Living in Shanghai for nearly a week has been a very interesting and different experience for me. I can honestly say that I am actually not into cosmopolitan cities with bars, clubs and shopping malls surrounded by a city landscape as I am more interested in cultural aspects of a place full of history and custom surrounded by mountains and natural landscapes. However, Shanghai is a very unique place.It is one like no other that I have seen or experienced. I find it fascinating to observe, listen and interact with the people here and have learnt so much in these six days. Sitting on the 19th floor of one of the many massive sky-scraping buildings here, at Hays (my corporate company) has given me much to observe, listen to and interact with.

We'll start with the the city landscape. Looking at the views from the windows on the 19th floor says a lot about the city. I look out of the window and see huge modern buildings with complex structures highlighting it's wealth and prosperity and then alongside it I see these small clumps of houses stuck right in the middle of the hub, houses that seem very out of place. They remind me of houses from the industrial revolution. The architecture of some of the buildings here is absolutely amazing. We went to see The Bund, xiantiandi and other places I cannot remember the names of. Shanghai is impressive.

Next I'll talk a bit about the culture. I have talked to many people and they seem to agree with the idea that Shanghai is a very mixed place. It is hard to distinguish Shanghai culture as it is a mix of many different cultures. It is extremely westernised. Walking around Shanghai, you could easily believe that you are walking the streets of New York. You have to see it to believe it. There are other places where you could believe you were walking a street in Italy or France. Shanghai is known by many as "not China." "If you want to experience real China, go outside of the major cities, the cities with less development and money and you will see the real China." This probably has much to do with Shanghai's history and all the different western countries that have ruled over it in the past. It is so interesting to learn more about this unique city. One of the things here that I can say really sticks out is the variety of food that you can get. Italian, Japanese, American etc. There is too much to choose from and i love the prices. :) Thumbs up for that :D

Moving on to the people, I must say, they seem like the many that you would see in London. They come across as very modern and cosmopolitan. Shanghai is seen as an international city, meaning that foreigners are welcomed. However, there are two sides to each story. There are still many poor people I see collecting plastic bottles, cleaning streets and wiping lifts. Some do not take to foreigners very well either as some believe that they are taking jobs and housing leaving none for the Shanghainese people themselves. There's much "contrast and contradiction" in Shanghai; the poor alongside the rich, the tall and the short, the old and the new.

Shanghai I would say has a very confused identity.

So far I have been working in a company called Hays Recruitment. The jobs are not the most exciting in the world but the people are lovely. I have had so many interesting conversations with people and they are all extremely nice. I've been bought lunch twice, I've had conversations about culture, HR, Finance, Pharmaceuticals, travelling and much more. Talking to the people here is the best part of the job. It is a very diverse group of people. I will just say that the hours are long (9am - 6pm) and it takes a lot out of us (me and Braden). We get back to the hotel at about 7pm, except for the first day (when we got lost), and then we have to go and find somewhere to eat. I hardly get much time to rest. By the time you get to your room, you have to sort things out and then before you know it, you're doing it all over again. Life here is very busy and fast paced. People do not like to do things slowly I can say that. Thumbs down for that :( but hey, I don't mind. :) It's all part of the experience.

Zaijian

Pooja x