Being a student-athlete at the University of Louisville, I thought I would write a little about the sports and exercise atmosphere in Shanghai.

One often think about the Chinese population as skinny and healthy people. Living in China, I understand some of the reasons why they are so skinny and young looking. Overall, the people take good care of their bodies. The food they eat is very fresh and natural, and they do not eat a lot of processed food. They are experts in making good juices, and herbal tea is an important part of their everyday diet.

First time I walked around campus at night, I was shocked to see how many people were exercising around the track and field. We have two track and field facilities on campus and both of them were packed with probably 200 people each. There were people walking, jogging and running in all eight lanes. The age ranged from young kids to really old adults all excited to get their workout in for the day. Neither of the facilities have light, but it seems like everyone likes to exercise at night because that is when they have free time, and when the temperature cools off. Not only were people running around the track, there were also many people standing next to the fence stretching, doing strength exercises, and even some people were doing tai chi. A totally new experience for me, and I suddenly understood why Chinese people usually look so healthy.

Not only does the population enjoy to exercise themselves, the support of professional athletics is also increasing. The second weekend in Shanghai, I went to see the the Shanghai professional soccer team play at their main stadium with other study abroad students. The Shanghai team played the 1/16 final in the AFC Championship that night. The stadium was really nice and was actually used during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. China is purposefully trying to increase the people’s interest in soccer, and therefore, the soccer clubs are given large amount of money to get famous international players. Oscar and Hulk are currently playing for Shanghai so it was entertaining to watch.

Walking around in Shanghai, you can also see the huge amount of bicycles. There are several bike companies that rent out bikes for less than one dollar an hour, and you can leave the bike wherever you want. You unlock the bikes by using the bike companies phone app which is connected to your bank account. The bike rental system is super convenient, and it is a good substitution for motorcycles, cars and taxis. It is also a way of promoting healthy lifestyle and activity.

As you can see, there are many ways the Shanghainese population like to stay active, exercise, and improve their health. After being in Shanghai a couple of weeks, I now know that it is not a coincidence that Chinese people are known for being skinny and healthy.

Have a great day!
Katrine

I have been in Shanghai for a little over a week, and I have already been positively surprised in many ways. The city is bigger, cleaner, and more organized than I ever imagined.

Shanghai is the most populated city in the world with a population of more than 25 million. The city is located on the East Coast of China, and is today a global financial center and transportation hub. Even though Shanghai is an extremely big city, it has the largest underground system in the world, which makes it easy to get to different places. I will admit that coming to China without knowing the language has at times been challenging, but it has improved my acting skills and quickly made me learn some important words and phrases.

The food here is incredible and very different from Chinese food in the United States. Shanghai is known for having sweet food, but there are several restaurants that serve food from all over the country. The ingredients are usually very fresh and natural, and cooked with many different types of oil. Another thing that is fresh, is the juice. I love all the different types of fresh juice you can get, orange, watermelon, pineapple, and mango juice are just some of them. Two of my favorite types of foods are Hot Pot and Dim Sum. Hot Pot is a very social form of eating. The table shares different types of boiling broth, where you cook many types of meat, vegetables, and noddle’s. Dim Sum on the other hand are different bite-size portions served in small steamer baskets. Dumplings are probably the most known type of Dim Sum internationally. I did not know how to eat a dumpling properly until my Shanghainese friends told me that you are first supposed to bite a small hole and drink the soup before eating the whole dumpling. Attached are some pictures from my first days in Shanghai.

Katrine