SHANGHAI...........WOW!!!!

What an incredible experience.....I don't really know how to summarise the trip in words which will do it the justice it deserves!


Our first point of call after walking through the arrival doors of Pudong International Airport was to travel to Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts (SIVA). We arrived at SIVA based in Songjiang, a suberb of Shanghai referred to as the university area which is made up of seven different specialist universities. After a 10 hour flight, a 7 hour time difference and very little if any sleep it was now 8am in Shanghai and we were beginning to look a little worse for wear. If we were looking worse for wear earlier in the day just imagine what we looked like by mid afternoon......! Lets just say that by mid afternoon we no longer had control of our bodies and they were automatically trying to switch to standby or shut down mode. Glancing round the room there was nodding heads everywhere as we all battled to stay awake and avoid the awkward situation of dozing off on day 1 during an introduction lecture from the SIVA lecturers. Some did better than others.........(a very short video clip will follow as evidence).



Yes, he was a sleep!

Day 1 slowly spiraled out of control due to the inability to stay awake and we made our way over to the hotel. We (the students) stayed at 'Shanghai Vienna International Hotel' which admittedly we were slightly apprehensive about as our paper work read, En-suite twin no windows.......NO WINDOWS and that was before we discovered the locals refer to the hotel as the place to go if you were looking for how can we say a little adult activity!!! In the taxi we all had a good laugh about how we thought the rooms may look so when we arrived at a 20 story tower block with lots of windows we were a tad surprised. We made our way to our rooms, which were actually rather delightful, they were large and spacious with two double beds, a en suite bathroom, TV, fridge, AC and curtains........Yes, a window........No, just curtains!!! I was then even more surprised to find brown running water coming out of my en-suite taps which thankfully cleared after a few alarming minutes. Anyway a quick shower and change and we met back up to go for dinner at local restaurant number two, where we massively over ordered under the assumption the portions may be small because they were so cheap.......WRONG, food just turned out to be very cheap in China. I say restaurant number two not because that was its name but because we swiftly moved on from number one after firstly struggling to read the menu and secondly identifying goose blood and other strange options on the menu which were all a little too much for a group of 8 very hungry English folk on day 1 of the trip. This meal was also a wake up call. The students we met early in the day spoke very good English and helped us to settle with ease but the same couldn't be said about the restaurant staff who spoke very little if any. Let me assure you that explaining all of our meals had not arrived at the table was pretty difficult.......Don't worry we got there in the end!!!!

After what can only be described as an amazing nights sleep that was well overdue. We woke up feeling a little more perky than the day before and after a breakfast we were on our way. I'll come back to breakfast in China a little later.

Day 2, we were back at SIVA and touring round the campus again. Andy Love took a session on animation which we sat in on along with the SIVA students, it allowed to us to interact properly with our Chinese counterparts for the first time which was fantastic. After some creative discussions it wasn't long before we were onto trying our hand at pronouncing some Chinese words and spelling. It was soon lunch time and with chopsticks in hand we were greeted with some little wooden boxes that contained our lunch. There was certainly no sandwiches in sight!


In close proximity to our new found friend/tour guide (Ben, student from SIVA), we headed a little closer to downtown Shanghai, choosing to stop at and old town.


The old town was our first sample of traditional Chinese architecture and as the daylight faded the streets filled with hustle and bustle that you'd expect. With plenty of interesting smells and sights we had all quickly drifted into excitable tourist mode and the cameras were flashing. It was soon time for dinner and we left the ordering to our Chinese counterparts and we certainly didn't expect what came next.....! In good spirits and stomachs rumbling we couldn't wait to tuck into dinner but some were more hesitant than others when we were faced with Ducks Tongue and Chicken Feet. After a few minutes debate it was time to step up, get on with it and sample the cuisine no matter how strange it may have seemed. The Chicken feet had an interesting spice to them, very little meat and the ducks tongue was a little strange as there was probably even less meat on it and we were advised to only eat the tip. The dish we found more interesting was the Chinese dumplings which at first sight looked like something from 'I'm a celebrity get me out of here' but Callum, John and myself were quickly in there to give them a go, choosing the approach of shove the whole thing in, in one go!

After Eating the strange body parts of animals you would associate with 'Old McDonalds Farm' you wouldn't of thought the night could get any more exciting but when we reached the shop on the way home to discover bottle of beers (600ml) cost 35p each, you can imagine that for a set of UK based students the night had now reached its pinnacle!!!


