![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nomadscatalans.net\/fetataiwan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/2566714935_4018446800.jpg\" "\\"2566714935_4018446800\\"")
<\/center><\/p>\nShanghai<\/a> es simplement gegant (~18\/19 milions d’habitants, oficialment). \u00c9s la ciiutat m\u00e9s poblada de Xina i una de les m\u00e9s grans de tota la Terra. Com \u00e9s d’esperar aix\u00f2 t\u00e9 efectes secundaris en la gent que viu all\u00e0. Els amics taiwanesos ja ens havien avisat, per\u00f2 tot i aix\u00ed, encara va ser impactant observar la impaci\u00e8ncia i mala educaci\u00f3 dels habitants de Shanghai. \u00c9s un espectacle les corredisses i les lluites per aconseguir un seient al metro o com poden fer veure que tu no hi ets quan estas fent cua per alguna cosa. El servei (hotels, caf\u00e8s, restaurants, etc.) deixa molt que desitjar en la gran major\u00eda de casos, sobretot quan el podem comparar amb l’amabilitat dels taiwanesos (i del sud-est asi\u00e0tic en general).<\/p>\n Amb tanta gent i tants llocs on anar, cal alguna mena d’ajuda per saber on anar i amb qui confiar. En els taxis per exemple, al costat del n\u00famero de llic\u00e8ncia i la foto del conductor tenen unes estrelles (de 0 a 5). El n\u00famero d’estrelles indica el temps que porta el conductor fent de taxista i la satisfaci\u00f3 dels clients (no ens va quedar clar com podien saber aix\u00f2, suposem que la falta de queixes \u00e9s el criteri). La foto de les 4 estrelles no \u00e9s nostra, est\u00e0 agafada d’Internet. El nostre m\u00e0xim van ser 2 estrelles. Nom\u00e9s els taxistes amb 5 estrelles podien servir a la Expo de Shanghai ja que les 5 estrelles impliquen que poden comunicar-se en angl\u00e8s.<\/p>\n Un de les sorpreses agradables de Shanghai va ser veure la quantitat de vehicles el\u00e8ctrics, sobretot les motos petites. A Taipei tenim encara m\u00e9s motos i s\u00f3n molt sorolloses. Els vam fer quatre fotos mentre plovia ja que es posen una mena de \u00abponcho\u00bb de pl\u00e0stic for\u00e7a especial.<\/p>\n Com que duien el port\u00e0til i teniem internet al hotel vam poder tenir experi\u00e8ncia directa de la censura d’internet que aplica el govern xin\u00e8s.<\/a> No hi ha acc\u00e9s a les planes web de YouTube, Facebook o Twitter. Hi ha solucions t\u00e8cniques per saltar-se aquesta censura (si vius all\u00e0) per\u00f2 et fa reflexionar sobre el poder de l’informaci\u00f3 en els nostres dies.<\/p>\n Apart de visitar la Expo vam anar a Shanghai a trobar-nos amb amics. Ells van ser els nostres guies en aquesta ciutat tan cosmopolita. En diversos moments Shanghai recorda New York City als USA (sobretot pel fet de que en molts moments no sembla que est\u00e0s a la Xina, de la mateixa manera que NYC no sembla els USA)<\/p>\n Joan Lluis<\/a><\/p>\n El primer dia ens vam trobar amb en Joan Lluis Abenza<\/b>. Porta 5 anys a Shanghai! Ens va portar als llocs m\u00e9s coneguts de Shanghai (People’s Square, Nanjing Road, The Bund, etc.) i tamb\u00e9 vam sortir una mica de festa. Un parell de destacats dels temps amb el Joan va ser trobar-nos amb el mercat de parelles\/matrimoni al People’s Square i el dinar que vam fer amb la gent del Casal Catal\u00e0 de Shanghai (era l’11 de Setembre :)). Per cert, en Joan Lluis va participar al programa \u00abBalears pel m\u00f3n\u00bb <\/a> dedicat a Shanghai.<\/p>\n Si no podeu veure l’\u00e0lbum (no amb l’Internet Explorer? podeu anar al Picasa \u00e0lbum<\/a>) El segon dia vam dinar amb el Gerardo Wang<\/b>. En Gerardo vivia a Taipei fins fa pocs mesos (el podeu veure en les fotos d’alguna de les festes que hem organitzat a casa). Va ser molt interessant i agradable la retrobada i posada al dia sobre la seva nova situaci\u00f3 a Shanghai. Ens va dir a un restaurant especialitzat en cuina de Shanghai (Yuan Yuan.<\/a>) <\/p>\n [salbumphotos=48,160,3,n,n,uploaded_timestamp,center,]<\/p>\n Amb en Gerardo tamb\u00e9 vam passejar-nos una mica per la zona de la Concessi\u00f3 Francesa. Aquesta Concessi\u00f3 i altres zones a Shanghai (com el Bund) tenen una barreja \u00fanica d’arquitectura Europera\/Americana i cases xineses. En alguns moments pot semblar que est\u00e0s a Paris, Londres o b\u00e9 al Chicago dels anys 30.<\/p>\n Molta sort Gerardo!