Shanghai and Tokyo

Over the last 2 months, many things happened during my return stay at Shanghai…

First, I began to think whether Shanghai is the right city for me. Shanghai is definitely very different from Tokyo. In terms of familiarity, Shanghai is as alien as Tokyo to me. The obvious difference between the two cities is that people in one city speak Japanese and the other speaks Chinese.

Besides, I think that most nice facilities in Shanghai that cannot be found easily in other cities in China is only for the rich people or expatriates here. Like many shopping malls, bars and apartments the price of which is prohibitive for the locals.

Plaza 66 is one of the most luxury malls in Shanghai. There are so many people cramming in dirty and old houses just right behind this edifice. Unfortunately, I’m just one of them, except that my house is clean and not very old. But I still feel very uncomfortable for this sharp contrast. The following map shows where I am living now in Shanghai.

© Zhu Xinquan. The second home in Shanghai

I am planing to go to Tokyo again at the end of this month.