Shanghai

Arrived in Shanghai after a 25-hour flight. Everything went very smoothly. I have upgraded to Premium Economy where I can. That, along with noise-cancelling headphones, makes a huge difference on long flights.

The first couple of days were to get over jet lag and get some things needed for the trip. Checked into the Hotel Chalet, which is in the central district (Huangpu) of Shanghai. It’s near the Bund, East Nanjing Street and People’s Square.

Though apparently the weather has cooled, it’s still quite hot and humid.

Here we use the equivalent of Apple Pay to pay for literally everything. Even an elderly beggar lady had a QR code. The transportation coordination is excellent. There is the Metro, which I haven’t tried, cars with their equivalent of Uber called DiDi, bicycles placed around the city that you can use for 2 yuan ($0.30) per hour, and streets with wide sidewalks and crossing lights.

My hotel has a decent and varied buffet breakfast for $5. My other meal is frequently at a local street restaurant with 5–8 tables for about $6.

Today, Aug. 26, was a fantastic day. I wanted to see what, for me, is the latest in technology, so I paid for a tour. I met Burton a few minutes before 9:00. He got us a DiDi (Uber in China), and we went to Haier, a major publicly traded Chinese company, to see their exoskeleton.

Think of an exoskeleton like an e-bike. It gives you extra power. It can reduce the effort of walking by 40%.

They had three generations on display. We looked at the most recent exoskeleton, weighing in at 3.86 lbs. It is made of carbon fiber. The first generation weighs about 6 lbs.

They strapped it on me. It was comfortable. There are six modes, with each giving more power to the legs. As you walk, the device lifts your legs.

I started at level 1. It noticeably made walking easier and improved my balance. I walked around the office. Soon I was at level 4. I went outside and ran approximately 100 feet. I’m not in good shape, but I wasn’t winded at all. I quickly walked up and down two flights of stairs and was only slightly out of breath.

Each side can receive different amounts of power. I’m thinking about how it could assist a stroke victim in walking.

The exoskeleton currently has two target markets: outdoors and seniors. For a hiker, it would open new areas. The battery can last 3–4 hours and it is waterproof. For me, since I do not have the stamina for hiking, this device makes hiking again a real possibility.

For seniors, it could extend the range that they can walk. Think of how many seniors would be able to join walking tours, enjoy shopping and just enjoy the movement of walking.

Currently, the price is about $2,300.

Next was a robo-taxi. A Lexus RX 450h was fitted with self-driving technology. Interestingly, it was rather mundane. It wouldn’t start until we fastened our seatbelts. The robo-taxi took off, driving confidently through the streets. In front of each of us was a screen where we could listen to music or watch videos.

We shortly arrived at our next stop, an AI center where the latest technology is displayed.

There were 3-D printers on display. Then came the most fascinating thing: a whole-body scanner. I took off my shoes and socks and stood on a platform. I was rotated 360 degrees in front of the scanner.

It then gave me a report. The information was fascinating: BMI, posture and many other metrics. I was left with several interesting observations to investigate, including a slight hunchback. I was also told my body shape is called “apple.” LOL.

I met Lingxi, a functional robot. We had a very pleasant interaction. I told her about my granddaughter Sienna becoming a primary school teacher. We discussed using Lingxi as a classroom assistant in the future. She thought it was a great idea that had merit.

Using the regular food-ordering app, we ordered some cold drinks to be delivered by drone. About 20 minutes later, Burton was notified that our drinks were arriving.

We went outside, and in the distance a drone was approaching. Soon it landed at a kiosk where the package containing our drinks was left. We went to a panel of doors, one opened, and we took the package out. The drone flew off to somewhere. LOL.

We removed the drinks, placed the packaging in the bin and enjoyed our drinks.

This type of delivery is available in areas where these kiosks can be placed.

Tour guide Burton and I went to lunch and finished our day.

Later that day, I walked to the East Nanjing Street pedestrian mall, which is about 500 meters from my hotel. I spent the evening wandering this mile-long mall with its Las Vegas-like lights and atmosphere, and then continued on to the Bund.

Shanghai is separated by a river. On my side, the buildings are old European-style buildings, while on the opposite side are futuristic skyscrapers. As many as 10,000 people fill the promenade at any one time.

On Friday I went to Zhujiajiao an ancient water town on the outskirts of Shanghai, known for its narrow canals, stone bridges , traditional buildings, and small boats winding through the old town. This 1700 year-old water town became important trading center during the Ming Dynasty.

Impressions of Shanghai

I really like Shanghai. It’s blend of old and new and super modern all seems to work together. With about 25 million people it has a population density similar to Chicago. I was out at different times of the day and night. I never saw traffic and in my neighborhood right next to its most popular tourist areas it was always pretty quiet with people just quietly going about their business. There are a lot of small restaurants. Compared to 2014 when I was in China a couple of things stood out. It is such a quiet city. Most of the cars are electric. Though never as bad as Beijing was in 2014 there wasn’t any evidence of air pollution. I remember in 2014 thinking how young on average the population was. That’s not the case now from my casual observation. People are noticeably heavier. Maybe it was where I was traveling but women’s dress has become much more casual, still conservatively dressed but not as stylish. Though I really enjoyed my time here there isn’t any reason to return if I were to come to China again.

o