When I first arrived in Shanghai I was well prepared to enter a completely new world containing unknown, exotic and strange things. In Europe people often speak about the culture shock and misunderstanding tourists usually have in the "Empire of the Middle Kingdom".

In fact, there definitely are many differences between China and Europe in general, such as language, food and people's outlook. However when I walked along the streets I realized Shanghai is not on another planet.

Compared with my hometown of Berlin, Shanghai has many similarities. Shanghainese drive the same cars, such as VWs, live in similar houses (some of them built by German architects) and at least the shops resemble ours. I was astonished to see an advertisement for IKEA, which represents for me the young European home style. Well, things differ from my expectations because they are so similar to the European way of life.

Moreover, there are some points, which illustrate a closer relation between Shanghai and Berlin. Glancing at the history of the cities makes this understandable. Both cities were important at the beginning of the 20th century: Shanghai as one of Asia's eminent ports and Berlin as the capital of the German Empire and later the Weimar Republic.

In the 1940s the cities fell victim to political change and lost their economic and cultural charm. After World War II Berlin was divided into separate parts and Shanghai, although restored to China, went through a period of stagnation.

Astonishingly, more than 40 years later, both cities woke up at the same time, as if two Sleeping Beauties kissed by the same Prince Charming.

But different events initiated the comeback to the glory days. The fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 marks the turning point for Berlin. With the reunification of Germany, Berlin became once again the capital of the country. Therefore a lot of effort needed to be done to rebuild the former eastern area and to prepare the city as the seat of government.

Shanghai started its revival when in 1990 Pudong (East Shanghai) was declared to be a special development zone. Government and foreign investment made extensive reconstruction possible, transforming the city into an international trade and financial centre. In the 1990s both cities contained the biggest building sites in the world.

However, here the similarities stop. Berlin only had to rebuild some government offices, restore the eastern part of the city and create a new commercial and trading centre, called "Potsdamer Platz", former dead land near the Wall.

But Shanghai had to create the new Pudong District of 522 square kilometre bigger than half of all Berlin. Also a Maglev railway line was completed in just two years. This fast railway based on German technology should also be operating in Germany but still no suitable location has been found.

Shanghai now plans its next surpassing task: a new port with a gigantic artificial lake in the middle, which will be realized ina few years. It seems that Shanghai drives only in the fast lane and overtook Berlin several kilometres back.

starcomment@yahoo.com