<\/p>\n Emma<\/a> <\/p>\n Finalment tamb\u00e9 vam trobar-nos amb l’Emma Escamilla<\/b>. Va marxar de Catalunya per instalar-se aNanjing, un \u00abpoble\u00bb de Si no podeu veure l’\u00e0lbum (no amb l’Internet Explorer? podeu anar al Picasa \u00e0lbum<\/a>) Entre guia i guia ens vam escapar per visitar les atracions tur\u00edstiques a Shanghai: el \u00abCarrer Vell\u00bb (una trampa! no cal anar-hi), els jardins de Yuyuan (interessants) i el temple del Buddha de Jade (una trampa! no cal anar-hi) i tamb\u00e9 el Shanghai World Financial Center<\/a> (hi havia l’observatori m\u00e9s elevat del m\u00f3n, fins que es va obrir el Burj Dubai a principis dels 2010)<\/p>\n Tourist traps<\/a><\/p>\n Si no podeu veure l’\u00e0lbum (no amb l’Internet Explorer? podeu anar al Picasa \u00e0lbum<\/a>) Amb els bitllets d’avi\u00f3 ens van incloure el tiquet d’un dia per visitar la Shanghai Expo<\/a>. Vam decidir anar-hi el dilluns 13\/09 i va ser una bona (o afortunada?) decisi\u00f3! Va ser un dels dies m\u00e9s tranquils a la Expo, amb \u00abnom\u00e9s\u00bb 296500 visitants (els dies r\u00e9cord a l’Agost van sobrepassar els 560000 visitants)<\/p>\n En qualsevol cas hi havia molta gent i moltes cues (de 2-4 hores) per accedir als pavellons m\u00e9s populars. Vam decidir invertir el nostre temps en opcions menys populars Iran, North Korea, Pavell\u00f3 conjunt Afric\u00e0, Barcelona, etc. (al mat\u00ed) i passar-nos pels famosos un cop fos de nit. L’estrat\u00e8gia va funcionar i vam poder veure molta cosa en un sol dia. Al pavell\u00f3 espanyol, per tenir passaport espanyol, vam poder anar per la porta del darrere (VIP). Els xinesos anaven tots bojos per omplir el \u00abPassaport de la Expo\u00bb amb els segells dels pavellons. No era raro veure com un cop tenien el segell no es preocupaven de visitar el pavell\u00f3. A la cua del pavell\u00f3 del Jap\u00f3 vam poder veure com la gent es barallava. En resum, per a nosaltres, la Expo no deixa de ser una fira on els pa\u00efsos fan promoci\u00f3 tur\u00edstica. Vam veure molt poca cosa relacionada amb el \u00abBetter City, Better life\u00bb que servia d’esl\u00f2gan per la Expo.<\/p>\n Shanghai Expo 2010<\/a><\/p>\n Si no podeu veure l’\u00e0lbum (no amb l’Internet Explorer? podeu anar al Picasa \u00e0lbum<\/a>) Shanghai<\/a> is just massive (~18\/19 million inhabitants, officially). It is the most populous city in China and one of the largest on Earth. That obviously has some side effects on the people that live there. We were already warned by our Taiwanese friends, but we were still surprised to see how rude and impatient Shanghai people are. It is a show to see how they fight to get a seat on the metro or how they ignore the fact that you are in front of them on queue. The service (hotels, cafes, restaurants) is in most cases barely acceptable, specially when compared to the gentle service we get in Taiwan or in most of South East Asia countries.<\/p>\n With so many people and places you need a guidance to know who\/where to go. On the taxis for example, they have a license number, a picture and also a number of stars. The amount of stars indicates the length of time the driver has been in the taxi business and the level of positive feedback received from customers, and range from zero stars to five.\u00a0 (the picture with 4 stars is from Internet, our maximum were 2 stars). Only taxi drivers with 5 stars were allowed to service Shanghai Expo as 5 stars imply that they speak more or less decent English.<\/p>\n Another interesting highlight of Shanghai were the number of electric vehicles, specially small scooters. That was\u00a0 a very positive point when compared to the noisy ones at Taipei. We took some pictures while raining as the drivers wear a full body plastic cover.<\/p>\n Spending these few days at China (with our laptop and Internet at the hotel) we could also experience the Chinese Government censorship on Internet<\/a> with no access to YouTube, Facebook or Twitter websites. There are technical workarounds if you live there but it clearly shows how information is power nowadays.<\/p>\n Apart from visiting Shanghai Expo, we went to Shanghai to meet with some of friends. They were able to show us this cosmopolitan city (I would compare it to NYC in USA)<\/p>\n Joan Lluis<\/a><\/p>\n On the first day we meet with Joan Lluis Abenza<\/b>. He has been living in Shanghai for 5 years now! He was an excellent guide to see the Shanghai landmarks (People’s Square, Nanjing Road, The Bund, etc.)\u00a0 and to party a little bit too. Worth a special remark are the \u00abDating\/Marriage market\u00bb we found at People’s Square and the lunch at the Casal Catal\u00e0 de Shanghai (it was September 11th, the national day of Catalunya :)). At the Casal lunch we managed to get some Catalan food.\u00a0 By the way, Joan Lluis was starring at \u00abBalears pel m\u00f3n\u00bb <\/a>TV show when they visited Shanghai.<\/p>\n If you can not see the album (still using Internet Explorer? you can link to Picasa album<\/a>) On the second day we had lunch with Gerardo Wang<\/b>. Gerardo used to live at Taipei and he even joined some of the parties we have organized at home. He moved to Shanghai just few months ago and it was really nice to share some time with him and get an update on his new situation. He took us to a very nice restaurant (Yuan Yuan<\/a>) focusing on Shanghai cuisine.