With 17 million people, 45,000 taxis, and over 4000 skyscrapers, Shanghai is urban to the core. While there are a surprisingly good amount of parks and green spaces throughout the city, people are not actually allowed to walk on the grass but are limited to the concrete paths set up along the perimeter. The grass is methodically policed by guards with w
histles who will run towards you and signal distress if you even look like you might step on the grass. In addition to the police, groundskeepers ‘sweep’ the grass with brooms to keep it in order around the clock. Needless to say, Shanghai is not a place you visit to commune with nature, and the closest thing you'll see to an exotic animal is a blonde, blue-eyed american. Or so I thought...
Last week when I was taking a cab to work. I was looking out the window at all the people and shops when I saw 2 HUGE baboons walking down a crowded Shanghai sidewalk. They were being herded by a local Chinese man, and I’m not sure where they were going, as the zoo is an hour out of the city and the only circus in town is IKEA on the weekends. Thank goodness for rush hour traffic, as I was 
able to get a good look at them. I'm sure the owner was violating about a billion animal and health codes, but it was pretty amazing to see. It was truly an ‘only in Shanghai’ moment.
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