The New Tales of Old Shanghai
International College Hong Kong , Wong , Fedoria - 12
“
Grandpa , Grandpa ! Please tell me a story of the place where you lived when you were younger ! I
heard from mom that you lived in Shanghai … Wasn ’ t it a very old city ?”
“ Ah yes , my dear . I remember all the little details of the bustling city and the sounds of the people busily traveling amongst the crowded streets .”
“ Grandpa please tell me more about Shanghai !”
“ Alright my dear . Oh boy how much has it changed since the 1930s … I remember the buildings that were close to the grounds , with the big and giant doors that made a sound that would scare the people nearby when you slammed them . The rings on the door that showed the fierce and vicious looks of the dragon head . Each building had a shop on the first floor with the house on the second . The advertising cloths hung low to the ground and occasionally , one would fall and kill a few . Mysterious alleys were all around the streets , where posters of missing women and kids were stuck . The alleys were the darkest place in the streets and people were often
killed there .”
“ Did people just walk around the streets everyday without any transportation and beautiful Ferraris ?” “ Ah … no my dear grandson , they had loud trams that would make people walk to the sides of the wet and damp streets . The people also ride their rusty old bikes which make a terrible squeaking noise every time they put the brakes on . Ohh , there were also the people who carried people around in comfortable carts and traveled to a short distance .” Oh dear , it ' s almost your bedtime now . Now go to sleep and I ’ ll tell you more about the amazing place that I used to live in . Goodnight my dear grandson .”
That night , Qiang drifted off deeper and deeper into his sleep and had a dream . He dreamed about the place where his grandfather grew up . Qiang saw the damp and muddy streets , the houses that were so close to the ground that you could almost climb up it and the big lit up billboards . Nightfall soon arrived . He wandered the streets that were quiet and mysterious with occasional cries of dogs and birds . That happened for a few hours after the nightfall , but after that , the streets became silent . Qiang found a small hotel to stay in for the night . The hotel had dim rooms and hard beds . It was not much luxury , but it would do for the night .
The next morning , he was woken by the voice of his grandfather . When he opened his eyes , in front of his eyes stood a teenager with a white tee-shirt and ragged shorts . It was his grandfather .
“ Is your name Wei ?” asked Qiang .
“ Oh yes , my name is Wei and you don ’ t look like you belong here .”
“ Of course I don ’ t , I belong to the modern world of 2016 , where advanced technology is .” replied Qiang .