Shanghai..

So, we all think about Shainghai as an international city both historically and certainly ever more so in the future.

But whatever the future holds, I was immediately confronted with the fact that my taxi driver didn't under a word of English nor the Chinese version of the hotel name that someone in Beijing had written out for me. Yes, I had my reservation sheet from the hotel but that didn't do much good in English. And the Chinese version wasn't working, so what to do next? Frantic, but thinking quickly, I remembered the phrase list at the back of the Time Out Shanghai guide that was resting in my backpack. I flipped quickly through the book and, much to my relief, found the name of the hotel written in Chinese. I passed the book to the front of the taxi and all was good. But this only one of several times the phrase book came in handy. So I have to thank Abby and Ed for providing their Time Out Shanghai book before I left SF.

There were so many notable things about Shanghai I hardly know where to begin and I don't want to bore you to tears with a very long entry. So here's some highlights:

--the 1/2 day walking tour around Shanghai with a fellow named Peter Hibbard, a historian affiliated with the Royal Asiatic Society who, I should note, has recently been recognized in some significant way by the Queen. (I don't want to misrepresent it so I'll leave it at that) Turns out that this man knows virtually every detail of the architectural history of Shanghai as well as every alley, vestibule and every nook and cranny of where to see both Shanghai's diverse architectural richness as well as places to point out the more subtle changes that are sweeping the lives of the people in Shanghai. I recommend him highly for anyone traveling to Shanghai but suggest you find a group to join as it will make his rather fancy price more affordable.

--the Jewish tour of Shanghai run by a very nice Israeli guy, Dvir Bar-Gal, who is passionate about bringing to light the history of the 20,000 Holocaust refugees who escaped to Shanghai during the war. (He did point out that there was a Chinese Diplomat in Vienna, Dr. Ho Feng Shan, who issued many visas but whose assistance to the Jews went unrecognized for decades. More recently Dr. Ho has been recognized at Yad Vashem so I will look for information on him when I get to Israel in a few weeks)

I should note that while there was no extermination in Shanghai, the conditions under the Japanese were deplorable; a significant number of refugees died from disease and some were imprisoned in wretched conditions at various times. And as the Japanese increasingly controlled Shanghai, they forced the Jews out of several neighborhoods and into a ghetto called Hongkou. So while it was a refuge, and many Jews made the best of it through cunning resourcefulness, it was a fairly horrible existence unto itself. And I should add, something I didn't learn about in Sunday school.

For those interested in this topic, you can check out the website www.shanghai-jews.com and you can google also for additional materials on the subject. But you should also know that while Dvir's tour focuses on the 20,0000 Jews who found refuge in Shanghai during the war, there is a rich Jewish history reaching back hundreds of years. So you might also "google" a bit about the Iraqi and Russian Jews who established communities in China long before the war. The Iraqi Jews in particular (the Sassoons, the Khadoories, the Hardoons) have a fasciinating history as traders and economic powerhouses who were also philanthropists and deeply engaged in the Shanghai community of their day.

-- the two cooking classes I took were the social highlight of Shanghai. I met a lot of interesting people from across the globe and had a very nice time both learning some Chinese cooking techniques and visiting a local food market. And as luck would have it, I met a very nice Swiss gay guy in the class (with a Chinese boyfriend) who showed me a bit of the arts scene in Shanghai and took me to a very nice tapas restaurant for dinner.

-- I had some really delicious peking duck and a hefty order of steamed dumplings in Shanghai (yes, I had it in Beijing too) for a mere $12. When I was finished stuffing myself, they brought a bowl of soup that was large enough to feed a table of 6. Unfortunately, I couldn't eat another thing and had to explain to my non-English speaking wait people that I was leaving it untouched. Next time.

-- and last, but not least, I attended a lecture of the Literary Guild, that was, coincidentally being held while I was in town. The person I went to hears speak is a woman named Tess Johnston, a retired Foreign Service Officer, who just published a short book about the overseas assignments that influenced her most in her years living abroad: Berlin, Vietnam and Shanghai. It was a nice event and the reading included some delightful personal touches about life in the foreign service. It made me wonder whether I still have a career overseas left in me -- perhaps stamping visas somewhere for a few years.

Shanghai is a city that is both rich in history and poised for change. It has a wide variety of architecture (new and old), culture, digital buzz, youth, migrant labor, pollution, a yen for the future and more. I would gladly spend another week there taking in more of their symphony, jazz, art and museum scene and revisiting some of the historical sites that captured my interest. It's a city that is much like London or Paris in Europe. You can probably visit any number of times and still find ways to enjoy the vibrancy of this fascinating place. Maybe I'll go back in December for an encore.