There are many time I wrote on the
blog that shanghai is not China, when you visit you see this sparling metropolis,
and thinking wow China really is the future for all of us. Let look at the
facts, this country only been developing for about 25 years, but the
transformation from a poor country can’t feed their own people to it is today,
the second largest economy in the world in a very short time.
There are anything on the surface seemingly sophosicated,
like many of the upscale restaurants or hotels, especially in the tourist
district. However take a spin on the metro off the main lines you will see the
immediate different even for the ridership, the behavior and their attitude
even the taste in their choice of clothing. While unexpected, we are being
watch at all time, even when you think the police were there just to give you a
false sense of security.
Last weekend the first time in one and a half year since I
moved to China, was also the first time I ever saw the security guards in
action in the metro station. For the longest times I thought it was just
another job for these poor folks. They never seem to check anything or found
anything behind the camera look at bags passing thru day after day inside the
metro station. I will go nuts if I have to do that the rest of my life. No one
ever get search, what purpose did they serve, Back home in NY we can’t even
afford station attendants. I just figure that these guards serve no purpose the
government gave them a job with minimum pay, just so they can say that they are
employed.
How wrong was I.
On this rainy and cold mid Sunday afternoon, I was rushing
thru as usual in one of the busiest metro exchange station. There it was, it
happened right in front of me, 5-armed security guards surrounding 6 innocent
and frighten looking passengers with light luggage. They were being searched and
checking their ID. (That coincidentally reminded me that I really should carry
some kind of ID while in China). What ever they were doing and what initiated
the investigating, I will never know. However for the first time I feel unease.
It proves that all these security cameras all over the city does serve a
purpose, it all works, nothing like those in NY. Million spend just for show.
Collecting dust and nothing works.
My friend told me later that these passengers that was being
interrogated might be from the border provinces. My response is that I thought
citizen of China are allow to move freely within the country. The only restricted
area that wishes to go must require a permit is Hong Kong. Besides how can the
securities knew where they were from? The answer was, “ How they dressed”.
That thought linger on in my mind. How they were dressed. I
think they all dress the same; I never pay much attention to it, other than the
fact that Chinese women in general are more willing to show their skin than
their western counterpart ever will.
While the comment was still fresh in my mind on my way to my
suburban destination, I started to look around and I can actually see the
different the riders on the suburban line does dress differently. I saw no
designer bags as in the more center city metro lines, absences designer label
or icon on their clothing. The knock off they wore are of the worst kind, that
you can tell it is fake immediately.
But they are colorful, very colorful indeed. Will you ever
wear a peacock color tights tug into the fake fur line ring of a 6” heel short
boot topped the custom with a bright color short waist length jacket that was a
little too light for the winter weather? The huge fake Gucci bag is a dead give
away with a big “FAKE” written across it. The worst is that she is a little
over weight and in the frame of 5 ft. Tight is not really the dress of choice,
or is it? The 6” heels on top of that I am totally speechless.
On the opposite side of the car, a man wore a pair of dark
sunglasses on this cold and rainy day. Oh I got it. It is a real deal,
unmistakable, “Ray Ban”
The young man on the train all had the reddish brown hair
color by the low quality dye their hair was so dry and full that looks more
like cover by haystacks, or a wig. Knick off shoes in bright colors are
everywhere, tight jeans on the skeleton legs. I hate to be stereotyping, but it
is all so true, I am in the star war space ship to nowhere. These rider live on
the suburb trying to catch with their center city neighbor, but lack of the
sense of sophistication and the basic understanding of fashion and style,
rather they just wore what they saw on any department store displace window,
without knowing if that is really an appropriate combination.
At the same time, I also saw a lot more traditional clothing
from the bygone Mao era that I usually do not see people wearing on the more
popular lines. As soon as the train came to a major stop, the entire cart is
almost empty. What are left in the cabin are all the people looking like
factory workers and farmers. As if I just been beam from one planet to another
in a flash. Now I am back in 1969 etc.
I may be a little over reacting, until you take a ride with
me. Just like the taxi ride or the dare devil cross the road kind of experience
I blog about before. You can’t really see and felt what I meant, and I do not
expect you to.
A spring day chance encounter in Shanghai Metro.
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