<\/p>\n [salbumphotos=48,160,3,n,n,uploaded_timestamp,center,]<\/p>\n We also spent some time with Gerardo at the French Concession area. This Concession and other areas of Shanghai (like the Bund) provide a very unique mix of European\/American architecture with Chinese houses. As there were so many concessions (designated districts) to Western powers during the turn of the 20th century, at times the city has a cosmopolitan feel. From classic Parisian style, to Tudor style buildings that give an English flair, while the 1930s buildings put you in New York or Chicago.<\/p>\n All the best Gerardo!<\/p>\n Emma<\/a> <\/p>\n Last but not least, Emma Escamilla<\/b>. She moved to Nanjing, a \u00abtown\u00bb of If you can not see the album (still using Internet Explorer? you can link to Picasa album<\/a>) Between guide and guide we went to visit some of the tourist attractions at Shanghai: the old street (tourist trap! avoid) and nearby Yuyuan garden (nice place), the Jade Buddha Temple (tourist trap! avoid) and the Shanghai World Financial Center<\/a> (highest observatory in the world until Burj Dubai was opened on 2010)<\/p>\n Tourist traps<\/a><\/p>\n If you can not see the album (still using Internet Explorer? you can link to Picasa album<\/a>) With the airplane tickets we got also a ticket for 1 day at the Shanghai Expo<\/a>. We selected to go on Monday 13\/09 and it was a very wise (or just lucky?) decision! It was one of the days with less visitors at the Expo … just 296500 people (record days on August go beyond 560000 visitors)<\/p>\n Anyway, it was full of people and long queues (couple of hours) were required to visit the most popular pavilions. We decided to invest our time on less popular options such as Iran, North Korea, African joint Pavilion, Barcelona, etc. (in the morning) and then try to visit the famous ones after the sunset. The strategy paid off and we managed to see a lot on a single day. On the Spanish pavilion, for being Spanish citizens, we could use the back door\/VIP area :). Chinese visitors were running crazy to stamp as many seals as possible on their \u00abExpo Passports\u00bb… a number of them skipped the visit to the pavilion once they had the pavilion stamp. We also enjoyed some fights among Chinese visitors and security people on the queue to the Japanese pavilion. In short, for us, the Expo looked like a tourist promotion for most of the countries and we could barely see any reference\/demonstration related to the \u00abBetter City, Better life\u00bb slogan of the Expo.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nomadscatalans.net\/fetataiwan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/taxis.jpg\" "\\"taxis\\"")
Un sistema d’evaluaci\u00f3 similar s’aplica als restaurant i hotels. En aquest cas hi ha cares m\u00e9s o menys somrients (3 nivells, vermell\/groc\/verd).<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nomadscatalans.net\/fetataiwan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/bikes.jpg\" "\\"bikes\\"")
<\/center><\/p>\nEls nostres guies<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n2<\/del> 8 milions de persones no massa lluny de Shanghai. All\u00e0 l’Emma ensenya castell\u00e0 i la vegada millora el seu xin\u00e8s. No vam poder compartir gaire estona plegats ja que ella havia d’agafar el tren de tornada. Vam donar voltes pel Taking Road Art Centre i vam fer una birra al The Bell bar<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nTrampes pels turistes<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nShanghai Expo 2010<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/nomadscatalans.net\/fetataiwan\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/visitors1.png\" "\\"visitors\\"")
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\nSo, as you saw on the previous post, we wanted to go to Shanghai after Anna got the visa. Pulpito did not get his visa for China so this time he could not travel with us. We arranged for an extended weekend (4 days) to visit Shanghai and go to the Expo.<\/p>\n<\/center><\/p>\nA similar visible evaluation system (based on smiling faces)\u00a0 is applied to the \u00abFood Safety Inspection\u00bb on restaurants and \u00abCustomer satisfaction\u00bb at the hotels.<\/p>\n<\/center><\/p>\nOur local guides<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\n2<\/del> 8 million people near Shanghai, where she’s teaching Spanish at a university and improving her Chinese at the same time. We could not spend much time together because she had to take the train back to Nanjing. We wandered around Taking Road Art Centre and had a beer at The Bell bar<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nTourist traps<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nShanghai Expo 2010<\/h2>\n
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