[Red Slinger]

I just got back from a business trip in Shanghai and while there something happened that made me think of this thread.

I was there with a colleague of mine and we didn't have much time to see the city. So, we flew in at about 10am, checked into the hotel and by 11am we were catching a cab to the "Bund": a touristy area in the downtown district of Shanghai.

The place was very busy and we didn't know what to expect. We'd heard some not-so-great stories about Shanghai so both of us were on high alert, especially with the dense crowds we were facing. Within 2 minutes of us getting out of the cab I was stopped by 3 young Chinese people who asked me to take their picture. After the photo we struck up a conversation and they insisted on showing us around. They looked harmless but I was still a little wary.

To make a long story short, they were Chinese tourists from Inner Mongolia who had only arrived in Shanghai a couple of days before. They ended up showing us around for 8 hours, took us to a traditional Chinese tea ceremony, bought us dinner and then called us a cab. Every time we tried to buy something they insisted to pay. These were young people who didn't have much or any disposable income and yet they were very generous with both their time and money. But more than the time and money was their friendliness, openness and general good demeanor. I honestly don't think I've ever had that kind of experience with a complete stranger before.

This isn't an amazing story or particularly usual and that's what makes it even better. Every once in a while people are awesome. It's nice to be reminded of that on occasion. I'm a better person, at least in the short term, for having met my new friends from Inner Mongolia.