Shanghai China Snippets Observations about living in Shanghai and China in general

I have gotten a bit bored with the colors and the lay out itself.
Expect some testing in the coming days. The content won’t be changed.

Last night we went for a nice stroll and ended up in Xintiandi. For those who don’t know what Xintiandi is here is the answer,

“what is now Xintiandi was in the early 1900s the heart of the French Concession. When French expatriates from other provinces of China and from Vietnam came to Shanghai in search of its hedonistic lifestyle, they found accommodation in Xintiandi’s unique Shikumen (“stone gate”) houses. Now, seventy years down the track, the Xintiandi precinct has been fully restored to its former glory – with the addition of upmarket cafés, shops and restaurants that make a visit a total multi-sensory experience.”(source: Globaltravelwriters)

So you know now:) Like I said, we went there and it is was one of those place you start to feel like a tourist again. It’s packed with people, from expats, local Chinese and tour groups that wander in between guided by the unavoidable small red flag. We sat down at a bar whose name I have forgotten. Their prices I will remember as it was the first time I paid 85 Kuai anywhere in the world for a Guiness. For some diversion it’s not a bad place though.

Had a nice trip to the Shangyang market again, the part where they sell real stuff like real meat and vegetables. Before that we had wandered in Maominglu finding summer clothes. My white face seems to be a price increase indicator. One saleswoman told me that 400 Kuai is only 40 euri, well, I went out and W. stayed to negotiate. The lemon sales woman was more up front. She told W. that if I would have been there on my own she would have asked for 7 Renminbi/500 Gram. W. made a difference of 3 kuai.

* Lemons (local) – 4 Rmb – 500 gr – Shang Yang Market
* Walnuts (fresh) – 21 Rmb – 500 gr – Shang Yang Market
* Oranges (local) – 1 Rmb – 500 gr – Near home
* Mango (big ones) – 3.8 – 500 gr – Near home

Whenever I start laughing out loud in front of my screen I might as well share it with the rest of the world. I do understand though if my humour is not the same as yours. Greenpeace just released a report about genetically modified rice in China and says “The GE industry is out of control.” (source: Xinhua) I don’t know much about GM so I won’t go into that. I like the reactions from the Chinese side.

Zhu Xinquan, chairman of the Chinese Society of Agro-Biotechnology, said: “I cannot agree with the findings of the report by Greenpeace and I am wondering if the tests conducted by the organization are scientific or not.”

Scientific or not….. followed by this even more profound remark from an official with the Office of Genetically Modified Organism Safety under the ministry of Agriculture.

“We have not seen the concrete testing reports. Moreover, the testing of GM rice seeds should be based on China’s technical standards.”

Then I started laughing.