Impressions of Shanghai

I really liked Shanghai for all of the contrasts it had. I was walking around in a busy street filled with what seemed like a million people, and then I looked down an alley way. There were only about five people and they were doing traditional things, like cooking traditional foods, playing a board game, or doing Tai Chi. Then when we ventured down these streets, I saw many people doing physical labor or hanging up laundry. The picture of the man biking with the load is one out of many you see in the streets. Others might be carrying of towing loads on carts. We saw one man who was carrying a ladder when he was biking through an intersection. When you walk back to the bigger streets, you see everything is modern. The people, men or women, young or old, are with the current styles. We have yet to see some practical shoes. We have only seen the tall boots and spikes heels. The women in the picture are not stylish for Shanghai. The haircuts are like haircuts you would see in a fashion magazine. There are TVs all around outside on buildings and some of them show fashions shows. This is what struck me most. Back in Boulder, you don't see either of these things.

Lianne