The following continues the serialization of Chapter 6 from SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Humanity:
In the Fall of 1997 I made a two day stop in Shanghai, China. I had arranged to give a talk to the engineering students at Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, generally ranked #3 to Tsinghua University and Beijing University, but the Paris Tech 2007 ranking placed it at #1 in China and #35 in the world. While the city was around 100 miles from Shanghai, in those days, there was no superhighway. Today of course there is one and plans are being readied for a magnetic levitation train to become operational for the 2010 Shanghai Expo. That trip will take only 27 minutes. But that’s the future.
Thus, I woke up that fateful morning to catch a flight to Hangzhou. I got a call saying the area was fogged in, so wait in my room until further notice. Finally, I was picked up and boarded the plane, but it was still foggy. The flight nevertheless took off, and I never saw land until, a short while later, a sudden bump announced our arrival at the Jianqiao Airport. I was initially impressed with the unbelievable radar system, but then decided they had just winged it. I was alive, so all was well.
Hangzhou is located in the Yangtze River Delta. The city is 2,200 years old and is famous for its natural scenery. While the population today is greater than 6 million, in 1276, already a million people lived there. Marco Polo then called it the finest and noblest in the world.
Like many universities in the Orient, the full range of study options is available, but engineering rules. I made the usual protocol visits, but by the mid-afternoon a concern surfaced that all airline flights could be cancelled until at least the next day. The only other option was a train, which did not worry me, but seemed to distress the administration. So, it was determined that I had to miss the sightseeing part of the trip, and go immediately to the airport. Well, all the flights were, indeed, cancelled, so my faculty guide said that we needed to catch a taxi to the Hangzhou East Railway Station.
He found out that there was only one more train left with any seats to Shanghai, but that the departure time was in about half an hour. The cab line was at least 100 yards long, so, he went up to the policeman monitoring that area and explained how important I was, I think, in Chinese, anyway, and magically, we were whisked away. However, with the rain and flooding, the normal roads were at a standstill, so I was told that the driver would take the country alternative, where I learned that most of the roadway was essentially wide enough for one vehicle. It was now dark and the ride was harrowing. At one point, a large truck headed in our direction at full speed, and, till today, I don’t know how we survived a head-on collision (
remember, the traffic death rate/vehicle in China is more than 20 times that of the U.S.--the latest data show that deaths/100,000 vehicles in China is 16.5, while that of the U.S. is 12.3, so that was an exaggeration).
Well, we made it to the station, and you need to recall that Paris station where Humphrey Bogart waited for Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca, as the German army was entering, but ten times worse. Again, there were long lines, which were outside in the rain. My protector somehow cut in line and came back crushed. No seats remained unless we paid what amounted to a bribe. After some anxious minutes of determining what could be done (I was leaving Shanghai early the next morning to Narita, so staying over was not an option), it turned out the bribe was only a few cents, so back he went, I got a ticket and he rushed me to the train, which was just pulling out—five minutes early—when I jumped on, soaking wet. This escapade was the longest half hour of my life. The din, the mass of humanity, no signs in English…I now know why the university was apprehensive.
But the story continues, for two hours later, the train arrived in Shanghai for a long cab ride to my hotel, which was close to the airport, but outside of town. (Since then, the Westin moved to a new location on the Bund.) Unfortunately, the cab line was another mass of humanity, but I noticed that the subway was also located in the terminal. In those days there was nothing to the Westin, but the Hilton (where I had stayed in a previous trip) was only a couple of stops away, and it’s always easy to get a taxi at a major hotel. As no one spoke English, I struggled to get a ticket, which was all of ten cents or so, got on and off, which was a challenge, because the signs were in Chinese. The exit to the outside was jam packed as the rain was really coming down. There was no sense in getting an umbrella as I was still wet. So out I went, heading in the general direction of the Hilton, and for no good reason, began waving my hand in hopes that a cab would stop…and one did. So I jumped in and gave him the Westin card. He nodded, but after half an hour, I began to get nervous, as the hotel was not that far away. The thought of being shanghaid in Shanghai came to mind. After another fifteen minutes of anxiety, he made it to the hotel, and I don’t think I paid even $2, with tip.
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The Dow Jones, less than half an hour to the bell, is surging, up 157 at 10,470, with world markets almost all also increasing, except for Japan. Gold +$2/toz to $1227 and crude oil is at $76/barrel.
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