I’ve now spent 1 week living in Shanghai. While, I still am in the process of settling in (I need to start looking for an apartment), I had a very busy and exciting week! Some highlights, which I’ll describe more in length below were arriving at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, meeting with my postdoctoral advisor/mentor/boss, Prof. Ying Zu, meeting many of the other postdocs, joining Kehilat Shanghai for Yom Kippur services and later Shabbat, exploring Xuhui, building a Sukkah with the Moishe house, visiting the Jing’an Temple, and trying lots of delicious food.
Based on my experiences this week, I’ve divided this entry into the following sections: Life in Shanghai (about SJTU and exploring Shanghai, including Jing’an Temple), Food in Shanghai, and Jewish Life in Shanghai.
Life in Shanghai
This week began with the end of the Chinese National Holiday (from Oct. 1 – 7). So, depending on how you count that my first day as a postdoctoral scholar was either on Monday the 7th or on Tuesday the 8th. Despite the fact that I’ve only been on campus for a few days, I’ve really enjoyed getting to start exploring the campus. As you can see by the photos that I’ve posted, the Minhang campus is quite modern, but it is surrounded by a lot of green spaces, which I quite enjoy and look forward to spending more time enjoying!
Additionally, I was also able to get to meet a lot of the other postdocs that I’ll be working with (and alongside). There’s about 10 of us and most of us study galaxies/cosmology, so I think that it’ll be an excellent environment for me to thrive in. I also was able to chat with my advisor/mentor, Prof. Ying Zu, to start figuring out what I’m going to be working on. One possibility, looking at the escape velocity caustics (yay working with my Ph.D. advisor Prof. Chris Miller!) and the splashback radius.
But, that’s enough Astronomy for now, so back to life in Shanghai.
Although this was my first official week of work as a postdoc, I was still able to do some exploring. The photos that I’ve included either come from the area near where I had to have my mandatory health appointment (required for the work visa), then near where Yom Kippur services on Tuesday and Wednesday were, as well as my exploration of Xuhui on Saturday and Jing’an on Sunday!
This first set of photos are all interesting statues/artwork that I saw during the week. While I know that the lion is a traditional symbol in China, I’m not entirely sure what the symbolism is for these other statues. However, they are really cool to look at!
The second set of photos are pictures from the inside of the mall where I went to purchase a new phone. By comparison to American standards, it’s incredibly luxurious and architecturally really incredible to look at.
I also found the Shanghai Zoo! I didn’t have time to visit, but I want to go in the future. Now that I live in China, I really want to see a Panda. For those of you who knew me growing up, I love pandas and have since my mom gave me a panda hat as a little boy. (Future adventure possible, go to a Panda sanctuary/reserve)
My last adventure of this first week was exploring the Jing’an Temple. This is one of the most famous temples located in Shanghai. It was moved to it’s current location in the Song Dynasty (1127-1279). Unfortunately, the original temple burnt down in 1972. However, the temple was been rebuilt and restored by 1990. I thought that it was a beautiful temple! It was the first truly amazing cite that I saw during my time living in Shanghai! I had the pleasure of visiting with friends I’d met through Kehilat Shanghai, Julia and Dan (a visiting song leader from Bali)! It was an awesome place to visit!
Me in front of Jing’an Temple! 
The main Buddha. 
Food in Shanghai
Since I still am living in a hotel, I’ve been eating a lot of my meals out. Below, I’ve included some select highlights. Additionally, while I’ve been eating a lot of chinese food (dumplings, tofu, bao buns … ), I did also have Indian food (not shown) with fellow SJTU postdocs, and bagels (not shown) to break the Yom Kippur fast with Kehilat Shanghai. My favorite meals are when I can go into the city and find vegan restaurants or vegan friendly restaurants. Below are some examples of my finds!
Fried Lotus Root 
Braised Tofu! 
Tofu and Mushroom Hot Pot! 
Tofu, Quinoa, Peppers, and Asparaus 
Tempeh, Tofu, Soba, Mushrooms, and Salad bowl 
Dumplings!
