25th November: Shanghai, China

Dodging the morning showers to grab coffee, it was much warmer today. This isn’t to last, however, as the temperature is due to drop substantially tomorrow. It should still be sunny though, hopefully! After some more relaxation and admin, we ventured out mid-afternoon. The plan was simple. Ride the world’s only high-speed public maglev train!

After catching the metro across town, we bought our return tickets for the Shanghai Transrapid out to the airport. Soon, it pulled in and with a superfast turnaround we were into the ultra-wide carriage, seated and off. Quickly we were up to the cruising speed of 300 km/h (unfortunately it doesn’t currently do the 431 km/h it did prior to the pandemic). The ride was slightly bumpier than I expected given the lack of friction and the tilt on the bends were slightly nauseating. Remarkably, this route was opened 22 years ago in 2002. Still, it feels like the future but is also possibly the past. When you can build high-speed rail at the rate China has, that can do similar speeds using proven technology, what place is there for a maglev? Also, this technology is German system whereas China can build high-speed rail fully domestically with rapid roll-out and economies of scale. Perhaps if maglev trains can go much faster, as with the 600 km/h on the Japanese test track, that will be their space in the transport network?

After a quick lemon tea, we caught the maglev back to Pudong on the east side of the river. It was already getting dark as we looked up and up at the 632m tall Shanghai Tower. This is the third tallest building in the world but doesn’t stand out to that degree in a skyline already containing an incredible pagoda-inspired tower, the iconic Oriental Pearl TV tower, and what appears to be a giant bottle opener. Across the river, as barges chugged up and down stream, the waterfront buildings of the Bund were reminiscent of Liverpool in style.

We braved the rush hour metro once more to head back to our local area and the vegetarian buffet. Today’s highlights were dried mushroom in thin bread, lotus and red bean soup, soy-fried green beans, fried king oyster mushrooms, and fried cabbage jiaozi. Every day is a treat!

On the walk back, we came across what is a usual site in Chinese cities but would be impossible in the west. Parcel delivery happens in small trikes, which are then parked up and left open on the pavement, sometimes with piles beside them too. People then come and collect their own during the day at their own convenience. Petty crime rates are so low here that the risk of theft isn’t seen as a problem and therefore there isn’t the anxiety of missing your delivery slot. Just go and get it from outside your block or the middle of your street when you’re available!