Day 3 and we were faced with Chinese breakfast. Now, breakfast to me could consist of......Toast, Cereal, Fruit, Bagels, pancakes, full English or maybe some waffles or pastries. In China, breakfast consists of......errrrrr, DINNER! Yes, breakfast in China is the same as both lunch or dinner which are also close to identical. Basically at breakfast expect to see a lot of over cooked vegetables, pork, beef, dumplings stuffed with pork, a few sweet pastries stuffed with some random pastes or pate's (possibly vegetable based) and some melon but be warned grab the melon while its available because it doesn't last long.

During Day 3 we sat through the presentations of the SIVA students and it was clear to see that they all work very hard. For me the stand out performer was a Graphic Design student who's work was exceptional, he was producing re-branding work for professional businesses all over China and this would include everything from signage, letterheads, merchandise etc and it would be completed inside 2-3 days in some cases. This included all of his design ideas, the development stages and final design. Now the final design in every case was just brilliant, every design looked at ease in the real world and when he explained the meaning or purpose for his design the explanation was so deep and meaningful that the whole thing just left you speechless. In complete honesty at this point all our heads were turning left and right looking to each other for a response and we all had the same thought written all over our face. I think the look would probably be described as.....'WOW, our work doesn't look as good as this!'. This was a great experience for all of us. I believe that over my first two years of uni, I've worked really hard and I've put a lot of effort in but some of these guys must eat, sleep and breath there course. While watching these presentations I thought to myself I wish all my colleagues back home could see this because this is our competition in the real world when we start looking for jobs after uni. Big reality check. People back home could learn a lot from the mentality and work ethic that was visible during these presentations.


By day 3 we were desperate to get to downtown Shanghai and tour guide Ben was happy to take us once our SIVA day ended. Roughly an hour and half later after a taxi ride and the metro we were walking out into the business district of downtown Shanghai and we were greeted by some of the tallest buildings I have ever seen. 'The Shanghai World Financial Center' stands at 492m (Tallest building in China), Jin Mao tower (421m) and The amazing 'Oriental Pearl Tower' 468m. The Oriental Pearl being our chosen destination for dinner. I am someone who admittedly isn't very fond of heights and only one week earlier chose to take the 30min walk down Gibraltar rock rather than take the cable car because of this but, I have always wanted to eat at a revolving restaurant, overlooking a city and this opportunity was too good to miss. The view was exceptional. I was sat admiring the astonishing 360 degree views of Shanghai at sunset, with a great bunch of people and the best meal of the trip and I hadn't even left my seat except to get ice cream! This night was Fantastic!



Celebrity in Shanghai! You might expect me to follow that up with film star Jackie Chan or former NBA superstar Yao Ming but no instead I mention ourselves, NTU Students!!! That might sound a little odd but walking the streets of Shanghai is a little like being a celeb because people want photo's of you all the time. You don't really spare a thought for it at first because Britain is such a culturally diverse place to live but when you walk the streets of China you begin to take notice that there is only really one race living in China. When a group of 8-10 white people take to the streets together you become a bit of walking circus act and the cameras start flashing. It was quite entertaining to be honest and certainly a unique experience.

Day 4 - TV studio's, animation company and a crazy taxi.....that was pretty much day 4. I thoroughly enjoyed this day particularly our trip to SMG (Shanghai Media Group). SMG is company that houses 30 floors of tv studios and radio stations. In an environment that I'm a little familiar with I was just happy wandering round and taking everything in but once we got chatting to the employees it wasn't long before the conversation stepped up to a whole new level of interest. It wasn't long before I was faced with our group interpreter asking If I would be interested in doing an internship with SMG after my third year. Discussions bounced back and forth for a while between myself, an interpreter, a member of SMG management and the Dean of SIVA and it wasn't long before Callum too was brought into the conversation. By this point Myself and Callum looked on feeling gob smacked, a little confused and excited about the prospect in hand. By the end of the conversation it was decided that more conversations between SIVA, SMG and NTU would be necessary as this would be a new venture for all but who knows it could be an option.

After SMG it was off to the Shanghai Animation Studio. This animation company was described to me by the SIVA students as the most iconic animation company in China. Apparently the SIVA students would spend numerous hours sat watching animations created by these guys as children as this company. This was too, very interesting and a great opportunity for us and one that I think Andy Love and Alex Card particularly enjoyed. This meeting too presented possible partnership opportunities between NTU, SIVA and the Animation Studio. The day had suddenly turned very productive from a business point of view.

