Shanghai was quite a trip. I have to say the city failed to win me over (again), but the conference was certainly a cultural experience. Socialism is alive! At least in the opening ceremony and the hotel...
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It turned out not to be the only foreigner. There was also a French dude who gave one of the opening talks. But all the other talks were in Chinese, sometimes even the slides! Agh! I entertained myself making a list of simple characters that kept popping up and I feel I should know. Most likely the way they are used in physics is very specific and has not all that much to do with their original meaning.
My hotel had really awesome service - they give you a wake-up call even if you didn't ask for one! The first at 5:20, and just to make sure another one at 6:50. Needless to say I unplugged my phone. And the breakfast... my god, that wasn't even canteen standard. It felt like prison food. Metal trays and rice gruel. Ok, there was also other stuff, but it was awful. I'm sure tis place was charming when it opened in 1980 or so. The whole area was probably in the middle of woods back then. Now it's in the middle of the most unpleasant construction site. A three kilometer walk from the next metro station (google maps put it right next to the metro stop, I think that is why the organizers chose the hotel; also, it's really big, but half of it doesn't seem to be in use anymore) and I am pretty sure all those styled girls in extremely tiny clothes sitting around bored in hair salons (with naked girls painted on the walls) weren't waiting for customers to cut their hair... Now, if you think this is just the western snob whining - the Chinese complained about the hotel just as much. I wold like to say it was a bit run down but at least clean, but also that would be a lie. I wonder how those footprints got on the wall...
The conference was kind of funny. It opened with handing out awards, where some old distinguished physicist handed over a plaque to some younger researcher, while they were playing march music. The weird thing was, that the old dude got more applause than the one who was being awarded. Then there were three opening talks (apparently, the opening session is just for show, uninvited questions are not appreciated there). There awere 1,500 participants! That then split up into 17 parallel sessions. It's clear that physics in China focusses on condensed matter, applied research, but not so much on fundamental research.
Had a nice lunch one day - this place (just some little dive outside campus) specializes in steamed food, but that doesn't mean bland and healthy. Au contraire! It was all pretty oily. There was pork belly with kale, eggplant with chilis and lettuce on rice noodles. But the tea there is undrinkable, because the tab water tastes so bad. I actually smelled worse after a shower than before! The campus of Shanghai Jiaotong University is really neat - huge, brandnew, full of big lawns you can actually walk on!!! And the vending machines sell not only snickers, dried fruit and kleenex, but also condoms! :) Still, the dorms seem to be one-gender-only. So, where are those kids supposed to do it???? On the lawn?????
My first day in Shanghai I just wandered around in the rain (realizing that my expensive supermarket umbrella actually leaks!) until I was really tired of being soaking wet and just sat in a tea house and read. Saw some fake old stuff, some run-down old stuff, some shiny new stuff and some already run-down new stuff. That's Shanghai for you. I think the only point of going there is to forget that you're in China. I didn't actually see the big skyscrapers because it was so rainy, they vanished in the clouds.
One of the other afternoons I skipped the talks and walked around the "French concession," which is even less Chinese. If I was living on a western salary I might enjoy the boutiques and cafes. At least now I know where to go when I get sick of China... no, wait. If I do, I'll just go home! Actually, the best time I had when just hanging out on Jiaotong University's new campus. Many departments haven't moved into their buildings yet, so the whole place was pretty empty. And it's so huge that you can really get lost. It was the first time since getting here when I felt quiet and relaxed.
Now I'm actually happy to be in Nanjing. Even if I moved back into the hotel. But I guess the trip to Shanghai just made me appreciate Nanjing all the more! :)
Sorry, this has to do for today. I'm really exhausted and still have Chinese homework to do. Maybe next time I'll write something about the class I'm teaching. Until then... enjoy the pictures! Here are some more from a Saturday spent with my boss' family:
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