A Weekend in Shanghai

Career Day and Ambassador Gary Locke's speech brought me and my friends to Shanghai for a long weekend.

Entering the glass doors of the Four Seasons Hotel was a moment of pride, walking into one of the nicest hotels in Shanghai on an invitation to hear Ambassador Gary Locke and mingle with important guests. We knew full well, however, that we were the plebeians who lucked our way into such a fortunate class of businessmen, diplomats, elite professors, and journalists. Still, sitting in the back row was better than not sitting there at all.

Gary Locke's speech was, in my opinion, surprising. As a representative of the United States, he is forced to be ever diplomatic, circling important issues with vague rhetoric so as not to put a toe past official policy. However, the contents of his speech at least hinted at real ideas. Though his overuse of words such as "concrete" and "tangible" would suggest that his content might be "concrete" and "tangible", too, he did at least point to several statistics about visa entries in response to Chinese complaints. He also took a more firm stance on the issue of Human Rights abuses in China, saying that Americans do not count economic improvement as addressing human rights, despite the fact that China's efforts to increase its peoples' standard of living are truly praiseworthy.

However, during the Q&A, Locke firmly secured his diplomatic hat and answered every question with a rehearsed answer devoid of content. Often, his answers barely touched upon the question at hand. Still, it was a new opportunity to witness a sliver of the diplomatic relations I have been studying.

But just because our weekend was filled with important special events doesn't mean we didn't find ample time for a bit of sightseeing and, more importantly, food.

Nanjing Road at night

Our hostel was close to Nanjing Road, so we walked up the tourist avenue to see The Bund at night.

A view of The Bund on a rainy evening

Having been to the Old City in Shanghai on more than one occasion, I was finally afforded the opportunity to actually enter the gates of the Yu Yuan gardens. The weather wasn't ideal, but the plum blossoms were all in bloom.

Restaurants

While Wagas might be a staple restaurant for expats living in China, it was a novel treat for my friend and I, who were coming from Nanjing. In the modern, clean cafe, you can sip away the hours while surfing the Internet or chatting with friends. My friend and I were in more of a time constraint, however, and we were more than happy to take just an hour or so to lunch on a Wagas salad--filled with fresh greens, lentils, beats, cheeses, nuts, and dried fruit--and one of the best chicken wraps I've had in a long time. Hopefully I'll be able to go back soon to try the carrot cake that I couldn't take my eye off of.

This time I had the opportunity to introduce two friends to Simply Thai and Element Fresh, which a friend had done for me back in the fall. The food was as good as ever.

After failing to acquire a table at Ginger, which was preparing for a special event, my friend and I wandered the streets of the French Concession, searching for food. We had decided to walk back to Xintiandi when I spotted a restaurant that turned out to be a good find. Organic Kitchen turned out to be exactly what we were craving--a clean restaurant with a spread of various cuisines and a comfy armchair and free wifi for a post-meal study session. The chocolate mousse wasn't half bad, either.