Shanghai'dLex: A City on the Brink

A little bit about the city we're spending time in this week... I say it's on the brink because every other building is under construction. And these are not small, insignificant remodeling projects, these are massive structures being erected and finding their own place among existing high-rises. In fact, there are entire blocks in Chengdu -- from the giant Mao statue across from Tianfu Square to People's Park -- under construction or renovation.

This probably doesn't help the air quality. It's terrible out, the kind of weather that makes you cough for no good reason and makes your eyes squint even though the sun's not in them. And anyway, the sun is hidden behind a thick layer of smog, or something of the sort. Remember this app? Yesterday, it told us it was hazardous to our health to be outside.

"Chengdu for the future, for the world." Appropriate.

But the city has soul. In fact, if Shanghai is New York (we've heard the comparison before, and I would tend to agree; it's certainly more NYC than Paris, in my opinion), and if Beijing is D.C. (both being capitals and all), then Chengdu is Chicago. There's an emphasis on art and culture here -- music, performance, crafts -- and people are friendly. Its pedestrian walkways, Kuanzhai Alley and Jinli Ancient Street, offer lovely repose from the city's construction chaos. They're the heart. Both reflect ancient China, and although a Starbucks lives among the shops and vendors in both places, you're reminded that you're truly in China. I just hope Chengdu doesn't lose itself completely as it enters the next phase of its history, one surely marked by an economic explosion of epic proportions.