Nancy's Hometown

Shanghai in 2019 is a growing Metropolis of 20 million people. Shanghai in the 1960's and 70's was a very different place, as was all of China. The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was a harsh and stark time for many on the mainland. It is the subject of an entire blog to compare and contrast the very different worlds of scarcity and plenty in all of Mainland China between the end of the Cultural Revolution, through the opening of China in the 1980's and 90's and explosive growth throughout the 2000's where China has emerged as the second largest economy on earth.

Jian Xiang elementary school

We wanted to go and visit Nancy's old elementary and high schools as well as two of the homes that she grew up in. The first stop was her elementary school, which was closed for the summer. Back in the early 1970's schools and factories in China all had security guards and no one could come and go unless they belonged there, students, teachers or parents. The schools are gated and today if a parent wants to visit they have to be escorted into the school by the teacher. Security back then had to do with everyone being closely watched and monitored and today security is even more rigid. 

looking through the front gate, the closest we could get to elementary school

At her old high school, the gate was open for workers who were doing re-hab to the building and grounds. One of the things they were doing was digging a trench at the gate for cameras and other enhanced security. We chatted with a security guard in the hopes that maybe he or someone could escort us around to see the high school and were told only if Nancy were part of an alumni group, otherwise no visitors are allowed. As an educator in the U.S. I'm seeing more and more schools adding enhanced security, but for different reasons. 

In the U.S., sadly, easy access to guns, including rapid assault weapons, has led to school massacres. In China, even the police don't carry guns and guns in general are strictly regulated. However, school's still have to be secured to guard against violent attacks against the most vulnerable. 

The two schools that we visited were in excellent repair, and like the U.S. summer break was the time used to do major cleaning, painting, repair and construction. When Nancy was a young girl, she went to an elementary school in her neighborhood which turned out to be one of the best schools in Shanghai. It still is considered excellent. Not much different than in the U.S., where you live determines your elementary school. In the U.S., inequities exist based upon the wealth of a given community; in general, the more affluent, the better the schools. 

Inequities also exist in China, there are excellent public schools and not so great ones. After elementary school, students must take exams in order to place into the better middle and high schools.

Next post: we find a couple of Nancy's childhood homes