Shanghai: Better City, Better Life?

This weekend was a real treat for me. JT recently moved back to Shanghai for a few months with the start of his new job, so I decided this past weekend was a perfect time to escape the back woods of Nanjing and get a little “big city” life. Now when I first arrived in China almost two months ago (can you believe it’s been that long!) I only spent a day in Shanghai, and I was really too jet lagged to know what was going on. So upon arriving on Friday night to one of my favorite cities in the world I was ready to enjoy my weekend.

I expected a lot to change. In some ways it has, in others not at all. I guess the first, and most notable, difference was the people in Shanghai. The people in Nanjing are all pretty regular. You don’t see girls walking around in bizarre outfits (i.e. leggings with shimmery blue shorts and 3-inch heels) like you do in Shanghai. Even the kinds of foreigners in Shanghai are different than Nanjing. Here in Nanjing, the majority are teachers who, to me, are really laid back and very relaxed. In Shanghai, it’s definitely more of the rat race scene. While I’m not making the big bucks in Shanghai (which is kind of a cop out because I’d dare to say there’s a sizable faction of foreigners without “real” jobs who are just partying in Shanghai) I’m not spending like crazy either. Over the course of the weekend, I had some looks of shock when I told people I was living in Nanjing and working for a non-profit. I even had one wanna-be charmer tell me “You must have a big heart.” Whatever that means.

The clearest depiction of how this city is so entirely different than the rest of the country was when I met up with an old friend from my internship at the magazine. She’s a year older, from a city in northeastern (?) China and now works for a German architect firm. Her office was having a little party for colleagues, clients and friends on Friday night, so we thought it would be a good way to get the night started. I hadn’t seen Zhen in two years so it was a nice reunion, but I was kind of surprised to see how much she had changed. When we interned together she was still in university. University, or college, is much different in China. There are no frat parties and all-night drinking binges like back home. She had her first alcoholic drink ever at a party for the magazine when we were interning together. However, I just kind of watched in amazement as this girl chatted and flirted with these guys, foreign and Chinese, at this party. She was confident, self-assured and completely different from any of my Chinese girl friends in Nanjing. But I guess that’s what happens... We all grow up.

And it wasn’t just friends that were different. While there was a growing number of foreigners in the time I was in Shanghai two years ago, there’s even more now. I didn’t even feel like I was in China. As I rode around the city with JT and his friends going through old neighborhoods where he and I used to live, I was stunned to see foreigners walking around everywhere. For example, the street JT used to live used to be quiet with a few random shops here and there and you rarely saw foreigners walking around. When we were driving around on Sunday, there were all kinds of shops open and foreigners were everywhere. I kind of felt over protective of the city and was a little territorial. “No, this is my city. I was here first. Go away.” I mean, I guess I can’t say that because I don’t live there now, but that’s how I felt.

There’s this expo that’s happening next summer, so the city is in complete renovation in order to prepare. There’s signs and advertising where, even in Nanjing, with a debatable quote “Shanghai: better city, better life.” I’m not too sure I’m sold on that statement. I guess it was still like this two years ago, but it seems all is lost in trying to make it even somewhat resemble China. Other than the fact that there were a lot of Chinese people, I felt like I had escaped China for a few days. Even the workers at McDonalds spoke decent English.

Despite the changes, and I’m not saying they’re bad, it was great being back. Even better was spending time with old friends and, best of all, JT. While I’m enjoying Nanjing and not interested in leaving anytime soon, I would love to move back to Shanghai. I think if I moved there I could stay there for a long time. Maybe it was just the fact I had been away for so long and the weather was incredible that I’m seeing the sunny side of Shanghai. Oddly enough, it feels kind of like home. Like an Atlanta or a Gainesville. And one day I hope it is home again.