This morning I went down to Shanghai South Railway Station to see if there was anything significantly different from what we’ve seen before. Nothing. It is milling with people, and so I see more and more that it has not been designed as a retail opportunity, but rather that the architecture and the screens are all about getting people in and out as quickly and smoothly as possible. The security seemed slightly stepped up (more clearly designated lines). But there the same areas were accessible without a ticket as before.

This evening I went up to Wujiaochang/Pentagon Plaza again. Much is as it was, but whatever the new building on the corner of Handan Road and Siping Road is, it’s going up fast. That leaves only one corner unoccupied, and I think a hotel is planned for that. I guess the main change in this part of the world is that the subway is making it more accessible at last. But the subway still closes at 7 or so at night, because it’s still under experimental operation. I guess they’re running it in. Once normal hours are in operation, that will be very good for Wujiaochang, because that place only really gets busy in the evening. With Mid-Autumn Festival just round the corner, the stores that sell mooncakes and so on were absolutely hopping.

As far as screens are concerned, the same set-up is in place. However, I couldn’t help but notice that even on the shiny “new” screen, some of the LED pixels are failing and signalling the wrong colours already. The literature I’ve seen speaks of LEDs as hard-wearing and longlasting, and given the expense and how hard it is to get up there to fix them, they should be. But… I’m not so sure.

Over dinner, Lu Xinyu told me she thinks that memorial arches were paid for by the family (or clan organization) concerned, and ditto for most “pailou” arches etc. She doesn’t think the government was involved. All interesting to try and find out more about.

Dan is finding it difficult to find the right people and set up interviews. There just isn’t a culture of public access here. I guess also for the commercial ventures, we have nothing to offer them, so I can understand we are of little interest to them. But of course it is frustrating.

I’ve been on the subway 7 times so far. Again, it’s all much as before. But I am more and more conscious of how dodgy the reception is down there and how that often messes up the in-train TV or the platform TV. Also, the screens are turned off in the trains quite often.

Finally, I’ve been noticing people with t-shirts with English on them again. Today, a man wearing “Hello, Teacher. Good Morning. How are you?” Yesterday, a young man with “I don’t need sex. The government fucks me every day.” Lucky boy.

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