Shanghai is the perfect place for a person to eat themselves into a food coma on a daily basis.

There is something to eat, be it on the side of the road, or within a small restaurant, seemingly every ten paces.  Apparently, Shanghai cuisine is known country-wide for its sweet flavor profile according to our Chinese hosts at Fudan University.  I tend to agree, as there is a little sweetness to many of the dishes I have had here.

I have always heard that dishes commonly served at Chinese restaurants in the United States do not exist in China.  However, on several occasions we have eaten dishes such as sweet and sour pork, sweet and sour fish, and Kung po chicken that have admittedly tasted quite similar – who would have figured?

On the whole, I have really enjoyed eating noodle soup (one of my favorite things in the world), roasted fish, and Chinese hot pot.  I literally did not want to stop eating during the hot pot meal.  Cooking meats of all types in broth (including congealed blood cubes) and dipping them in various sauces appeals to my decadent side.

One thing I have noticed about the city is that there is an abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables available within walking distance; sometimes multiple locations on a single block.

If you weren’t thinking about having some fruit, then it jogs your memory seeing carts of fresh fruit displayed right there on the side walk.  I wonder if the same were true for Atlanta or other US cities, whether people would consume more fresh produce or not.

Like anyone from a large family will tell you; if you don’t get in and get your food, you won’t eat. The same applies for Shanghai.  I think we all have learned that in a city this large you have to get in line and assertively, but politely place your order.  Otherwise, you could be in line for quite some time.

Cheers Shanghai.

Trying to understand Chinese culture in only two weeks is a tough task. Trying to understand Shanghai in two weeks is nearly impossible.

Shanghai is a city of contradictions that at times are both beautiful and jarring to the senses. The city has some of the finest modern architecture in the world; skyscrapers whose form seems to defy gravity and are surrounded by abundant greenspace. Looking at these buildings I feel like I am in one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

The streets are busy with pedestrians in designer clothes, and the number of BMWs, Audis, and Ferraris would please the most status conscious American. Construction of new buildings is happening everywhere we go and much of the new construction is slated for luxury apartment homes.

And yet, amidst all of this luxury, status, and wealth you will see someone riding a bike loaded with goods twice as tall as the rickety bike with the rider, negotiating the traffic as if he belonged there. And he does belong there; but he doesn’t belong there, at least not to me.

My world view tells me that he belongs in a rural setting. Yet here he is in downtown Shanghai and no one thinks anything about it. Understanding Chinese (especially Shanghai) culture is more than understanding what is black and white; they use chopsticks and we use forks. To fully understand the culture you need to understand the sensory cues that tell us what we should expect in a given situation.

When we are given a cue and expectation does not meet reality the result can be discomforting, disorienting, intriguing, and wonderful all at the same time. Ferrari meets bicyclist, luxury condo meets shanty, fine dining meets street vendor, cultural pride meets Western marketing, progress meets censorship. This is Shanghai.

Our Fudan University classmates threw a party for us today. They gave us university t-shirts, provided Pizza Hut pizza, KFC, Coke, Sprite, and a lot of candy. We danced and played games for hours and I was sorry that it had to end. It has been such a pleasure to have class with the Chinese students and engage in discussions with them that we otherwise would not have the opportunity to have. There are things about America that they are curious about, and there are things about China that we are curious about.

As researchers, having discussions like this exposes our cultural biases and will hopefully lead to a better understanding of how these biases affect our research. I think that this may be the most important thing that I take away from this study abroad experience.

An excursion to an ancient waterside town sounds like a great first adventure to have in Shanghai, which is exactly what it turned out to be. As we began our journey, I started to wonder how the town would look. Would it be similar to the upper class urban area around our hotel? Would the people look similar to the individuals that we passed in the streets of Shanghai? How would the food taste?

As I pondered these questions on the train and bus, I could see the cluster of tall buildings slowly diminish. I began to feel a calm come over me.

As we stepped off the bus and strolled along the dirt road, I could see the residents look in amazement. We managed to walk about one hundred feet before we saw a noodle shop. I noticed Arabic and Chinese on the sign of this small restaurant, which surprised me especially because Arabic is native to me.

