Enter the Drago: The dynamic city of Shanghai

Location:
China

old new contrast

By Steven Cassidy

City of Oriental mystery.

City with a history of Opium dens, Chinese gangsters, exiled white Russians, sing-song girls and colonials climbing out of rickstraws pulled by pig-tailed Chinamen. That was the old Shanghai, the Shanghai of fifty years ago. The new Shanghai is a roaring dragon - a city with a space age skyline, neon lights and fast consumer lifestyle. Shanghai sets itself apart from the rest of China. The city has its own identity - a buzz and energy that is simply intoxicating. It has one eye on the past but is careening, with one foot on the accelerator towards the future.

Although the original Chinese town (Yu Yuan) is still around, the city is about the same age as Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore or Hong Kong. But it seems to have gone through twenty times the experiences those cities have. From colonial trading outpost to the opium wars, to white Russians fleeing their own revolution to the genesis of China's own in the backstreets of the French concession. And it is now going through another metamorphosis as a curious capitalist/communist hybrid of soaring glittering skyscrapers and communist statues. And beneath it all China goes about its daily business as it has done for 5000 years.

And that business is making money. The old colonial taipans such as the Sassoons and the Mathesons may have gone - the ground taken away from them by the revoloution - but this is still the financial centre of China. Its second window on the West after Hong Kong. Shanghai had alot of catching up to do and it made it up with enthusiastic abandon. At night the entire city twinkles with neon lights, gigantic Chinese characters blink and glow, and the shopping mecca of Nanjing Lu is lit up like Las Vegas.

All roads in Shanghai lead to 'The Bund'. The Huangpu river cuts the city in two east and west. The Bund covers the entire western bank. The streets from Renmin (Peoples) Square to the river create a grid, the most famous of these is Nanjing Lu which emerges at the Bund between the 'Palace' and 'Peace' hotels. . Boats doing trips along the Huangpu tie up at docks on the promenade and the promenade gives good views across the river to Pudong. This is the eastern bank of the Huangpu river. Twenty years ago it was just misty marshes but nowadays is a proud example of the new China with colossal skyscrapers and cutting-edge architecture. The king of them all is the Pearl Oriental TV Tower. A number of globes dot its base but its ramrod straight stem soars 1500ft into the air. The final globe is just under its sword-like point and red strobes run down its sides.It is very striking at night as it seems to flash with red movement

On 'the Bund' before crossing the eight lanes of traffic which separate the colonial buildings from the promenade it is worth taking a look at these buildings themselves. When I first saw them, lit up at night, one word jumped out at me.

Liverpool.

Here was huge Victorian bombast in the middle of the most decadent port in the Orient. They were made out of brown granite with a sort of sturdy West European functionality that featured domes, collonnades and statues almost as afterthoughts. One after the other was an art deco treasure housing such esteemed companies as 'The China Merchants Seaship Company", "The Agricultural Bank of China" and the "Shanghai Gold Exchange". The red flag of the peoples republic now flutters above each of the buildings. But things are becoming full circle again. Buildings that have been ignored during the fifty plus years of communist management are now being rented out to international companies. Restaurants are springing up along the 'Bund' catering for tourists and business travellers alike, and "old companies" like Jardine-Mathieson are asking for their property back. But for now its a nice place to wander and enjoy the crowds of domestic tourists before heading across the zebra crossings to the promenade.

Just off the 'Bund' is Nanjing Lu, and "Nanking Road" must be seen at night. The sheer exuberance and nightly light show were my favourite thing to do in Shanghai. And an evening wander from 'The Bund' to Renmin Square was like traversing an oriental Piccadilly Circus. Each building was covered in 10ft high Chinese characters moving and pulsating in a myriad of colours. Crowds rush too and thro and lasers light up one end of the street to the other. And all this in Communist China? You have to pinch yourself that it is real.

But what is definitely real is the last remaining part of Old Shanghai. - Yu Yuan gardens. The Yu Yuan gardens and bazaar take you to an era of humpbacked bridges, goldfish filled ponds and drooping willows. The China of Marco Polo and Kublai Khan. Sprinkled amongst the compounds are about thirty pavilions, lakes, pagodas, bridges etc. Everything is laid out like a work of art. The first few compounds had rockeries of white limestone and were made interesting by water trickling down to a set of ponds. Bamboo groves dotted each rockerie as did firs and chrysanthemums, statues of ancient Chinese gods reared up from the flower beds, dragons snaked sinuously around the compound walls and stone snarling lions guarded each exit.

Rock was the overwhelming feature of the gardens, with some pieces so big they incoorporated passages that led you Narnia-like to hidden pavilions where watercolour artists were at work. But the overwhelming feeling was of peace and tranquility, everytime you stepped into another compound you were embraced by a scene showing willow brushed ponds crossed by arced bridges full of koi carp. Or a pagoda soaring into the air from a clump of bamboo..

All this a five minute walk to the bright lights of Nanjing Lu and the lit up buildings of 'Bund'. Shanghai is an everchanging city. But some of the more aesthetic aspects of China remain the same.

Further Information

Travel tips: Change up money at airport as in town it is very bureaucratic or use a cashpoint. Taxi drivers do tend to target tourists and when someone speaks to you they are not always after something but genuinely want to practice their english

Must see/do at this place: Nanjing Lu is a great experience at night and a good way to enjoy China. Pudong from the promenade is lit up at night for a free show.

You should avoid here: You may be approached by prostitutes down Nanjing Lu at night. Particularly if you are single, male and foreign.