Shanghai and Mission: Impossible III

After Yangshou was the true final “port of call”: Shanghai. A genuine port city, and more recently now the largest port city in the world, Shanghai is well known in western popular culture for its mix of excitement, intrigue, and old stories. One of China’s more literally named cities, Shanghai is directly translated into “on the sea” (Shang=above/on, Hai=sea). Certainly a more flattering name than the old “whore of Asia” moniker bestowed on Shanghai in the 1930's. On a technical level, Shanghai is one of only four cities (along side Beijing) that is directly administered as a province-city, and has gone through an amazing economic boom ever since the Central Government granted it special-economic-zone status in the early 1990s.

Our flight and drive into Shanghai was much like the drive into Chengdu, another busting metropolis: a long drive, going past wave after wave of highway, high rise apartment, and business skyscraper. With a population well over 18 million, and billions of yuan being poured into the city, the investment was right before our eyes. Much like New York, as a major port city, and with the government until recently mandating the positioning of financial businesses in Shanghai, Shanghai is the generally regarded center of finance and trading in China.

Our first stop was the main symbol of Shanghai’s economic development: The Pearl TV tower. Ostensibly a broadcast and production station for local Shanghai television, the Pearl Tower stands out as one of the world’s more distinguishing skyscrapers, up there with the Empire State Building and the Sears Tower. Composed of two large spheres, and a third as the tower exceeds three hundred meters, we had the pleasure of ascending to the “top observation deck” located in the second large sphere. The view from the deck was amazing, despite a light fog–or is that pollution?–and we all enjoyed the time.

Of particular note, Shanghai was featured prominently in the film Mission: Impossible III, where Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt, to save his wife, has to recover the “Rabbit’s Foot” from the top of a Shanghai high rise. In the background, and then again at night, are the two buildings. The oval shaped building with red logo is the building Hunt base-jumped off, and the building on the left with the triangular top is the supposed home of the “Rabbit’s Foot.” Chalk up another on-action-film-location photograph for Mike Wagner, following two on-site photographs for James Bond movies.

Some of our crew were getting jaded with China at this point, but I enjoyed Shanghai. It was significantly more western, perhaps attributing to my like, and had all the amenities of any big city. The Shanghai museum, in particular, was an extremely well done example of city and national work, featuring coins from thousands of years ago, the evolution of Chinese calligraphy and paintings, and more contemporary works of history.

The next couple of days included a visit to China’s new credit card processing center, a “top secret facility” and more independent wanderings. Another highlight for me was the Shanghai science museum, reminding me of the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. This, however, looked much more . . . scientific, with glass and steel forming the futuristic looking building.

The displays were generally very good, with helpful notations in english for many of the displays. Another highlight was found in the robot museum, where I ran into the Peking Opera–performed by robots. Too cool an opportunity to pass up, and with the Chinese fairly lax about photographing performances, and the performers–robots–not caring, I snapped a few photos of the strangest stage performance I have ever seen.

Shanghai was generally a free day, and I spent much of it by myself visiting the museums, and one of the city’s parks, Century park, pictured here with the Goodyear Blimp–in town for an auto show–visible overhead. The evening we had another group dinner and time to hang out in the hotel, and in general enjoyed a relaxing evening.

Finally, on April 27, we boarded the train from Shanghai to Beijing–another 12 hour train ride, and headed for home. We were tired, and looking forward to sleeping back in the dorms, but glad we had gotten to see more of China than most–even in China–will ever see. Two days later, the majority of us packed our bags, boarded a bus, and headed for Beijing Airport . . . except for me, who found a hotel near campus, and holed up as I waited for my parents to arrive.