Shanghai

Totally insane city :) extremely polluted! due to smog, i had not seen the sun all week. but the city is very much alive. definately worth a visit!

Jeroen Breukels

I went to Shanghai about a couple of years ago and it was an enjoyable experience overall but after a couple of days my mum,aunt, sister and I decided to go shopping so we got some money out at a bank(ATM) using my aunt’s cards so tha we had cash to spend, we bought a few things and a few days later we went to Ghuangzhou and we were told that some of the cash we had was counterfit! Some of our relaives that live there agreed and we were shown the differences between real money and the counterfits. (Was SLIGHTLY distressed…)

A lot of the old city, the zujie has dissappeared. It used to be the best thing about Shanghai, how the locals used the Western building and customize it fit their way of living.
The bund is still impressive, and I think people should visit at least once to feel the atmosphere of busy excitement.

i was in awe @ it’s immensity

Nice city VERY busy and takes a while to get around…ok shopping but it depends on what you want.
I liked Shanghai most of all china and hong kong.
I wouldn’t go back in a hurry though if ever but worth a look.

:O !!! It’s really interesting, above all for me the contrast between the buildings temple vs skyscraper.

I went with my parents to Shanghai a couple of years ago. We stayed in a rather antique hotel for two days (its floorboards literally cracked and had holes in them!). Apparently, it’s famous for having had some notable people as its guests.

The food there is simply wonderful. I would go back just for the food, honestly. The residents are kind of notorious in China for being a bit brash and being fast talkers, but they are good people.

Warning: it is extremely hot and humid during the summer.

I have booked and will be here in less than two weeks,
Excellent !

to be continued…

I went to the Intermediate People’s court to watch a 23 year old kid stand trial for the attempted rape and actual murder of a manager at a trading company he worked for. It was so ‘Red Corner’, that lame movie with Richard Gere in it.

Back to this boy. Chinese ‘law’ in practice is a sight to behold. First, it may be important to note that the procuratorate and the security council ‘investigate’ crimes, and only if they are sure the person is not innocent, THEN they stand trial. In other words, everyone who stands trial is guilty. it should also be noted that the death penalty is practiced freely in this China – some judges can sentence death in hundreds of cases per year. Which means he’s certain to die as well.

The structure of trial is pretty damn funny in criminal cases. You’ve got the prosecutor and the defense lawyer, three judges, and the accused, who stands in a little box in the middle of the court. Then the prosecutor asks a few questions, name, birthdate, address, sub-china nationaltiy, etc. Then the accused is told to confess and tell what happened. In this case, he tried to rape a manager, when she refused (obviously), he choked her, then tied a gray telephone cord around her neck twice, hid her in the closet, and took her mobile phone and necklace. After the defendent tells his story, the defense lawyer raises some questions, the judges, etc. When this is done, the accused gives a closing statement. Our boy today pleaded for another chance at life on behalf of his sick and old parents and a chance at ‘rehabilitation through labour’ (<—standard criminal law slogan in communist China). What kind of pissed me off is that we were equipped with these little UN headset translators that made me feel really cool and important. The problem was that whenever the story got juicy or suspenceful, ZAP!, the headset went off. The trial would continue on, but it was like somebody hit the mute button. Stop censoring! I mean, there’s clearly something wrong with watching a kid futilely plead for his life, but this is China. That’s what we came here for.

A sentencing wasn’t immediately made due to the presence of us (foreigners) in the room. However, the probability of death sentencing is no less than 100%. This takes place almost immediately after sentencing, where even the cost of the bullet is then billed to the family after death.