The weather in Shanghai over the last couple of weeks has been fluctuating wildly. Temperatures have gone from 12°C up to 24°C, back down to 16°C and yesterday on the 31st March, we reached 29-30°C. It makes it very difficult working out what to wear, especially as some of the locals are still in jerseys and boots when the temperature hits the high 20’s. I think the weather changes on whether the winds come from north or west across Siberia or whether they are coming from the east and south across the Pacific and at the moment there is a competition going on as to which weather system is going to come out top dog.
But the prospect of heat is starting to affect where I choose to go and what I choose to do. It reminds me of our holiday in Taiwan last summer where we were visiting Rozy who was on a Taiwanese Government Scholarship when we planned our sight-seeing and eating based on where we would find air-conditioning. It’s not quite that hot, or that humid – we have that to come in July and August, but we have hit the heat surprisingly quickly. It was only a few weeks ago that Richard was constantly complaining about how cold it was, as he had not brought out many cold-weather clothes with him – we are the same latitude as the middle of Morocco after all.
Anyway, yesterday I went out to look at a local Sculpture park – more of that another time – but I thought I would just show you my trip back from our local metro station, as it’s all starting to look very pleasant.
Alibaba bicycle Distribution
As I come out onto the street from the Yili Lu metro station alongside the Takashimaya Japanese Department store I come across the afternoon’s Alibaba distribution underway. Alibaba is the Chinese version of eBay – it has just launched on the US stock exchange – and we have been told on several occasions that delivery takes 24 hours no matter where you live in China. Now we find this hard to believe and when challenged as to whether that is the case in the remotest
Alibaba distribution van
villages in western China they do backtrack a little, but in Shanghai, and that is 24 million people after all, I’m sure the 24 hour delivery rule holds. Alibaba vans pull up at designated spots on the road and the delivery bicycles with blue plastic boxes strapped on the back take the goods on from there. The small trolleys, such as the one at the back of this van, are also used to take parcels around the local area, but I have yet to see one
Alibaba moped distribution
being pushed along by someone on foot. What I have seen on several occasions is the trolley being pulled alongside a moped in the middle of the street. I’ve seen deliveries being made in this way both in the morning and in the afternoon. I don’t know if they take place more frequently. Many Chinese who have spoken to us about Alibaba say that it is the only way they shop for goods other than food. Alibaba is already bigger than eBay, the business Jack Ma copied and brought to China. He is now the 18th richest man in the world. Watch out the Chinese are coming, because they appear to be starting to challenge eBay on their own turf – but I doubt if they’d be allowed to carry on their distribution network in quite the same way in the more Western parts of the world.
Light-vented bulbul
Chinese Bulbul
As I crossed over the main road and down the side street a white headed bird was singing loudly and flew onto the top of a lamppost as I tried to photograph it. This turned out to be a Light-vented (or Chinese) bulbul. According to wikipedia it is common to East Asia and its singing is described as “very brightly and variably with a ‘cha-ko-lee…cha-ko-lee…’ sound.” It was certainly a joy to hear. I’ve borrowed someone else’s much better picture than my snapshot to show you what it really looks like.
As I turned the corner into Golden Street at around 5pm the sun was already low in the sky and making Golden Street, well, Golden. This a pedestrian road and filled with small food shops (mainly Korean) and some cafes and now that the weather is warming up it is starting to look very enticing as a place to go and find a cup of coffee, as the street furniture with its chairs and umbrellas are
Flower Stall on Golden Street
now being put to good use. There is a Munich beer bar in the centre of the street and a couple of flower stalls on either side of it, one because it faces north is probably the better one, as the heat must be causing problems for the one facing south. This stall also has a bowl with small gold fish swimming around in it – I’m sure I could buy a fish if I wanted to. I quite like the idea of that, but I wouldn’t know what to do with it when we return
Pool in the middle of Golden Street
home. Perhaps I should just give it back them, when we go. Notice the elderly lady in her jersey and hoody – it was 29°C! There are decorative pools along the middle and at our end of
Sculpture Golden Street
Golden Street and a dramatic silver coloured mushroom sculpture. Thoughts of caterpillars and Alice spring to mind. Shanghai has a policy on public sculptures. I can’t remember the number but there is a definite target which districts must adhere to. There are several sculpture parks around the city – I’ll take you to one in my next blog post.
Electricity pylon Gubei Lu
At the end of Golden Street I turn left and go down through the mini-park on the east side 
of Gubei Lu. This is planted with flowering trees and decorative shrubs and despite having huge electricity pylons running down the middle of it is a pleasant place to walk.
of Gubei Lu. This is planted with flowering trees and decorative shrubs and despite having huge electricity pylons running down the middle of it is a pleasant place to walk.
I cross over the road (taking my life into my own hands – a pedestrian crossing means NOTHING, a pelican crossing also means NOTHING) and I get to the entrance of our particular “gated” compound – well there are barriers across to stop anybody just going in
Cherry Bloosom Gubei Lu
and out – and I turn and see the cherry trees that Richard photographed on his way to work this morning. In the compound itself there is a potted camellia bush in front of the entrance gate and what look like crab apple trees – they are also in bloom at the moment. At the back of our block, there is a fish pond with huge carp and last weekend we saw about 15 adult frogs and some tadpoles swimming about. Not bad for a walk back home from the station……..
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