The Dollar officially sucks

Morgan and I travelled here to Shanghai exactly a year ago for interviews at my university and house hunting. When we were out here, the exchange rate was $1 = RMB7.75. Now the rate is $1 = RMB7.01. So in the past year, the dollar has lost 10% of its value:

http://finance.yahoo.com/currency/convert?amt=1&from=USD&to=CNY&submit=Convert

Combine that with China’s spiking inflation, which hit 8.7% from Feb ’07 to Feb ’08 and now China is 20% more expensive than it was when we visited last year!

http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article/2008/200803/20080324/article_353219.htm

While things are still far from expensive (we went to a renowned tailor’s shop here where our friends had custom-made suits made for $65 each), after setting our pricing frame of reference last year on our trip, paying 20% more now just seems outrageous.

So how long will it be before Wal-Mart replaces China with Vietnam, Cambodia, and/or Bangladesh?

But since we’re talking about coming here to Shanghai on a visit a year ago, we're putting up some then and now pictures. Skyscrapers are going up quicker than you can imagine. I recently read that China is building four Manhattans every year. The construction is amazing. Here's how our neighborhood has changed in the last year:

March 2007:

March 2008:

March 2007 (as seen from our bedroom):

March 2007:

March 2008:

FYI: Our place is right here.......................................^

We live on the 31/32 floor -- a big building, until you compare it to the tallest and sixth tallest buildings in the world. That's life in Shanghai!