Shanghai District

Shanghai

People

Xujiahui Shoppers

The above is a group of young shoppers busy checking out the scene at Shanghai’s famous Xujiahui (shoe-gee_ah-who_way) shopping district. The area is always crowded and lively. Notice the Pizza Hut in the background. Unlike stateside Pizza Huts now primarily designed for take-out, China’s Pizza Huts seat hundreds of patrons who hang out for hours munching their pizza ... expect waiting lines at the door. Also, watch for creativity at the salad bar. I once saw a young Chinese customer take his very small “one-visit-bowl” and quadruple its capacity by using carrot sticks to build a “carrot wall” around its outer perimeter. I was impressed by his ingenuity and appetite as well. Chinese pride themselves on being clever and creative, especially if they had to break some rules in the process.

6-23-01