|
Written by Melody Parker
|
|
Friday, 29 August 2008 |
|
The heat and humidity are so intense that walking down the street feels like trying to run through a pool of water. It’s the hottest time of the year in Shanghai and the heat sucks out every ounce of energy and leaves your body soaked in sweat. Cool water vapors spray from an air conditioning vent even while set at 65 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s so silly to find every shop downtown blasting the air conditioner. They even leave their doors wide open letting the cold air spill out onto the streets to attract customers. Practically every apartment has at least one air conditioner, sometimes two or three. I can’t imagine how much energy is being wasted. The residents of Shanghai seem indifferent of this waste. It is also difficult to capture a blue-colored sky with a camera in Shanghai. This is because the haze lingers everyday. On the clearest days it holds a very pale light blue. Not like Santa Cruz where a blinding bright blue emerges through the fog everyday. Being back in Santa Cruz feels like I’m the only person for miles. Everything seems so still and quiet, leaving me a bit freaked out. As if the less people inhabit an area, the more likely the gravitational force will weaken in this specific vicinity to the point of lifting people out into orbit. Maybe I should have stayed in San Francisco. At least then a mere million people would surround me. No, this trip has shown me that there are a thousand things to love about Santa Cruz. It is uniquely beautiful from every angle. Even more than the blue skies and calming ocean, I missed the people, the vibrant food culture, and an almost universal respect for our delicate environment. 
|
|
|
Written by Melody Parker
|
|
Tuesday, 12 August 2008 |
|
Four friends and I used last weekend to escape the 18 million Shanghainese residents and fly across China to Yunnan. A southern Chinese province, Yunnan borders Vietnam, Laos, and Myanmar (Burma). We drove just an hour and a half east of Kunming to an amazing agricultural gem alongside the historic Stone Forest. Rice paddies, corn, cabbage and other crops lined the land in varying proportions. The layers of lime green weaved the landscape and lit up the valley. 
|
|
|
Written by Melody Parker
|
|
Thursday, 07 August 2008 |
|
I usually can’t stand cities, but Shanghai is different at every turn -- it’s impossible to dislike it all. The city has such a diverse layout it makes New York City seem standard. It’s a mosaic of borrowed architectural designs ranging from neo-classical to art deco. More than 2,000 high-rises have gone up in the last decade revealing Shanghai’s giant push towards modernism. LostAfter escaping the subway through an unfamiliar exit yesterday, I let myself go down the wrong street. It led me deeper into Shanghai. I found that one block may have thick, tropical foliage next to beautiful, old Chinese apartment complexes and on the next, hidden alleyways collecting trash and sludge. I haven’t yet learned to avoid every questionable puddle or leaky air conditioning vent that drips onto my hair. Maybe that's another function of the umbrella here. Many Chinese women carry bright, bouncing umbrellas to protect themselves from the hot sun or misty rain. It is entertaining to watch the umbrellas dance through the streets, as lovely as the ballet. One can begin to appreciate the mixture of old and new, filthy and clean, Chinese and everything else. 
Safety? As a tourist I can take pictures and try to ask questions and feel completely safe. As a journalist on the other hand, I need to be very careful. There is no freedom of the press in all of China, so I am unable to use my name in these posts. In fact, the Chinese Government blocks most blog pages along with many other sites as a form of strict censorship. If the wrong official found out I was a journalist they could easily revoke my visa, arrest or assault me. 
|
|
|
Written by Melody Parker
|
|
Friday, 01 August 2008 |
|
Editor's Note: GTweekly is lucky to have M.P., a UCSC alumna and environmental journalism major, who is traveling to Dongtan in China to observe the construction of a green city there called Dongtan , outside of Shanghai. She will be posting several dispatches a week here at gtweekly.com. It’s 1:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon at SFO. I keep thinking it’s Friday because it will be 9 p.m. on Friday by the time I arrive at Shanghai. Two months ago I had no intention of leaving the country, but I am lucky to find myself flying for free. My assignment is to investigate the proposed eco-city of Dongtan, just outside of Shanghai. My journey is more than a hula hoop swing from Santa Cruz to Shanghai. China in general is worlds away from Santa Cruz, so I’m told. I can’t wait to delve into the vast differences in pollution, scenery, and overall way of life.
China’s economy is commonly referred to as the dragon and thus China and its relationship with environmental politics is called the Green Dragon.  Chongming Island next to proposed eco-site of Dongtan. |
|
|
