Today I took the subway to work from my apartment in the Puxi 浦西 district of Hongkou 红口. One of the many modes of transport at my disposal. I have also been known to jump on the back of a motorcycle taxi, but please don’t tell my parents, or my insurance company. Anyway, while I was standing on the subway platform I suddenly realised that I could tell whether or not the next train was full by listening to the sound it made upon entering the station. This got me thinking about what it takes to be familiar with this place.
Up until a year ago I was living in Beijing. I would like to say I know that place inside and out, but Beijing is a pretty big place. The same could be said for Shanghai, but there are a lot of places in Shanghai I will probably never explore, mainly the suburbs. Apparently there is some good stuff over in the Jinqiao 金桥 area of Pudong 浦东, but I can never be bothered.
So how do I know that I have been in Shanghai too long (well a long time at least), here is my list in no particular order. Please do add your own suggestions in the discussion comments. Reflections about Beijing and Shanghai are also welcome.
1. You know the best place to get a bowl of wanton soup 混沌
2. You have taken the ferry between Puxi and Pudong
3. When someone says Moganshan 莫干山, you ask whether they mean the art district our the mountain retreat
4. You know that finding a Shanghainese restaurant is not an easy task
5. You know when 4 is 4 and 10 is 10, and when they are not (hint - pronunciation)
6. You have had at least one article of clothing custom made
7. You always look behind you before openning the taxi door
8. You know all the good places to snag a taxi （especially when it is raining)
9. The vendors know by your expression that you do not want what they are selling
10. You know which shops sell the higher quality DVDs
Regards,
Matt Park 段伟
You know on which day all the expat-event-listing magazines come out, you read them all, you know when all the events are, but then you don’t actually go because everyone in Shanghai is really busy!
7. You always look behind you before openning the taxi door
Is this a security thing? What are you looking for?
When you meet a street vendor in a different part of town and he is not standing by his “suitcase”. He comes up to you because he recognizes you, smiles and asks you to speak to his kid in English.
I have had this happen on two occasions with two different men.
Mike in Jubei
Will,
Sorry about that, more explanation is definitely needed. There are millions of bikes, motorcycles, pedal carts, and other small moving objects on the streets of Shanghai. Looking through the back window before you get in and out of a taxi can help avoid disaster (aka someone/something coliding with you). Safe to say I have had several near misses.
Matt Park 段伟
Similar to Colleen’s comment: the more new restaurants you find where you _could_ go, the less you can be bothered after you made friends with the xiaojie in that little yang rou chuanr (that’s then Beijing, of course) place right next to your hutong exit. You drop by at least every other day for a fistful.
Haha, good point Thomas. I’ve got a million restaurants I’d go to if I a)had time b)had money c)had a friend who happened to also have a) and b).
Fat Chance…
Yum…Yang Rou Chuan…I’m definitely having that for dinner:)
Interesting!! I’m currently living in Nanjing, last week I was standing on a subway platform waiting for the next train, I noticed that i have a better chance of getting a seat if i stand towards the middle of the platform. The logic behind that is that people are too lazy to walk all the way to the middle since the entrences to the platform are usually located at both ends. Ever since than I’ve been more succesful of getting a seat. And yes…. the thought of me living in Nanjing too long crossed my mind…
Interesting
What are yang rou chuanr?
../iliana
You know you’ve been living in Shanghai for too long when you can’t think of anything to write in this thread. To me, everything seems ‘normal’ around here. It is, isn’t it? There’s nothing really odd about Matt’s observations…
Ken Carroll
yang rou chuanr are little lamb kebobs sold on the street.
only sometimes they aren’t really lamb. arf ! arf ! woof ! woof !
In Beijing we called them hep sticks, or hepatitis-on-a-stick
maybe that’s because the “meat” has usually been sitting outside, unrefridgerated, for a day or two, and they are cooked over high-sulphur coal chunks.
I’ve had the hepititis vaccination series, and I am still afraid of eathing them.
Thank you, Ma Ding. Faaaascinating! I love the idea of grilled lamb kebabs, and now I’ll take special care in choosing my vendor; hep sticks? Yum! Er..
../iliana
never mind the hep - they are delicious! Some things are worth a risk, and 20 yangrou chuanr qualify…;-)