In our free time we headed to 'People Square' again surrounded by large towering buildings. This was what appeared to be the shopping district of Shanghai. We didn't really have any shopping time here as it was time for dinner so we headed to another nice restaurant for a very good meal that included some lovely desserts. Dinner often takes several hours in China and did so in this case too but after we walked along the street towards the waterfront area which directly faces the business district and its monstrous brightly lit structures including. By this time it was around 11pm and with an hour and a half journey back to the hotel ahead of us we decided to head back. Now, I've been to a touring car race but I have never been involved in one but this must have come pretty close. I think Jason Plato would of been impressed by the reactions of the Shanghai Taxi drivers who weave in and out across several lanes of traffic on the Shanghai elevated highways. Our driver in particular was fond of the move from the outside lane to the inside lane and back across again in one swift motion dodging traffic by millimeters in the process while also refusing to use his mirrors. I think the basic rule or maybe mutual agreement of driving in Shanghai is to only worry about what is in front of you, that way you don't need to use your mirrors. In some cases our driver had to adapt his favourite move of sweeping across all 3 or 4 lanes of traffic because they were full but the hard shoulder proved a surprising yet common alternative. When the driver chuckled and laughed out 'Ohhhhh, Heavy' as he over steered while exiting the highway with three Brits rolling around in the back (seat belts are unwearable due to there being nothing to plug them into) we were marginally amused even if still a little anxious and nervous as to whether he might get us back to the hotel in one piece. (Unfortunately this video doesn't show the journey in its full rollercoaster glory but if I hadn't of been clinging to the door I may have got some more footage).



Our 5th day started at a few art galleries in the old part of Shanghai. Most art galleries in Shanghai appear to be based in big warehouses dotted all over the city. The names of the two we visited on this day appear to have slipped my mind for the time being but don't let that reflect the art work that was on offer. There was some really interesting bits of art work and some that offered inspiration for my final year project (I'm going to keep those cards close to my chest for the time being!). There was one thing in particular that seem to interest everyone and that was a giant red balloon that inflated and deflated very quickly. The idea behind this balloon is that it would act as a prop for some creative photography in and around the city. They would turn up very early in the morning at the location, quickly set up the equipment and begin to inflate the balloon. The balloon was both extremely durable and pliable and would inflate around objects and to the point of oozing out of gaps. (Example below)


Something else that is quite interesting is the fact the you find whole art galleries of posters in China, this is because of government rules and regulations that prevent them displaying them anywhere else.

After the art galleries we headed to the Chenxiangge Temple close to Lishua Road. This area was the first place where I think I witnessed Shanghai adapting itself for tourism. It was a very commercialised area that was made up of lots of shops, restaurants and street stalls, I even spotted a 'Starbucks'. The architecture was beautiful and in typical Chinese style. Once our cameras stopped flashing we soon got caught up in the shopping frenzy. There was people buying Chinese tea, chopsticks, stamps and souvenirs. Then there was us (Myself, Callum and John) stood in the electrical store eyes fixed on 'Beats' headphones. I wouldn't say we are stupid but we were now stood in a commercialised area of Shanghai, a city that is within the country that Brits associate with the line 'Made in' found on the bottom of just about every product on sale in England. We knew full well that these headphones were highly likely to be fakes but couldn't resist the bartering process that we all love a go at. Now if there was any doubts in our mind about the legitimacy of these products to begin with those thoughts were quickly assured as the price fell from £180 a pair down to £30........100% fake! At this point most people would walk away but we had slipped into stupid mode by now and were contemplating the purchase purely for aesthetic reasons and to be fair the sound quality was pretty good until we started checking all 3 pairs. The constant vibration in the left ear from one of the sets of headphones brought us back into the land of sanity and we made a snappy exit from a shop that had turned a little hostile after constant bartering and then failure to buy. This amused the rest of the group for sometime and there are a few details I've admittedly chosen to omit but you really would of had to of been there to appreciate the full glory of our stupidity!!!

Day 6 and it was time to head home, an early pick from the hotel and a fairly emotional set of good byes to our new friends set us on our way. A 12hour flight later and we were back in England having experienced a whirl wind of an adventure that I'm sure we will talk about for sometime.

One day later and it was time for the SIVA students to land in England. This time, we were the tour guides and it was our chance to return the outstanding hospitality that they had offered us days ago.

One can only hope that they enjoyed there visit to Nottingham as much as we did Shanghai.