Shanghai Tech WriterTechnical Writing, Technology, Web2.0, Google, Shanghai, China

Zhangjiang Hi-Tech subway station will be closed from 2/14 to 2/23 in preparation for the Line 2 extension to Guanglan Road (2 additional stations). Line 2 will eventually extend to Pudong International Airport in time for the World Expo 2010. Zhangjiang station will be closed all next week because of the connection construction that will take place underground starting from Longyang. All stations after Longyang will be underground, except maybe the airport stop. The above-ground Zhangjiang station will no longer be in operation.

This is GREAT news for me because I live only 5 minutes walking distance from Guanglan station! Not only is Guanglan station so close to my house, it’s also a “terminal” stop. Even though Line 2 will eventually connect to the airport, people have to change trains at Guanglan station to go to the airport. That’s another great news because it means that I’ll be able to get a seat easily for my daily comute to work and not have to fight for it since Guanglan Road is a residential area, unlike Zhangjiang station where commuters are far less civilized. It also means that going to the airport is going to be so much easier and faster (~20 minutes)!

Last night when I was walking around the neighborhood and checking out real estate agencies that surround our residential complex, I was surprised to see that the real estate value of my neighborhood shot up significantly. My apartment, bought for about $250K USD back in 2006, is edging towards the million dollar mark!

Nine years ago when I moved to Shanghai, Zhangjiang was mostly farms and fields. Zhangjiang was considered “鸟不生蛋的地方” (a Chinese phrase that literally means, where birds don’t lay eggs). Zhangjiang station had maybe 2-3 people get on/off the train, and taxi drivers won’t take passengers unless they were going to the airport (longer distance = make more money). The apartment where I lived at the time overlooked a large field with an outhouse and a few pigs. That plot of land where the pigs roamed about is where I live now — a nice gated community that’s right across from a Zhangjiang light rail station and 5 minutes away from the new subway station! All the surrounding fields and farmhouses have been torn down and replaced with nice apartment high rises, condos, and villas.

So much has changed over the last decade and it’s not just the Zhangjiang area. The rest of Shanghai has changed significantly too. As the city gets ready for the World Expo that begins this May, more changes will be coming our way in the coming few weeks, months, and years. The entire city has been under non-stop construction for the last few decades, and it doesn’t look like that will stop anytime soon. It won’t be long before Shanghai becomes a financial hub that will rival London and New York!

This is why I find Shanghai to be an exciting place to live and work!