Shanghai: Temples & Towers

  Through the revolving door of the hotel’s front entrance, I could see the footmen were in their winter livery. Their words escaped their mouths as vaporous clouds as they opened car doors and greeted arriving guests.  It was still cold outside this morning; cold enough that I wrapped my woolen scarf around my neck and tucked it into the collar of my heavy overcoat before venturing out of the hotel.

  I declined the doorman’s offer of a cab and instead made my way to Hua Shan Road, then turned toward the golden rooftops of the Jing An Temple complex.  After sitting in taxis, stuck in the gridlock of traffic for hours yesterday, I realized I could get to my appointments much faster if I walked.  As long as I kept a good pace, I would be able to stave off the cold.

  
  By the day’s end, I had walked about eight kilometers.  Back in my hotel room as I was massaging my feet, the thought occurred to me that I had covered quite a vertical distance as well.  I had six appointments during the day in six different high rise buildings.  Shanghai is a forest of impossibly high skyscrapers containing fast, ear-popping elevators.  I looked at the addresses of the offices I had visited, and noted the floor on which each one was located.  I had navigated 315 floors.  I had to complete the thought and the math just out of curiosity.  

  315 floors, times 2 (whatever goes up, must come down), equal 630 floors.  Multiplying this by the average height between each floor, 18 feet, equals 11,340 vertical feet, or 2.15 miles!  This was in just one day!  I’ll be in China for a month.  

  I’m wondering if there is some sort of frequent flyer program for elevator travel.