Getting to grips with both Shanghais

Graduate journalist Cushla Norman reports back on an Asia:NZ-supported internship with the Shanghai Daily in late 2009. 

"Write something beautiful about China - not this," whispered a Chinese man in my ear.

''This'' was a migrant slum in the back blocks of south Shanghai and "the Chinese man" was in fact a migrant himself who had moved to Shanghai 20 years ago.

"But I have been writing beautiful things about your hotels, restaurants, spas, arts and fashion," I wanted to say through my interpreter, but didn't.

The men I was actually interviewing - three ragged, toothless wonders squatting behind a tobacco shop counter scoffing noodles answered for me.

"No, no this is the truth, report the truth."

And in this migrant community the simple truth that life is tough and unfair was laid to bare, not hidden behind goody bags or the PR spin of glossy inner-city Shanghai, but written on the migrants' toiled faces and heard through their passionate, uncensored words.

The woman behind the meat stall started spitting tacks - I thought she was giving me a bollocking for being nosy, but no, informed the interpreter, she was furious with the Shanghainese.  She said the Shanghainese disciminated against the migrants, charged higher than normal rent and extra for their children to attend school.

I learnt the Shanghainese had a reputation for quite liking themselves – the title of China’s wealthiest city, a glamorous past, a distinctive dialect and their own Shanghainese identity card (not even the migrant who had lived in Shanghai for 20 years was eligible for one)  – all gave a sense of superiority over the migrants.

Ironically, Shanghai is a city built on migrants looking for a better life and much of the city’s success is owed to them.

The censorship issue is something I have been asked a lot about since returning from my posting on the Shanghai Daily.

I had virtually no problems – all of my stories got published and most of my story ideas were encouraged.  There was an instance where some frank comments I made in a travel article about a city called Hangzhou were removed so it read more positively, but I should have seen that one coming – the Government has been pouring money into marketing Hangzhou as a tourist destination.

Being on the features team, writing light, human interest pieces meant censorship was never really exercised – it’s hard to be offensive when you are writing about food, facials, wine and art.

The pampering was great, a real treat, but after a month the novelty had worn off and I realised how far removed this kind of lifestyle was for the average Chinese.

I had come to Shanghai all guns blazing thinking I had to crack a story on injustices and corruption, but instead found myself schmoozing with American millionaires who had movies made about their lives.

American Michael Parks, a former Pulitzer prize winning journalist I was fortunate enough to interview, put my situation in perspective.

“You are sitting here today doing an interview – that would have never happened in the ‘70s.”

And Parks would know - he was one of a handful of foreign correspondents roaming China's hot spots in the 1970s.

He also taught me how to tackle the more serious issues without being a bully.  "Solution-based journalism" he called it, giving readers ways to solve pressing problems without pointing the finger and saying "this is what's wrong with you China."

I used this approach when writing charity stories.  That way heath problems like congenital heart disorders and cerebral palsy in children were highlighted, the charity got some coverage and underlying issues like inadequate funding and abandonment of handicapped children were also tackled.  Everyone was kept happy.

All in all, Shanghai really did rock my world - I think I scoured nearly every corner of that city and had many laugh out loud moments only China could provide;

• Whistling "Oh My Darling" with a taxi driver on my way to work one morning – we couldn’t speak each other’s language but enjoyed a good whistle together.

• Snapping the pyjama wearers in the streets – sometimes the ladies really dolled themselves up – handbag and high heels for a trip to the market.

• Riding white knuckled in the freezing cold 45 minutes across Shanghai on the back of a motorbike wearing a flimsy excuse for a helmet.  I was running horrendously late to an interview, and grabbing a bike was my only option.  We dodged traffic, red lights and several bullets.  On the way the driver pointed to his pockets and my hands making a gesture of putting hands in pockets.  I thought it was kind of odd that he would want my hands in his pockets, but I dove my hands in anyway. "No!"  I was very wrong, another example of lost in translation, but we had a good laugh.

Thank you Asia:NZ for giving me the rare opportunity to try my craft in a Chinese newsroom. The experience has inspired me to learn more about China, and I hope to return one day to explore and report on the more remote areas of such a fascinating country.

Photos:
1) Cushla crusing West Lake in Hangzhou, the famous Leifeng Pagoda (originally built 975 AD) is in the background.

2) Lookng for a love or marriage of convenience in People's Park, central Shanghai. CVs with all the important details cover the park each Sunday morning. This punter is 60 years old, 1.68cm tall and earns 1000 yuan ($200 NZD) a month.

3)  The intersection outside my hostel - chaos everyday.

4) Migrant workers at South Shanghai Railway Station - always on a journey to the next job, next opportunity or just back home.