Allan: 63 Wu Kang Road

At 6:20 AM, I awoke to the pounding of sledge hammers on concrete, our last day in Shanghai. Sounds of a distant horn and motorbike began to layer in as I became aware of the morning light filtering through the obscure glass window and lace curtains that separated us from the city of 19 million people in transformation. Although our journey in China has come to an end, it's clear that the city will continue without us, it touching us and us touching it and some of it's people in unique ways.

I've learned a lot about myself here, my vulnerabilities, my sense of self challenged by the dramatic backdrop changes I experienced from the moment the plane was in sight of Shanghai. Through it all I was able to find myself, my peace and my center in spite of the world looking, sounding and smelling like nothing I had experienced before. I'm better for it, for my experience in Shanghai has allowed me to face change in a different light and still hold on to me.

I'm confident Shanghai will emerge as one of the preeminent financial and business centers in the world, and in a very small way we experienced a part of that transformation, as did Shanghai of me. It's time to say good bye to 63 Wu Kang Road, Shanghai, China; the transformation of Shanghai moving forward as it will within me on this journey.

I shot this movie our last morning in Shanghai