We started the day with a tour of French Concession area of Shanghai with Patrick Cranley – President of Historic Shanghai.  Patrick took us on a two-hour guided walking tour explaining the history and significance of the bund, the opium war, the impact of the world wars and the art deco buildings in the neighborhood.  Without him, I would never have understood the significance behind small pebbles, red brick, or fake “brick” that was actually painted blocks to look like brick.  He talked about the contrast between having the French and Chinese cultures both put in one spot, and how it changed people’s lifestyles to be living in an area that was so intertwined with government business.  

Learning about this historical perspective, and the ways it still impacts Shanghai, was very insightful.  We walked into a traditional Shanghai Hutong style neighborhood and see how different it was than the Beijing Hutong neighborhoods and even spoke with some of the elderly locals who’ve lived there for generations and hear about their experiences.  Throughout this trip, I’ve learned how important these face-to-face interactions are.  Without talking to them, I would never have known how common it is for people live their entire lives in the same neighborhood.
 
Our walking tour ended with a local Shanghainese meal.  It was delicious, served family-style and I’m happy that my chopsticks skills have gotten better with every meal!  I even tried the fermented glutinous sesame ball desert that so many people in our group love.  This trip and the experience of sharing meals together has reinforced in my mind how important food can be to experiencing a culture.  Without the meals we had on this trip, I wouldn’t have felt nearly as connected with Chinese culture as I am now as we near the end of the trip.

We spent the next hour at the U.S. Consulate General.  This was a great way to spend our last full day because we were asked to reflect on the trip as a whole and talk about our takeaways.  I was happy to hear that I shared many takeaways with my teammates, such as the importance and effectiveness of people to people exchanges. We all agreed that there was no other way to replicate this experience, and that people just have to be here in person to see what it’s like. We also reflected on some of the challenges we faced as amateur diplomats, such as not being exactly sure how to answer tricky media questions, or always feeling the need to be prepared for the cameras. I really enjoyed hearing my teammates' reflections, and hearing more about the lifestyle of work in the Foreign Service.

After our meeting, we went to the Pearl Tower…thank goodness I’m not scared of heights!  The Pearl Tower consists of three floors.  After visiting the Shanghai Municipal History Museum on the ground floor, we travelled 280 meters into the air via elevator, arriving at the second floor viewing area.  This is a glass-floor viewing platform!  We took a lot of pictures here in varying poses, from jumping on the glass floor to doing push-ups (facing the street, 280 meters below us!).  After putting the strength of the glass floor to the test, we went up to the third and highest floor of the Pearl Tower to eat at the revolving restaurant.  We had a buffet style dinner while spinning in a circle (at a slow speed) to see all of the beautiful Shanghai lights from 350 meters in the sky. It was a breathtaking view!

We ended the evening with a river cruise on the Huangpu river.  Despite being to Shanghai three times, I’ve never been on a river cruise. The lights were stunning, and we couldn’t stop taking pictures.  It was so picturesque that we decided it reminded us of a movie closing scene. This was an amazing treat for our last night in China, and despite being sad about leaving, I am really looking forward to going back to the States and telling everyone about my trip.  I can’t wait to explain what an impact this trip had on me, and how influential ping-pong diplomacy and people to people exchanges really are!

-- Margaux Reppert