Woah, I can’t believe it’s almost been a week since I arrived in Shanghai. I’ve been hanging out with Ben Wang for the past couple of days. On Friday, we visited his friend at Shanghai International Studies University. It was about 45 minutes out of the city (aka the middle of nowhere), but the campus was pretty amazing. Probably around 5 times the size of Penn, with only 5000 students. (Btw, tuition is only 10,000 RMB a semester.) I think it brings up an interesting issue though. Chinese people are always concerned about “saving face,” so they build magnificent buildings and facilities that drive them into debt, and the facilities end up not being used to their fullest potential. When we visited in the afternoon, the campus was nearly deserted. Although this was partially because many city kids had already gone home for the weekend, Ben’s friend mentioned that even on a normal day, most of the buildings are never fully occupied, with many classrooms permanently left empty. It’s a shame that such resources end up going to waste, and it only makes sense that schools such as this one begin to increase their class size and use their campus more efficiently.

On Saturday, we visited several major shopping districts in Shanghai, including Xu Jia Hui, Nan Jing Xi Lu, and Xin Tian Di. I’m always impressed by the size of China’s shopping malls, and even more surprised at the number of people who actually shop at these places. Places like Nan Jing Xi Lu and Xin Tian Di are considered high-end shopping districts, and yet, there are still a noticable number of Chinese people who are making purchases at stores like Loius Vuitton and Tiffany & Co–stuff that even the average American would find expensive. I feel like urban China is becoming increasingly capitalist and materialist. Thanks to the booming real estate market, more and more people are becoming millionaires overnight, and are defining China’s increasingly prominent upper-middle class. At the same time, the gap between the rich and poor continue to grow, and the disparities are alarming. Just a few blocks away from the bustling nightlife of Xin Tian Di, Ben and I witnessed a man taking a shower in the middle of the street.