In terms of things to drink. Other than water, I also had an awesome Watermelon juice. still need to try bubble tea, though.
Although most of the time, I can tell what I’m eating, one of the more funny experiences involved the bread shown on the left. When I bought it as an afternoon snack, I assumed it was raisin bread. To my pleasant surprise, it turned out to instead be red bean bread!
Jewish Life in Shanghai
As many of you know, this past Tuesday and Wednesday were Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. Given the importance that I place on Judaism in my life, this made finding a Jewish community in Shanghai one of my key priorities before my arrival. I had the good fortune of being connected with Julia, the community coordinator for Kehilat Shanghai, prior to my arrival (thanks to my Mom’s good friend Susan), so I knew I would have a place to go for services, which made my arrival much easier.
Given that Yom Kippur was the first time I had ever been to the community, I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, I found an incredibly welcoming and inviting community (Thanks in large part to Julia!). I even had the honor of being called to do an aliyah in the afternoon services of Yom Kippur and serving as the hagbah (torah lifter) as well. Spending the holidays with the community allowed me to meet many of the members, many of whom have lived in Shanghai for many years. It was a wonderful experience, and made it clear to me that this is a community I plan to actively be a part of during my time in Shanghai.
In addition, I joined the community for a camp themed Shabbat service and dinner (led by Julia and Dan — shown in the above photo with me at Jing’an temple), which was incredibly reminiscent of my time at Brown/RISD Hillel in college. Then on Sunday, I joined the Moishe house (an international organization which sponsors communities for Jewish young adults) residents to build a Sukkah!
Lanterns for the Sukkah (Mine’s on the left)! 
The Sukkah!
While I’ve only been in Shanghai for a week, finding all of these warm and welcoming Jewish communities has made my transition much easier. Despite living in a part of the world that is new and exciting, it’s nice to be able to be part of a community that remind me so much of what I found at home in both Saratoga and Ann Arbor.
I hope that you enjoy hearing about my first week. I plan to update this blog on a weekly basis. Also, I’d love to hear from you, so if you have any questions or comments, please comment on the blog!
Until next week!
In peace,
Jesse
It sounds like you had quite an exciting week! The pictures look incredible. A really interesting mix of old and new when comparing the temple to that mall. I’m glad you’ve been able to find a Jewish community.
Thanks Emmet. Also, Even right next to the Jing’an temple, there are malls and other shopping buildings.
Looks like you had a full and rewarding first week in Shanghai. You were able to launch so many facets of your life–your astronomy research, Judaism, veganism. Shanghai does indeed look like a vast, diverse city. I hope these themes continue throughout your visit.
Love, Michael
I am delighted to follow your life in Shanghai. From your funny post about the bean bread, as opposed to raisin bread, to your love of pandas (who knew the influence that hat would have on your life!), I am following your travels and smiling as I read about your life as a post doc, the amazing food, and the Jewish community you are embracing (shouting out a thanks to Susan Schwartz, my dear childhood friend). I look forward to next week’s entry.
P.S. The mall looks amazing and so modern!
I didn’t even think about the fact that you would need to find a Jewish community in Shanghai! I am glad you were able to find such a welcoming group! Those looks like some really cool sights. How is the public transportation? Is that what you’ve been using to get around?
Speaking of transportation, have you been able to run at all?
Miss you!! But I’m glad you’ve met some good people and have such cool sights to see!!
Hi Juliette! I’m glad I found such a welcoming community as well. The public transportation is fantastic! There’s a metro system that does a great job connecting the city.
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to go running yet. I’ve seen people running around campus, so once I get settled, I plan to do that!
I need to get back into running too!! I just got an Apple Watch, which lets me track my runs (and call for help, just in case) without carrying my phone. But I’ve only logged a few runs on it so far..
Sounds like an adventure. Keep us posted and be safe! We’re excited to experience this chapter with you.
So great Jesse! Yahooo!