even a small, 1000 square foot condo in the outer ring of Shanghai can command a sale price of over a quarter million USD at the time of writing, which really leads me to wonder about the overall economic well being of the typical $1000 USD/mo income families...
So back to the main story, prior to the end of the year, Cherry's friend treated Fifi and Lukas to play in a members-only indoor playground that costs 300 RMB, or around $50 USD, per child per day! While the playground is fun, it's hard to convince me that it has as much value as a trip to Tokyo Disney, which actually costs slightly less... But once again, there is a market for these safe, indoor playgrounds in Shanghai as the new rich are concerned about the air quality of the city and the maintenance quality of more common facilities.
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| Smoggy days like this are perfect for an indoor play day |
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| The facilities are nice, fairly large, and clean |
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| 90 degree slides are the rage in these indoor playgrounds - I tried it a few times myself, it's pretty scary! |
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| These slides are better for younger children! |
That night was the night of the tragic "Shanghai Stampede", where 36 people were trampled at the Bund area across the river in Shanghai. I had actually gone out in hopes of seeing some fireworks or light shows at night, as I was told those were typical activities during New Year's Eve in Shanghai. Little did I know that at 11:35, this tragedy occurred, causing most, if not all, of the New Year's festivities to be cancelled...
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| A photo of the Bund prior to the tragedy that a friend sent to us... it's hard to imagine being stuck in a crowd like that... |
The Shanghai Stampede really put a damper on the beginning of 2015 and was definitely a hot topic coming back into work in January. It seems to have had some other ripple effects as well - other planned annual festivals, such as the Lantern Festival, have also been canned. Furthermore, the lights in Shanghai have been noticeably dark ever since the new year... the Shanghai Tower, the "bottle opener "SWFC", and even the Bund, shown above, are no longer lit in the evening, presumably to discourage crowding in those areas. Lastly, while I haven't confirmed whether it is actually related, access to international internet, notably Google services (which are essential for my work) have been restricted tighter than ever!
Welcome to the 2015 at Grant's Pad in China - it's always an interesting adventure!
