Shanghai

Can you imagine what is like to live in a city that never stops growing? A city that evolves to attract and stimulate its inhabitants? A place traditional and trendy at the same time? Under those premises, Shanghai can be a mind-blowing experience for everyone alike. With more than 40 years of development, it keeps astounding the world with magic, charm and a great deal of modernity.

Why don’t we dissect the Shanghai experience like locals? Let’s dig deep and hit the streets with a bunch of local delivery boys.

With a well-balanced load on the back of their motorcycles, moving through like ants, they departure to satisfy the cravings of costumers, on a long and tiresome working schedule that can easily take them to work until night.

Our first subject moved from rural China to Shanghai, born and raised away from the cacophony of this modern city. He still remembers the amount of stress he felt while moving around the tall buildings and expensive condos that adorned the streets.

With their busy schedules and long working hours, costumers prefer to receive the goods inside their offices, due to the fact that they spend more time at the office than at home. Working around 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, there’s no other option for those prisoner’s in their gilded cages.

The romantic old quarter is a postcard of a long forgotten time, scenes like this are getting buried by the unmeasurable development of this vibrant city. An old cinema holds a different kind of program nowadays. The days of flicks in a dark cozy hall are over, today, upbeat performances under the spotlight are the norm. With this, you’re bringing new blood to old veins in a city that refuses to fade away under the shadow of its ultra-modern financial district.

To own an apartment in Shanghai is the goal of the majority, pitifully, the cost of living in a metropolis like this makes it almost unaffordable. Renting a one room bedroom apartment in central Shanghai usually cost from 4,000 to 1.0,000 Yuan ($600 to $1,400) but an apartment with the same characteristics outside center Shanghai is around 2,000 to 6,000 Yuan (from $291 to less than $600). Center Shanghai moves on a price range not too many can afford, this is a city that keeps on growing and evolving at a frantic pace. The new takes over the old. No time for sentimentalism.

Underground, an expansion is happening too. Each day, more than 10 million passengers travel on the subway tunnels. Since 1993, The underground maze that connects the city has been growing at the same pace as the city above. The system is affordable, fast and reliable, a true game changer to all.

With its 32 km in extension, the Sea Bridge connect the city with another important milestone in the development of the region, the Shanghai deep water port. Opened in 2005, this gigantic operation center is considered the busiest container port for years. China’s strong economy is a sign that the port will continue to create prestige to the nation for years to come.

Inside the old city, Americans, French and Italians have left their mark on its streets, apart from Hong Kong, Shanghai is the most international city in the region. Its cosmopolitan nature offers a lot to travelers and locals alike.

It’s the perfect place to try new and trendy things, a true sybarite’s delight. If you’re looking for a way to indulge on earthly delights, this city is always one step ahead.

This city is a true reflection of our convoluted present. What is new today, might be forgotten tomorrow. In a city on which the world moves faster, there’s no time to hesitate. This is a true sign of things to come. If you want to know what the future might look like, look no further, Shanghai is the place to be.