all about Sophia

I can confirm Shanghai’s winter has come this year,almost one month earlier than before. It is always hazy day,a little rain,wet air, soft but cold wind belowing to people’s face.I really hate Shanghai’s winter, not as warm as HK,not as cold as Beijing. It is wet,wet,and wet,which makes people feel uncomfortable very much. It will last almost 4 months.By the way,no heating system in this city.What people can do is to bear it or get used to it. After 4 year’s bearing,this year,I am going to be used to it.

Walking on the small street among the downtown roads,some places are really quiet. In this noisy city,if you will,you can still find out some really quiet places. Among the skyscraper,even you can find out some special  villas. Most of them are French style,today,local Shanghai people living there or were rented out to the foreigners who are crazy for those.

This is a city where are always full of noise but you can still find out quiet places and this is a metropolis full of skyscrapers and also you can find out some very special villas.Different people’s eyes have different Shanghai cities. She is changing every moment.

One of the most famous places in Shanghai you will definitely go is Xintiandi.Xin in Chinese means new,and tian means sky or heaven,and di means land or earth. Xintiandi is rebuilt based on the old shanghai shikumen houses and now become a very successful place for people to go either for an interesting tour or attend some events. Shanghai local people used to live in this kind of houses, so today,when you sit on a chair of a delicate restaurant, maybe you are at a local family’s living room many yeas ago. So Shanghai local people (especially old people) are interested in Xintiandi, because it can recall them lots of memories; Shanghai young people love to go to Xintiandi,because it is a paradise in the world;Foreigners like to go to Xintiandi,because they can find out many Chinese & western combines there. Many people visit there and many famous events held there, it is a miraculous place!

I went to one of the famous restaurants named Zen last night. It is famous for its Cantonese food. “Zen” this word is from Buddhism,which covers a kind of mysticism. The Chinese name is Cai die xuan, no exact meaning,relevent with butterfly.But it sounds delicate and grace, the Chinese characters look very nice as well. The dish was not bad,the enviroment was quiet last night. Inside are sitting many people which are from almost all the world—this is an interesting phenomenon,because normally,in a western restaurant,most of the people are westerners,only one or two Chinese people,while in a Chinese restaurant, most are Chinese faces,seldom western people.But in this restaurant,almost half and half.

This was my second time to go there. My first time was one year ago, with my two dear bosses.One is from New York,the other one is from London. I remembered one of them spoke to me: This is a good chance for you to learn English, these are authentic London accent and authentic New York accent. I just nodded my head. I don’t know why, I will never forget those words and the atmosphere at that moment.   

After thinking and considering many years, I finally know one of my big dreams is: travel around the world with my laptop and Ditigal Camera, taking pictures and keeping down my mind at any moment, let more people know more things through my eyes.It seemed a little bit crazy when I told my parents 5 years ago before I came to Shanghai for university. At that time,my parents told me, if you wanted to achieve your dream,you should study hard,go to a big city for university,then you would have more opporunities for a bright future. Although they didn’t know how anxious I was about my future when I was teenage, it did push me a lot to make efforts to go to my ideal city—Shanghai. Five years ago, I was so lucky to become the only one student who is from my province in Shanghai theatre academy after very fierce competition. Actually, I had already begun my first trip, I found it after 4 years when I graduated from university.Since I left my hometown, I have become a traveler.

Shanghai city is amazing and crazy.It is divided into two parts—-Pu Xi & Pu Dong by Huangpu river. I had been lived in Pu Xi ,Jing an temple—the heart of this city for four years. Now I lived in Pudong after graduation just gave myself a good reason to know the whole Shanghai.But I need to travel Puxi & Pudong everyday due to work.I am full of emotions to Puxi,when I come to Puxi,even from one side to the other side of Huangpu river, I would feel the air is totally different. Puxi’s air is more wetness and I can even smell its stories. I found many interesting places and stories here, and also become a Kango traveler luckily,which will continue to achieve my dream. I would like to share my experiences and feelings of traveling in this city. It is about growing up, love and life…..