| « prev next » | ||
ddjiii commented on the section about me in the article China's Next Cultural Revolution:
You know, I can't help thinking that your life as described in the article doesn't really sound the same as you write about it in the blog. Do you really feel like you've escaped shabby housing, nosy neighbors and haggling with the fishmonger? That's a very negative view of central Shanghai, I think, and one that I've never gotten reading the blog (or visiting Shanghai.) It was fun to see your name, and the most of the article is really interesting, but I thought this was an unjustified slam. What do you think?Posted by: ddjiii on March 25, 2005 12:14 PM
I posted my answer (with small modification)
I didn't read about the WIRED article before I wrote this blog. I would say, the majority of the content is accurate. WIRED magazine editor was very professional. They sent me a fact sheet and asked me to verify all the detail facts before they went to publish it. I had actually corrected some key facts. For example, my Goudaner is a FIAT instead of a VW.However, as any article about me but not written by me, it is the view of the writers, instead of me. "Shabby housing, nosy neighbors and haggling with the fishmonger?" is not my previous life - I wrote about the previous life in Waltz Garden in Xujiahui on this blog. It is actually not an escape. If possible, I may move back to the central part of Shanghai, at the sake of losing the car. However, the car did change my life. If you read back and you will see how painful the decision I had made to move from Puxi to Pudong:
Continue to Seek for an Apartment
Pudong or Puxi
Bye bye Pudong
Moving to the New Apartment
First Week in PudongThere are many articles reflecting the move from Puxi to Pudong. Of cause, I thank Lisa for putting out the article, and they have done a great job to make sure the facts are correct. I almost never saw one article on me that reflects 100% of what I am thinking. Above all, it is not my article.
Now I have learnt to value any place I have ever lived, worked. There is no bad place in the world. There is only bad mood.
Posted by: Jian Shuo Wang on March 25, 2005 01:47 PM
I can rest assure you, the spirit of Shanghai is in Puxi, although the nice life is in Pudong. It is all about choice.
Posted by Jian Shuo Wang at March 25, 2005 11:28 PM
Copyright: You are free to redistribute this work, as long as you keep this disclaimer
and this link: http://home.wangjianshuo.com/archives/20050325_i_didnt_escape_from_puxi.htm
I think this is a interesting article about Shanghai Maglev.
http://www.slate.com/id/2115114/?GT1=6208
"There is no bad place in the world. There is only bad mood." That is an awesome attitude! I may have to quote that one...
Posted by: Casey Marshall on March 26, 2005 5:17 AMWhen I saw the title, I almost immediately started to imagine the traffic jam in the tunnels and on the elevated road. so, I would like to say I will not go to Pudong if I have choice although I worked there for over 5 years.
Posted by: Butterfly on March 26, 2005 10:14 PMI had a wonderful visit to Shanghai and nearby cities Nanjing, Suzhou and Hangzhou last week, only to be marred by the bad experience of having my digital camera picked from my pocket at the bund the last evening. So I have no Hangzhou and Zhouzhuang pictures. I mentioned the incidence to a Shanghai friend. His answer was that there are a lot of bad elements among non-native Shanghai residents. Seems like only non-Shanghai people commit crimes. Shanghai people are above doing such things.
Posted by: Peter on March 27, 2005 7:37 AMPeter, you have my sympathy for your experience at the otherwise groovy bund.
Although local people may even give you figure that shows out of every 10 of police theft reports, 7 is done by immigrant labor worker,or "Min Gong". But something I'd say here is Shanghai people are really BAD on their view of new commers. Pretty much as some Germen's attitude towards the Turks immigrants, Shanghai people tend to hold mixed feeling about people from outside, basically they don't like them, although most of themself are originally from neighbouring regions. They are more or less bit of snobbish, as if you are bringing big money in or having a nice job, they feel OK, AND, people are therefore equal on this point, which is good and not like Beijing.
This is a big topic worth writing about, I remember actually some Taiwan author wrote some book years ago.
"Seems like only non-Shanghai people commit crimes. Shanghai people are above doing such things." Not all the bad guys are non-Shanghai people. But actually, many theives are from some remote and poor cities of China. In recent years, even their children are tought to thieve. I had experienced too much. And the police cannot do anything with these children because they are under age.