Shanghai Streets, Revisited

It took just about our full stay in Shanghai, since we head back to Hong Kong (or as Lois put it, home) today, but we've finally gotten used to the throngs of people on the sidewalks.

Saturday's "stroll" down the Nanjing Xilu pedestrian mall, this yesterday's trek transferring between Metro lines (Lois wondered if we were walking to the Pudong instead of just getting to the train to take us there), and last evening's wanderings among the "antiques" and curios of the Old Town got us prepared for a return walk down the main drag of the French Concession area of our hotel. What seemed oppressive and fatiguing the first night and day now seemed merely crowded but moving along.

The one thing, however, about Shanghai sidewalks that I don't quite understand, is that in a lot of the city, they're in the process of laying a sort of "path" in the sidewalk made of a grooved surface that is uncomfortable, if not unsafe, to walk on, effectively removing in some places a good 20% of the walking surface. I can't for the life of me figure out the purpose of such an impediment in such crowded conditions.

What the heck are they for?

[Later...] According to the woman handling our hotel-airport transfer, the different surface is to facilitate the movement of blind people down the sidewalk, with a different, round button texture on the approach to intersections. Quite an investment for such a small part of the population.

[Still later - 10/19...] I never noticed them in Hong Kong before, but at intersections, up and down stairways, and in the MTR, there are similar grooved and dotted surfaces. Despite their bright yellow color, I wasn't really aware of them before Shanghai, probably because the surfaces seem to be more subtle than on the mainland, and perhaps their hard rubber material might provide more "give."

An aside, but related to walking...I never knew you could get a blister that could just about double the size of your little toe. Impressive.