“Why so
many blog posts?” I hear you ask. “Aren’t you supposed to be doing some
research there?”. Lol, I wish I was, and I’m bugging the other students as much
as I can for them to show me where everything is and how to use their machines,
etc. So far, all I’ve managed to do is order some primers, and I’m waiting for
some antibiotics and SYBR green to arrive which won’t come until next week.
That’s
because the first week of October is a national holiday for the Chinese, goes
under the guise of celebrating the founding of the People’s Republic of China
in 1949, but in reality, the week’s paid holiday was introduced in 1999 to help
boost domestic tourism and the economy. There has been some calls for the holiday
to be cut back because of too much disruption to the regular services, but it
can’t be said that it’s not working to boost tourism. If anyone is doubting
whether this week long holiday has boosted tourism, they need to see my
pictures.
There are lots of decorations up, mainly of the Chinese
flag, and also pop up face-in-hole boards in the street.
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| Me and Lu, posing as Maoist "comrades" |
People are turning out in their droves, which means that
although Shanghai is a pretty busy and crowded city already, the main tourist
spots are now at bursting point.
Before I came, when I heard that
this would be a week of holiday, I thought that this would be a great time for
Sam to come and visit. But now, I'm so glad I heeded the advice of Dexi, the
first exchange guy who is on his year-long stay in Leicester at the moment, who
told me that under no circumstances should I go and visit any tourist sites
then, and that it would be better for Sam to come later. He also told me that
sometimes during that week, he just stays in his dorm, relaxing. I couldn't
understand how this could possibly be, in a city that seems so exciting and
with so much to offer. I told myself that I wouldn't be doing this under any
circumstances. But having been on the Bund at dusk yesterday, I am now inclined
to agree!
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| Lady at the bottom right hand corner of this shot trying to get a sneak picture of me |
The sheer number of people clamouring over each other to get
a shot of the Bund was stifling, and this was also the moment a charming middle
aged lady who can be seen in the bottom right corner of the picture decided to shove a
camera in my face to take a photo as if I wouldn't notice, despite being squashed right up against her, and everyone else there.
Because, yes, the holiday has
brought all the country people from the areas outside of Shanghai into the
city, with their fascination for western people. The past few trips into the
city this week is when the infamous “locals ask to have photos taken with
westerners” had started. On campus, nobody really bats an eyelid at the
presence of a westerner in their midst. Sure, we are quite rare in the canteen,
and maybe the odd person stares a little bit longer than usual, but it’s not
obtrusive or irritating. I think that most Shanghai people are pretty much used
to Westerners, especially at the university, where I’d say 50 % of the students
at the international dorms are of Caucasian descent, and the rest are Korean.
However, when we get to major
tourist spots, there must be country people who haven’t ever seen a westerner
in their life, because that is where I start getting requests to pose for
photos with people. The first one happened in the Yu gardens while we were
waiting for the boys to get the tasty Bell cakes, and I must admit, I thought
it was hysterically funny that some stranger would want a photo with me, and
the girls from my lab were also in fits of giggles. It wasn’t hard to smile
those first few times, since I was laughing already. I thought I was getting a
taste for what it feels like to be a celebrity! Another expat blogger in China, Sara, writes a very funny blog post about this called "Move to China and Become a Celebrity". This is pretty much how I'd describe it! Although I don't hear the words
I find it really cute when
little kids are curious about me, and some of them try to practice what few
English phrases they may know. I found these two little cuties (or maybe they
found me?) in the Yu gardens, as they were singing “Hello, hello, hello” behind
me, and then I realised they were talking to me.
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| Cute Chinese kids wanted to pose with me :) |
Their
parents told them to say “Nice to meet you” and when I said “Nice to meet you
too!” back, everyone fell into fits of giggles. So when their parents suggested
a photo, of course I obliged and got one for myself too. Who could refuse such
little sweeties, with their inquisitive faces so full of anticipation and
curiosity!
One of the things I’m really glad
about is that in Chinese culture, there isn’t a cold fear of others that
pervades so much in British culture that means you can’t so much as look at
another person’s child without some frosty stares that
suggest they’re suspecting you of being the next Mark Bridger. Whilst those
cases are tragic and horrifying, I’m sure that they are isolated incidences;
whereas it sometimes feels like that the British culture acts as though they
are commonplace, and that people need to be on their guard. It might just be
that the British like to have their personal space and keep the distance more. There is much less of a big deal on personal space in China, and if that is precious to you, then China won't be for you. People in China people seem very at ease with their children, and allow them to
explore, and they seem happy for them to interact with me and others. In fact, Chinese
people seem to be quite touchy-feely, since some people who posed with me
grabbed my arm as they stood next to me, or put their arm round me, like the
girls in this photo. It’s nice to see that people are really friendly and open.
There
was also a funny couple at the ferry from the Pudong side that made me laugh,
as it was clear that the girl wanted a photo, but she was too shy to ask, so
her boyfriend went ahead and asked me while she slapped him, embarrassed. I
thought this was hilarious, so of course, I had to pose with them. I don’t mind
if people ask politely, but unfortunately it sometimes happen that if people
see me posing with others, they want to do it too, and they begin to get into a
queue, as if I was a tourist attraction myself, along with the Oriental Pearl
and the Bund. This kind of lessens the magic a little, and I start to feel a
bit like a commodity rather than a person.
It was
especially bad when I had a nap on a grassy verge in the park and barely had I
raised my head to wake up, when some guy was already asking me for a photo,
shortly followed by more people queuing. I think some people must have started
to sense that it was getting annoying, so they satisfied themselves with taking
photos of me by myself from afar, which I found equally, if not more creepy. I
was starting to understand how celebrities can get annoyed with the paparazzi.
But
this lady on the Bund was really taking the biscuit as we were all squashed up
against each other in a crowd, and without saying a word, not even in Chinese,
she tried to surreptitiously take a photo of me when she saw me behind her. When
she wasn’t satisfied with the photo, she tried again, not so surreptitiously. I
was like “hello lady, I’m right here” (there must have been less than 10 cm between
us, so thick was the crowd) and felt like flipping the bird into her photo. However,
my politeness prevailed, and I just about managed a sarcastic smile and wave
for her photo. I also started to think about the reverse, and the kind of reaction
Asian people would have if they received the equivalent treatment in Europe. It
would be considered unthinkably racist for British people to stop a Chinese
person on the street to pose with them, yet here it seems perfectly normal!
Dear Chinese people, it’s okay to have a photo with me, but
please have the courtesy to ask me politely first!
However,
by this time I’d had enough of the crowd and had got my obligatory photo of the
Bund, and just decided to head home. It took about 10 – 15 minutes to make the
500 m journey back to Nanjing Road East metro station through the crowd.
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| The Bund at dusk |
Coming back to the spacious, quiet campus was a welcome
relief, and I went to my dorm room and had a well-earned rest, without anybody
bothering me, blending into the background again. It was much more comfortable
to be at home. Maybe Dexi was right after all.
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