Eleven hours of flight from Munich and a six-hour time difference are very hard on…

Despite the passing years, I am still delighted with these big flying machines, weighing hundreds of tons. The power of the engines during the start evokes an unbroken, long-lasting admiration. This time it was the four-engine Airbus 340-600, one of the long-range leaders. These machines are no longer produced because of the high operating costs.
I can’t describe the size of Pudong Airport… After landing, we taxied to our sleeves for more than 30 minutes.

Scanning fingerprints of both hands is a novelty for us. Well, in the Emirates, they scan the pupil of the eye – signs of civilization…

The MAGLEV magnetic railway, which was to run 430 km/h, ran 300…, one station, then change to the subway to reach the city center. Maglev is neglected inside – the Lower Silesian Railways look better – really. And it reaches 430km/h twice a day… for half an hour. THE PRIDE SHANGHAI does not impress. Here, on the spot, it’s heavily criticized for its costs and that it goes no one knows where… It is rather an expression of Chinese ambition than pragmatism. You will not pay with Visa or Mastercard for your ticket at the ticket office (on the subway and Maglev) at Pudong Airport – it was a great surprise for us. Exchanging USD for Chinese yuan is a painfully serious procedure … But when a country has 1.5 billion people, it can have its own VISA, its own Facebook, its own search engines and its own „international language”, although it is not comfortable for tourists.

The Shanghai Metro is currently the largest in the world and continues to expand. It is well organized and safe. Barriers or glass walls along the railways are everywhere. Here you don’t say „sorry”, „please” – here people are pushing – calmly, discreetly they are pushing their way into the wagons to the chosen destination. We started to do it as well…

Illuminations of skyscrapers at night look fabulous from the waterfront – it is full of tourists (there are unbelievable crowds). The whole sparkles with so many colors that you have the impression of participating in a great disco.
The main „Nanking” street is a series of shops of various big and small brands, including global ones. The main promenade of the city is also overcrowded, and the number of touts encouraging people to buy anything is second to none to any other place I’ve ever known. The same applies to the market in the Old Town. Bargaining is a must. My brass dragon was supposed to cost 850 yuan, and I ended up paying 180…

WiFi in our hotel is a misunderstanding, Facebook does not work (as we knew), Google and its derivatives neither.

VISA and MASTER CARD cards are processed in a few places, hotels, ATMs. You should rather take USD or EUR and exchange …
The financial district „from the inside” is breathtaking. Views from Shanghai Tower – ahhh … Here you can feel that Shanghai is the financial capital of China, here you can feel the most populous country in the world and the largest city in the world, and the unlimited potential „is in the air”.
Shanghai also means great contrasts, which can be seen in our pictures. The further away from the center the worse… A few hundred meters from the headquarters of large companies we see Chinese people pushing carts, fully loaded with stuff such as waste paper, ehhhhh… However, the Poles who live here are cooling down our approach to 'Chinese poverty’, claiming that we perceive it from the European perspective. I’m not going to go into detail here because it’s a long and complicated subject. I can develop the subject in a personal conversation, although for me poverty is poverty…

The second day was very successful in every way. The biggest fun is the city from the perspective of a one-person taxi on a scooter (although we both fit in): a little against the current, a little slant, a lot of honking – the driver was very happy after receiving the payment…

The China Sport Show at NECC is a separate story due to its size, diversity and … trade secret . The building impresses with its architecture and … (of course) its size.

In Shanghai, which is very surprising, toilets have similarities with some Arab countries associated with narrow sewer pipes. Restaurants and hotels too. Yucky …

The summary is as follows: here lives an extremely thin population, this is a city with a well-connected and marked underground, this is a city of people who don’t care about speaking English (somewhat rightly so), who are friendly, loud and hardworking, a city with many MOST. The city is overcrowded, the space with a lot of police and all kinds of security services screening luggage wherever possible, but most of all in the subway. A city without aggression.
A city that rushes all the time.
I don’t join this rush, although in Shanghai we did well, not to say very well…

We got back home in a „classic” – the Boeing 747 or „jumbo jet”, which has been popular for many years. This time to Frankfurt am Main, where it’s like in a beehive…
We would like to thank the residents of Shanghai – Tomek, Marta, Michał and Nenat from Serbia for an inspiring evening!

PIOTR GĄSIOR, 7 Dan
The Chairman of Polish Taekwon-do Federation
The Founder of the DO-WORLD Foundation „Learn the World with Taekwon-do!”