Tuesday, January 09, 2007

복단 대학교를 찾아갔다

Some people commented that it is easier to find one's way in Japan rather than Korea because Japan uses Kanji which is essentially traditional Chinese characters. So even if they can't read Japanese, they can at least recognise the Kanji and guess the meaning. In Korea, the signs and displays are almost in Hangeul and if it happens that there is no English translation they will be lost.

However, I do not quite agree because I travelled in Korea four years ago without knowing a single word of Hangeul. I managed to buy the right train ticket from Seoul to Gyeongju and back despite telling the ticketing staff that I want to go to "Gwongju". If he had not verified with me, I would have probably landed in Gwangju. Despite that minor incident, I never thought that I was lost at any time. I found all the places I wanted to go with the help of maps and all the tourist information booths that I can find. I felt like I was at home in Korea.

Perhaps as a city-dweller for all my life, all the cities in any countries will generally appear the same to me. I also have the same feeling of at home in Shanghai. I found my way easily and I thought it was much easier to take a public bus in Shanghai than in Singapore. The routes of all buses are written clearly at the bus-stop and there is public address system inside the bus to inform me of the name of the next bus-stop. Better still, there is bus-conductor to collect fare. Of course, it also helps that I can read and speak Chinese.

During my stay in Shanghai, I took metro and public bus all the way to the suburb in search of Fudan University. I know Fudan University because of Chinese debate. There was this bi-annual Chinese debate competition between invited universities of the world which I used to follow closely. Fudan University was known to produce very fine Chinese debaters. So like a person on a pilgrimage, I came, found and saw Fudan University campus at East Wenshui Road. Walking in the campus under the leafless trees in a cold winter morning, I felt a strong urge to go back to university. I really hope it will happen soon.

[Left] Guanghua Building (光华楼), the landmark of Fudan University. [Right] The emblem of Fudan University which can be found, at regular interval, on the fence around the campus perimeter.

2 comments:

  1. With globalisation, cities in the world have appeared to be the same. I cannot agree more. I had the same experience when i took public buses in New York City. The public buses are so easier to take (in fact easier than Singapore's) that it is impossible to get lost.

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  2. There is definitely room for improvement in Singapore's public transportation.

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