Shanghai – impressions

Shanghai is a city that has burst into its capitalist clothes with almighty vigour and dynamism. Huge skyscrapers stretch for miles and miles into the distance, and brightly coloured light shows dance across their steely, Blade Runner–esque exteriors, illuminating the night sky.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unfortunately, I only had four days in which to experience as much as possible of this fascinating city. In addition, I had to fit in a few meetings with some fabulous people from Lowe, Saatchi & Saatchi, BBDO and TBWA, who had all agreed to be interviewed for the #worldview project.

So, with time not on my side, I got my walking boots on and hit as many places as I could. First up was People’s Square and The Bund, both of which were right by my hotel.

I say ‘hotel’ in the loosest possible terms, because in an attempt to recoup some of the cash I’d squandered in Hong Kong, I ended up in a ‘compact and bijou’ room on the 8^th Floor of a hovel. My room didn’t have a window, and I was boxed up like a kipper. It’s always quite amazing how you can miss things that you never even really thought about. A window brings so much space to even the smallest of rooms, so not having one was quite claustrophobic in a way. But it was cheap, which is good.

Anyway, it goes without saying that I spent as little time as possible in my windowless cage, and got on with the job of being a tourist.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bund is full of huge, imposing, colonial-era buildings, complete with grandiose lobbies, and facades dripping with pomposity. It’s China’s Champs-Elysees (so the Guide book told me) and has become the epicentre for all things luxurious and decadent. Of course, the Guccis’s, Prada’s and Chanel’s are all here, along with the 5-star hotels and the headquarters of various banks.

To be honest, my walk along the Bund was nothing of the sort, because there is an enormous amount of renovation in the area, and huge industrial machines have made the area slightly unpleasant to hang around in for the time being. It goes without saying though, that whatever the Chinese are doing to the place will be quite spectacular, and utterly over the top. I can’t wait to see it all next time I’m in town.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the other side of the river to the Bund, is Pudong, home of some absurdly shaped buildings that light up like Christmas trees at night. Various forms of globes and spikes straddle curvaceous monoliths of steel and glass in a cluster of futuristic urban planning that L Ron Hubbard would be proud of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Up to the top of the tallest I went – the Jinmao Tower – and it was like looking down at a gargantuan pinball machine. I can sort of see why these extraordinary light shows take place on the buildings, and I guess there’s some form of one-upmanship both between the buildings and against other cities, but I certainly felt that it was all a bit over the top, and didn’t do anything for what is a beautiful and unique city.

The Jinmao tower itself is actually more interesting, and intriguing, than the view. It is a breathtaking piece of architecture. All the proportions are based on the lucky number 8 – the 88 floors are divided into 16 segments, each of which is one-eighth shorter than the 16 storey base. It is a masterful example of harmony and feng shui.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anyway, enough about the architecture. The following night I met up with my buddy and business partner from London, Che, who was out in Shanghai at the same time purely by coincidence. He had been MCing for Andy C the previous weekend and had just done a gig in South Korea.

He was back in town for one night, so it won’t surprise anyone to hear that we got on it and hit the town pretty hard. Met up at an underground club called Shelter, where I met one of Shanghai’s leading drum and bass promoters and a couple of up-and-coming ‘crack house’ DJ’s (I hadn’t heard of that particular sub-genre either).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I won’t go into details about the night because I remember virtually nothing, other than to say my head was in absolute agony the next morning – and I didn’t even have a bloody window to open to let in some fresh air!!!! Disastrous….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Safe to say, the day after the night before was rather wasted from a tourism perspective. But I did finally manage to rise in order to get some grub, and discovered the gloriously decadent enclave of Xintiandi. Packed full of cool bars, and restaurants, this little area is definitely the spot.

Had some great dumplings, plus some pak choi and a few char sui buns. Absolutely delicious. You simply cannot beat dim sum in my books.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With only a short period left of the trip, I had an insane final day in Shanghai, running from the Jing’an Temple off Nanjing Xi Lu, out to the Western outskirts of Xujiahui and Caoxi Lu, where I saw the new Shanghai Stadium and visited Longhua Temple. I also managed to squeeze a visit to The Propaganda Poster Centre in. Then, in the late afternoon I travelled north, up to the Jade Buddha Temple and the absolutely wonderful Moganshan Art Centre.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Moganshan Art Centre has over a hundred small galleries in one zone, each displaying up and coming Chinese artists, all with their own interpretations of Chinese modernity and the tensions that exist between the traditions of the past and the influences of the West. Brilliant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, by the end of that I was knackered, so it was back to my luxury hotel for a final night of champagne and canapés by the piano as I flicked pistachio shells at the little people walking below. Oh no, that’s someone else’s life. I had one final evening pretending to be a chicken en route to KFC.

The following morning, as I went down to the foyer to check out with my absurdly heavy bags, I noticed that, in a wonderful example of Chinese efficiency, the the entire pavement had been removed from outside the front of the hotel. Amazing. It was slightly disconcerting, and inconvenient, but I couldn’t help but think that if things happened that quickly in the UK we wouldn’t be doing too badly at all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And so, I was on my way to the airport, becoming increasingly excited about my next stop – the wonderful city of Tokyo.