Journey to the East

As promised, here’s the first in a series of what I’d like to call portraits (or sketches, or snapshots, or impressions if you will) of the places I’ve been in the last month or so while my blog was down. We’ll start with the Pearl of the Orient, China’s largest city: Shanghai.

"The Future": Shanghai's very sci-fi looking PuDong District at night.

I’ve been to Shanghai twice over the past month or so: once in mid-December, and just recently over the last two weeks in mid-January.  Here’s what I’ll say about the city: it’s everything to everyone all at once. Want good Mexican food in China? Shanghai’s got it. Need a foreign language book? Look no further than Shanghai. Want to tour an excellently preserved Ming Dynasty residence? Yu Gardens in Shanghai is your spot. Want to hang out at some really chic art galleries? Shanghai’s got plenty. Look for pearls? Antiques? Fake North Face gear? Want to go to a first-rate history museum? Want to eat some gourmet food? Shanghai’s got all of it.

The Cathay Theatre in the heart of the French Concession.

Indeed, Shanghai is a city of multiple, complex identities. As the “Pearl of the Orient” it is a city that evokes images of its semi-colonial past, full of an exoticism that borders on burlesque. This is Old Shanghai, as seen through as sepia-toned lens which places the city under a shroud of mystique. It’s a city of wide sycamore-lined avenues, mansions in the colonial style, steamer boats, silk and pearls. But Shanghai is also a modern city, one that is the financial capital of China, if not Asia on the whole. It’s a city with full of towering glass skyscrapers which look like something out of an 80’s sci-fi movie, a super-fast suspension train, and stock exchange. This part of Shanghai is cutting edge, up-to-date, leading the world, and hosting a World’s Fair which starts in May (Yes, Shanghai is the kind of city that can resurrect the World’s Fair). Despite all of this, however, Shanghai is still very much Chinese. Long before the colonials settled in, Shanghai was a bustling Chinese port city at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

Some serenity amidst the city at the center of Yu Gardens in Old Shanghai.

Shanghai's skyline as seen from the top of "The Bottle Opener"

The Shanghai antiques market.

Each different area of the city reflects a different facet of Shanghai  as a whole. The PuDong is a beacon of modernity, which feels like it was pulled straight out of Back to the Future 2. The New Oriental Pearl TV Tower (that thing in the picture above which looks like a rocket ship), is without doubt the strangest looking building I’ve ever seen in person, and the Shanghai World Financial Center (also known as “The Bottle Opener”) is one of the Top 5 tallest buildings in the world. The French Concession, one of the cities largest districts, still bares the stamp of European influence. When you walk there, amidst the old French style townhouses, and upscale boutiques it barely feels like China at all. Rather, you might mistake it for some far-flung outpost of Europe. By contrast, when walking by the traditional rooftops and lazy coy ponds in the Yu Gardens of Shanghai’s Old Town, you feel the weight of a city with a very long history.

Figuring out this city is a challenge. In my time in Shanghai, I’ve eaten at trendy French bistros in the Tianzifang district known for its flashy boutiques, taken in the view from the Sky-Deck on the 104th floor of the tallest building in China, eaten traditional Shanghai style Xiao Long Bao (soup filled dumplings), made fresh at a restaurant on a side street in a homey, traditional neighborhood called a shikumen, and toured the Shanghai History Museum, which is one of the best in China. With such divergent and distinct personalities, what can you possibly make of this place?

Jing An Temple: Where old Shanghai and New Shanghai merge.

Colonial style buildings in the French Concession

In my opinion, here’s the secret to the city: Shanghai at its most interesting points, is a place where all of these things intersect. There it is a city which is at once modern and traditional. It is a city of Old China leading a the way in a Global Market. It’s a city of upscale, cosmopolitan tastes that still can serve up a heaping helping of homegrown culture. Take Jing An Temple, an active and lively Buddhist temple that was first constructed in 200 A.D. during the Han Dynasty and is currently nestled in between modern office parks, and is serviced by it’s very own subway stop. OR take Fuxing Park, which is in the heart of the French Concession, and features really pretty walking lanes and flower gardens, and is a place where every morning you can see people out doing Tai Chi, or morning exercises. It’s hard to wrap your head around, but the contrast is really what makes this place great.

Before I first went to the city, I heard lots of different opinions on the it from various people that I trust and respect. There seemed to be either a strong affinity for the place, or a real sense of aversion to it. While I would not rate it as my favorite place in China, I would definitely count myself as one of those who enjoys Shanghai. Like Paris or New York, it’s got just about everything you could ever want. And while it may not be big on sightseeing destinations like other Chinese cities, Shanghai does really make for a great escape every now and then. For now, here’s the best of the rest of Shanghai in photos:

Shanghai traffic near Jing An Temple

Haui Hai Road in the French Concession lit up at night.

A largescale sculpture of the Chairman in Shanghai's art district.

For sale near Yu Gardens in Shanghai.

Old Town Shanghai

Burning offerings at Jing An Temple.

Shanghai's famous "Bund": A strip of colonial style buildings on the HuangPi Riverfront near downtown.

A large magnet near Century Ave. in the PuDong, heart of Shanghai's financial district.

The Observation Deck of the "Bottle Opener." Seriously, doesn't this look like Star Wars?

Coming soon, "Shanghai Expo 2010: Better City-Better Life"

Ok… In the last entry I wrote, I decided that since I’ve been on the road frequently during the past couple of weeks, and I’m  not sure that I can adequately cover all of that ground, I’ll just provide some “vignettes” or impressions of each of the places I’ve been to. I thought that it might also be helpful to give a brief outline of my travel itinerary from the past month or so, just so you all can map things together on some sort of timeline. This is basically what my travels looked like over the past month and a half:

December 13-16: Shanghai

December 21-23: Beijing

January 12-13: Xi’an

January 14-15: Nanjing

January 16-18: Shanghai

January 19-21: Hangzhou

The January trip was mostly done by accompanying my sister’s winter term college class on their own two and a half week jaunt around this country. There’s a lot to say about each of these places, so stay tuned for more (and for pictures!)