As we sat and ordered, a man returning from Friday prayer put on his apron and began making the noodles from scratch. At this point I knew these noodles were going to be one of the best I have ever eaten, which I turned out to be right. I could taste the effort put into his true art form.

With our bellies beyond satisfied we ventured off to see what else this place filled with pleasant smiles and delicious food had to offer. Zhaojia Tower was absolutely beautiful. We sailed through the river on a small boat as we discussed the history of this serene town located in the suburbs of Shanghai.

I thought about how urbanization had not yet deteriorated this picturesque place into endless concrete and tall buildings. The people were friendlier in this town than the residents of the city. It felt like a big community, more like a big family, where I was completely at ease.

The people here had not become consumed by technology, where they stared at their phone constantly, as those in the busy center of Shanghai. Children were playing, adults were chatting with one another, and the employees of the small businesses were selling hand made goods along with more delicious food. Although the town had not seen the same economic growth as the city, the people were in tune with the culture and the people that surrounded them. I felt at home.

During a visit to a local supermarket in Shanghai, I made my way down the cosmetic aisle looking for a face moisturizer. Although most of the products descriptions were written in Chinese, “whitening” was vividly marked in English across most of the products.

Not only did face creams contain these whiteners, but face cleansers, soaps, lotions, and even deodorants had whitening agents.

Most of these products are marketed towards women, but there are some whitening products for men as well. In China and East Asia, pale skin is seen as the ideal beauty standard.

Traveling down the streets of the city I have seen many women walking down the street with an umbrella to shade themselves from the sun. This made me reflect on the “colorism” that you find in the United States and other parts of the world and the response by people of color to lighten their skin in order to fit in with society’s idea of beauty. As a Black women, I understand the history in the United States and why white features are perceived as more beautiful, but I was interested in understanding the history behind this preference for pale skin and skin whitening in China.

After doing a little research I found that one’s skin tone was an indicator of one’s economic and social status. Chinese farmers who labored in the sun were easily distinguishable from the upper class by their darker skin. Nobles who were privileged enough to stay indoors and avoid the sun had fairer skin. This ancient beauty ideal and preference for fair skin is still deeply ingrained in the Chinese culture.

Although the history behind the colorism in China is different from the history in the United States, the public health impact is still a concern I had. Prolonged use of skin bleaching products can cause skin discoloration, skin cancer, and other medical problems. To see these products advertised everywhere in Shanghai and knowing they are so widely used throughout China without question is very concerning.

I awoke with a strong sense of anxiety about not being able to finish my GIS training, and knowing that later I would be paired with my group mates. Luckily anxiousness was quickly replaced with hungry pangs.

Even though breakfast is not a normal part of my day, it has become a time to practice my favorite past time – people watching. This daily leisure activity continued all throughout the day as I internally waffled between going to the art museum or the urban planning museum. Choosing the latter I soon found that it held many artistic renderings of Shanghai architecture.

Painting of Outside Bowling Centre on HengshanRoad

The phrase “this is amazing” became like a mantra when looking at Shanghai’s plan for the future.

Virtual Reality Exhibit to show future plans

This was almost also followed by “if Atlanta only”.

Apprehension soon returned as time drew near to meet our Chinese counterparts. This was abruptly interrupted by a case of stranger danger.

Upon boarding the number 9 exchange, a middle aged Chinese man felt a strong connection with Anna’s hair. Even with all the pointing and gawking from previous days, this was the first time I truly was uncomfortable. The event was purely creepy, but did lead to little-hearted laughs which helped to put my mind at ease.

Entering the campus I thought to myself it was time to put my nose to the grindstone, but I was so tired from the day the only thing I could think about was sleep and food. The anxiety I had woke up with and carried all day was now overshadowed by exhaustion and hunger. In most cases being either is bad thing, but this mixture allowed me to be free from anxiety. It made it where I could enjoyably listen to my group members speak. The day turned out wonderfully even though I let my nerves get the best of me.