Snapshots of Shanghai: A Colombian Student's Impressions

From hard-working students at the elite Fudan University to the ordinary people on the street, a Colombian student has captured, in some 3,000 photographs, his life in an oriental metropolis half a world away from his homeland.

"This is a road outside our campus -- it was bare and narrow when I first came," said Cesar Santos, 28, as he showed his work to Xinhua reporters, "It was rebuilt only six months after the picture was taken. Now it has wide lanes, green trees and high-rises on both sides."

Santos, an international politics major at Fudan University, said he did not expect Shanghai to be as open and lively when he first came from Bogota in 2000. "I take my camera with me wherever I go -- and there's always something worth snapping."

By the end of the first year, Santos had overcome the language barrier. Then he became friendly with a south China girl, who helps him with his Chinese and cooks Chinese dishes for him from time to time.

Like most foreign students in China, Santos is leading a frugal life: his two-year study in Shanghai is sponsored by a student exchange program, and he can just manage to make ends meet with his monthly allowance of 1,100 yuan (US$130).

He keeps in touch with his parents by e-mail, as it is easy to get access to the Internet at the numerous cyber cafes close to the university.

For Santos, life in Shanghai is full of excitement and always arouses a photographer's inspiration.

On most Friday evenings, he joins his Latin American friends for a night of nostalgia at the "Tropical Vistas" -- a bar that features Salsa dancing and Latin music played by a Cuban band. 　　

"Latin American dancing is very popular in Shanghai nowadays," he said happily, "It's really exciting to see people on the other side of the world listening to our music and dancing our dances."

Santos is very pleased with photos he took at an open-air bar, where his Latin American friends had gathered to watch the 2002 World Cup.

"Latin Americans cannot live without football," he said.

In keeping with his words, Santos has teamed up with 20 other Latin Americans -- Brazilians, Colombians, Cubans and Mexicans -- to play against a team of local football enthusiasts every Saturday.

"It's real fun to play football with the Chinese -- they sometimes get dressed in the Brazilian, Italian or English suits and they know so much about international soccer stars," he said, "They are not always good footballers, but they are really into it."

A Catholic church in downtown Shanghai, where Santos attends mass every Sunday and spends time when he can, appears regularly in Santos' photographs.

"I didn't expect to meet so many Catholics in China," he said, "The church is always full of people at 10:00 a.m. Sunday. Mass is very similar to what I'm used to in Bogota, though it is in Chinese here."

Santos said he had spent Christmas at the church over the past two years. "I did not feel lonely in the holiday season because I was given blessings and gifts alike at home. It's as if I were a member of a big family."

The way the local people celebrate the Chinese New Year, however, did surprise Santos when he first came, he said.

"I went with my friends to the bund along the Huangpu River at midnight, thinking I could take photos of the crowd celebrating," he said, "But we did not meet a single Chinese. Then I realized that Chinese celebrate their new year at home."

(Xinhua News Agency July 24, 2002)