February 25 - Additional Shanghai Thoughts   

As I looked at the pictures I took in Shanghai I realized there were two I wanted to share with you. The first is a snapshot of big and small houses. Throughout the city there are clusters of small houses (usually with 3 or 4 families in each). These are surrounded by tall, newer apartment buildings. As in Hong Kong, the apartments are VERY small, typically 500 sq. ft. It is a way supplying housing to the ever-growing population. Our guide mentioned that the government is buying up the small houses, sometimes giving $2,000,000 (US dollars) for people to vacate. Many are resisting, but those who take the offer are able to retire.

The picture at the bottom of this message shows laundry hanging out to dry. Most houses (and apartments) have what looks like a flag pole outside their one window. I watched several women attaching their clothes to the lines and, using a pully system, setting them out to dry. They must anchor them well because I haven’t seen a shirt or sock drifting to earth.

A last observation has been the electric lines stretched between poles. You could not count the number of wires between poles! I tried and gave up at 32…..a mass of tangled mess….that seems to work. I don’t have a picture that does it justice, but it has attracted my attention in Hong Kong and, again, in Shanghai.