Picture yourself in the urban canopy jungle. You are lost in the great concrete reef. You’re drowning in the ocean of asphalt. This is transit. This is Shanghai.
Picture the sky in numerous lanes, divided judiciously amongst the taxis, coaches and coupes. Picture the orderly march of axles 200 ft in the air. Can you hear the rubber rolling along, at 50 km/h, over your head? If you can, you’re a native of Shanghai.
The true Skyway is here. A massive engineering marvel, Shanghai’s ‘High Road’ is the epitome of unsightly urbanization. To relieve traffic problems, the city decided to build itself a bypass above the ground. The bypass is dramatically thrust into the sky. The High Road of Shanghai exists in the lower atmosphere of our planet, no doubt about that; but it dominates the celestial heaven of a local’s imagination.
Seen from above, Shanghai must look like the grey mausoleum of some huge octopus. The High Road snakes throughout the metropolis, coiling and bunching like so many tentacles. The High Road casts the underdwellers in shadow, thereby reserving the privilege of direct sunlight for motorists.
Rory Keane is an American-born teacher and writer who has logged nearly two years in China, and is working on another year-long stint in the Middle Kingdom. He writes about travel, sociopolitical issues, health, entertainment, and culture, among other topics.
