I love going to Shanghai and am quite happy to go once a week for work. If I have to stay overnight I usually stay on Jiaozhou lu which is close to the Jing’an Temple on line 2. It’s handy and I usually meet up with my friend Jude Shao for breakfast or lunch. Turning down the offer of a spy thriller I had picked up for him in a second hand book shop in the UK, I drank up and made my way to work.
On the number 113 to Jiangping Lu I sat next to a man who demonstrated the love of the Chinese for keeping stickers and coverings on things for far too long (window frames, remote controls, toilets…. you name it, the protective covers stay on forever). How on earth can this man see properly when the label is still stuck to his sunglasses. It reminded me of Lithuania where they did the exact same thing.
Arriving early for work I wandered around the streets and saw traditional Chinese ‘cupping’ being practiced.
This is the first time I had seen it and I certainly didn’t think anyone ever had consultations on the street! In the summer you see lots of people with round bruises on their arms and necks, all made from these little wooden devices.
Apart from those minor incidents, my trip to Shanghai was uneventful, except that is, for the purchase of a ripped off watch from the fake market.
It was after I had left and was on the metro that I realised it didn’t work. The next day I went back again and complained. He changed the battery and sent me off again. Then after 10 minutes it had stopped again so I went back, got my money back and shouted at him. I guess that’s what you should expect with a fake £2.50 watch.