Can an international internship change the course of your life?

I joined Shanghai Talk magazine as an assistant editor intern in their China office in January 2006. I had just graduated from University in the United States and was in need of an adventure while gaining professional experience before starting my MBA. China had it all. I had learned Chinese at University and was aware of the immense economic development the country was currently going through.

I had a fantastic time during my internship, had plenty of chances to meet new people through media events, had my articles published and most important, I got a peek of what my future career would be.

While in China, I received my admission to Missouri-Columbia school of journalism, generally considered one of the top journalism schools in the world, well- known for its “Missouri Method.”

I was all set; my internship would come to an end at the end of May and I would head back to the United States during the summer to start my masters program.

Three days before leaving Shanghai, I was scheduled to have dinner at a South-East Asian restaurant. I had met the owner through an interview during my internship and wanted to catch-up before leaving China for good.

The event that changed the course of my young life was about to happen. I was about to leave the place around 1 am, when the owner asked me if I wanted to stay in Shanghai to start a new restaurant with him. He gave me 24h to think about it.

I was bewildered, but very excited about the prospect of learning to do business and enter the “real-life”.

After a sleepless night, I gave him my answer. My internship in Shanghai did change the course of my life, for good.

 

Shanghai for first-timers

If you’re visiting China for the first time and are a little adamant about braving the trenches of an unfamiliar country where you barely speak the language, Shanghai is an excellent city to start with. With reliable public transport systems, Shanghai is relatively safe and can be easily navigated with an open mind and a street smart attitude.

With its steady influx of foreigners and largely open minded locals, it is also a great place to meet new people. Shanghai caters to every type, whether you are an art, culinary, music or nightlife enthusiast. New venues pop up on a weekly basis, replacing those counterparts recently deemed “un-hip” by the fickle masses while events and parties are organized daily to satiate the needs of Shanghaiers. The World Expo also gave the city the much needed nudge to buck up, resulting in a massive city-wide face-lift that turns its landscape into a set out of Blade Runner. The latest in a series of architectural theory-defying skyscrapers is the 128-story spiraling Shanghai Tower, due for completion in 2014.

While comfortably taking on its new identity as China’s melting pot, Shanghai hasn’t forgotten its roots, a revival is underway in the Bund to bring back the glamour of the 1900s, most notably with the reopening of the Peace Hotel and a project by New York’s Rockefeller Group, aptly named RockBund. However, if all these seem a bit much to take at one go, there is always the calmer side of Shanghai found in local neighborhoods to take you back to the simpler, quieter life. From early morning tai chi sessions to the evening dance gatherings in parks, Shanghai is dazzling with its neon lights, and comforting once the lights are off.

Shanghai’s new botanic garden set to open at the end of the month

In an effort to increase greenery in the city, after three years’ construction, the Chenshan botanic park will open just in time for the Expo. At 207 hectares (three times the size of the Shanghai Botanic Garden), it boasts 9,000 species of endangered plants and trees , and eventually 30,000 in order to earn a spot at the world’s top 10 botanic gardens.

Designed by German landscape architect  Christoph Valentien (of the award winning firm Valentien & Valentien), several details of the garden were also inspired by Chinese culture and tradition, for example the design of a hill and a lake, the height of the pavilions, and the setting of the buildings.

A 71.4 m waterfall runs from Chenshan Hill into a deep lake at the Quarry Garden, constructed from an abandoned quarry. The park also has a  special garden that encourages blind people to feel the plants and smell the scents, equipped with an audio system to guide the blind on tours of the foliage.

Shanghai’s business investment in San Francisco anticipates growth

As sister cities for the past 30 years, Shanghai and San Francisco are helping each other grow in a number of industries. San Francisco is quintessentially known as a “green” city, so the green technology industry is expected to develop. In addition, thebiotech, medical sciences and IT fields are also expected to grow within the next years.

Architecture firm Heller Manus is one  example of a San Francisco company doing well in China . In 2006 they won a competition to design  the Eastern Harbor International office tower in  Shanghai. They were able to establish credibility in China mainly through this sister cities program.

As this project nears completion, the firm has been awarded LEED Gold precertification – a rare achievement for high-rises in the city. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a widely used standard for green buildings in the US and internationally.

When first established,  the relationship had Shanghai looking to San Francisco for investment. But now San Francisco is increasingly looking to China for investment. Government agencies such as ChinaSF have been established to this end.

Shanghai to reduce food waste

Taking cues from San Francisco, which started to impose a fine on food waste last year, Shanghai is taking another step towards environmentally friendly measures. According to Shanghai Daily, around 60 restaurants are expected to take part in a new program that encourages diners to order less dishes and reward those who doggy bag their leftovers.

Although not as strict as the law in San Francisco, which fines residents who do not properly dispose of their food waste, the new measure has seen a significant decrease in waste in some of the restaurants taking part in the trial since April last year.

The article also mentions that Shanghai generates 1,000 tons of food waste every day. Restaurants pay a waste disposal fee of 60 yuan (US$8.78) per 50 kg barrel. As part of this initiative , the Shanghai Greenery and Public Sanitation Bureau is considering offering more benefits such as discounted waste disposal fees for restaurants and lucky draws for customers featuring gifts including the 2010 World Expo tickets.