China, 1987 and 2009

Next Tuesday, I will be off to China for a week! I'm getting excited/panicky about my imminent departure, but I think I'm almost ready. I have my passport, a visa and a plane ticket, and that's all you need, really, to go to China. Maybe some clean underwear, too.

I'm traveling with my parents to Shanghai and Hangzhou. In Hangzhou, we're going to meet with the representatives of the Zhejiang Juvenile and Children's Book Publishing House (浙江少年儿童出版社), whom we are working with on a translation project for this coming fall. We are also going to do some sightseeing around Hangzhou, and then I will head to Shanghai to see some friends, while my parents go on to Taiwan.

My husband and I visited Beijing in 2006, but the last time I was in Shanghai was 1987! I distinctly remember Shanghai as being the most crowded city I had ever seen-- the streets were a river of bicycles and the wide sidewalks were shoulder-to-shoulder full of people. It was a city simply stuffed with people. That was in 1987, when the population of Shanghai was only about 11 million. Now it's almost 19 million.

I can't wait to see this thoroughly modern city grown out of the traditions of a 3,000-year-old culture. I'm looking forward to laying new images over my old memories. If I have some internet access, I'll post pictures while I'm there.

I know, this picture of me in 1987 wasn't taken in Shanghai, but it's all I have digitized. And I thought you all would find it amusing.