02.24.09

Chinese, Japanese, Shanghainese, Look at these!

Posted in Immigration, Society at 9:11 am by Benjamin Ross

Well, I’ve been in Shanghai for closing in on one week now, and just as my sleep is beginning to acclimate to the time difference, I thought it would be appropriate to give a little update of what’s going on.  The first two and a half weeks of this month-long trip are going to be mainly work related, and so far work has been consuming much of my time.  Unfortunately, without completely violating the trust (not to mention the NDA) of our client, there really isn’t much I can say about the project I’m working, other than that it deals with young Chinese video game enthusiasts.  (Trying to Chinese youth who play video games is about as difficult as finding Chinese people who like to eat rice.)

This is my fourth visit to Shanghai, and every time I come what sticks out more than anything is the level of Westernization.  I’ve always maintained that Shanghai is by leaps and bounds, the most internationalized and cosmopolitan city in China  (Beijing is a distant second.)  This manifests itself in the locals’ mannerisms and attitudes (basically everybody else in China, Beijingers included, are yokels), the clothes they wear (this is the only place in China where I have ever felt under-dressed or out of style), and the cornucopia of Western products they embrace (On my street alone there is a specialty Greek foods shop, a fruit store which sells fruit 3 times more expensive than the vendors who hang out outside the store, a golf course, and multiple golf pro shops.)

All this is great if you are, say, living in a small town in Fujian, and want to experience Western amenities without purchasing a $1000 plane ticket home.  But when you live in Chicago, and are trying to suck up as much China as you can fit into a one month excursion, it’s not quite as appealing.

Thus it came to my absolute delight, when yesterday afternoon I discovered, hidden away behind all the modern glitz and Japanese hair salons, an old “village” which today houses a community of recent immigrants.  In the US when we think of “immigrants” we are often implying those who come from other countries to seek a new life in America.  In China, when we speak of “immigrants” we are usually referring to those people who come from outlying rural areas to the big cities in search of better work and opportunities.  Like many immigrants in the US, Chinese immigrants frequently form their own local communities, and live lives almost entirely separate from the local population.  Thus, while the street on which my hotel lies, (the one with the golf course and the Greek foods shop) caters almost entirely to the Shanghainese and foreigners from Western countries, the “village” is populated almost entirely by migrants from poor rural areas in China’s interior.

Here are some pics of the village.

One of the main drags in the village.  I must say I like the uniform paint which uniformly tinted the entire row of buildings.

An old residence in which the bottom level has been converted into retail space.

Another residence; Often houses such as these are only ten or fifteen years old, but appear much older do to wear and tear, and poor construction.

Several gated villas such as this one stand out among the other architecture of the village, and possibly pre-date their surroundings.

Most of the residences open up to alleys, since the actual streets are lined primarily with storefronts.

Unlike my street which only five minutes away has virtually every Western fast food chain known in China, the migrants have to settle for “Mike burgers” when they want to sample western cuisine.

I think I know where I’ll be spending a good amount of my free time during the remainder of my stay in Shanghai.  More to come soon from the “Paris of the East.”

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