One day in November 2007 when I left PVG for downtown Shanghai. a bumper-to-bumper traffic took me over two hours getting to my hotel. Last Tuesday only half an hour did suffice to do the same. The taxi driver told me we were on a brand new alternate freeway just inaugurated. What was on my mind then was that a more convenient transport to/from PVG means
more travellers and more fast-moving logistics, more passengers and cargo revenue brought to airliners, and more works for us to do. So we should keep close watch on our revenue generated from the Mainland, especially those from Shanghai.

It is said that one of the toughest jobs in Shanghai is that of
cartographer’s. Indeed is it. The ever-changing metropolitan has been quite different since my last visit, not only because of its construction everywhere for the forthcoming Expo 2010 in May, but because the city became much cleaner, much prettier than it used to be. Dilapidated houses have been demolished and rebuilt; the shabby ones, refurbished and "facelifted", and all susidized by the municipality. What a financially-solvent city Shanghai is! There are only three things on the curbsides of the main streets: trees, dustbins and street lights posted in reasonable interval, almost nothing else. So the paveways are totally clear for pedestrians to walk on. I can easily dispose my cigarette butts in Shanghai, but so sad not here in Taipei.

Then I went to Hangzhou, of course mainly for the purpose of visiting the famous West Lake. In the Lake I met a gentleman who gave me some pieces of guidance of how to tour the attractions in depth. He said, "The West Lake is large, but the lake itself is small", meaning the attractions around the Lake alone are unable to demonstrate the real beauty of West Lake, and one should explore it by himself leisurely, better on foot. I took his advice and started my touring with a cascade far away from theLake. I walked a long distance into a hamlet located somewhere on a hill,
in which there are 80-odds traditional two-storied houses, all look
identical. I say "identical" because each house is newly plastered and equipped with solar panel on its roof. Similiar to the situation in Shanghai, a villager told me, the reburbishments were subsidized by the local government.

Thanks to my relatively strong legs, I almost finished
the sightseeings all on foot. That gentleman was right. Without the
legendary folklore, the attractions themselves are not that impressive.  The real beauty did exist in the peace and tranquillity of Hangzhou, the most salubrious city of China, so to speak.

On Saturday afternoon I went back to Shanghai, staying one more night for the returning flight on next day. Once more, I missed the opportunity visiting the memorial residence of some celebrities like 宋慶齡, 周恩來 and so on. But my regret was soon redeemed by experiencing the maglev train to PVG, which was at the speed as high as 431 kilometer/per hour, a bullet train to traverse 30k in just 7 minutes! I do wish there were a train like that for us to commute between Taipei and CKS everyday when we move to the new office.

Written on September, 2010