Shanghai Part 2: Why I Loved Shanghai

July 08, 2010

Shanghai Part 2: Why I Loved Shanghai

Saturday May 22

Today, it rained. It rained a lot, and it rained almost every minute of the day. As soon as I woke up, I knew that my plans to stroll around the famed Bund and Old Town area would need to be postponed, and that today would look for more of the rainy-day-museum tour.

After some quick planning I was on my way to the Jing’an Temple, just a few minutes from my hostel. I don’t mean to be pessimistic or disrespectful of other cultures and whatnot, but this was truly not stimulating. The only interesting part of this temple is that it is situated directly within the city, and actually blends in somewhat with the skyscraper surroundings. Apparently it has been around for, guess it, several hundred years in the same place as a Buddhist monastery. However, it has been destroyed multiple times, and thus renovated fairly recently (and still under lots of construction) such that the “old feel” is nearly gone. There was lots of scaffolding and other work being done around the various rooms, as well as some just being closed off. Add in rain, and it makes for a pretty uneventful visit, and likely not worth the entrance fee.

(Jing'an Temple - right in the middle of some skyscrapers)

(As usual, some amazing work)

(Still confused/disturbed by the random cars in the middle of the open area)

The next stop on my itinerary was a museum located in the French Concession dedicated to showing old CCP propaganda posters from around the time of the Cultural Revolution. As bizarre as this sounds, I was actually quite excited to see this. I had plotted it out on the map and was on my way, when after about 20 minutes of wandering, asking directions, wandering and so on, I found myself under the street corner sign with the name of the street, and the number I was looking for on that corner, however, it did not seem to exist. I confirmed this with a very friendly Shanghainese passerby who told me that the building had been destroyed earlier that year. This is a constant story in China these days, actually, where the city or provincial etc government looks towards quick development to reach that magical 8% GDP growth rate, and in so doing, lots of buildings fall in the process, and in a very short time span (my Lonely Planet was published one year ago to the month). A bit annoyed, I spent another little while roaming around this area of the French Concession enjoying the beautiful architecture left over from when this was a French settlement not too long ago. It is amazing to see the fusion of European and Asian building styles, street names, and restaurants all within such a small space. I had heard that Shanghai was thought of as “the West’s bitch”, but it had not really made sense to me until now.

(Feels like Holland)

(Go ahead and tell me I'm in China... I don't believe you)

(This has nothing to do with French colonialism, it was just hilarious)

Next stop on my “revolutionary” path was to hit up the site of the first National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (1021). Located in the opposite corner of the FC, this was only one stop away by the Metro (it has dawned on me how much faster you can become comfortable with a new city when using their public transportation). If I thought that the aforementioned area looked old, quaint and French, I was mistaken. This museum was located in the heart of the Xiantandi district, full of art galleries, trendy restaurants and plenty of tea- and coffeehouses. And right smack in the middle of it all, was a sectioned off street dedicated to this free museum. Noted was the larger than usual presence of police officers, mostly older men (which seems to be a nice post if you ask me). This museum, with a complementary audioguide, was probably the most informative that I’ve been to in China. This comes as no surprise I suppose, as the propaganda of the CCP is the main artery for its continued existence. If it is not glorified among the people, then it has little chance of withstanding its position. While the museu only covered the portion of history from around late 1800’s to the 1921 conference here, it was incredibly detailed, almost to a fault. It included plenty of information about how the capitalist forces of the International Settlement (the name for the division of Shanghai neighborhoods to foreign countries) oppressed the Chinese worker, etc etc. The main words for the day were glory, hero, capitalist virus, and protest. I was surprised to find out that the CCP had actually created a nationwide following prior to its formation in 1921. Additionally, only Mao Zedong was a member of this conference (of 13 people) who remained in the party for much longer. I guess this speaks to the paranoia and “cleansing” that occurred throughout the years. Anyway, excellent museum, I would say a must-see in Shanghai, and can be followed by a lovely stroll in the Xintiandi area for some tea and live music.

(Excellent graph, very official. Look at how many there were! (sarcasm))

(Reenactment of their first meeting)

(Walking around Xintiandi - really fun area)

(Free concert outside)

Fighting the annoying light mist, I made my way to People’s Park, adjacent to People’s Square for some afternoon walking and enjoyment of the harmony of a Chinese garden. I was pleasantly surprised at how well this park isolates you from the surrounding city, unlike that of the Hong Kong Park. Lots of ponds and pavilions, and old men playing Chinese Chess makes it feel really authentic. Afterwards, I was able to meet up with Niclas just outside the Shanghai Museum to catch up. He is on the beginning of his trip, but still, it was really wonderful to see a familiar face and catch up after a couple weeks.

(People's Park... not to be confused with adjacent People's Square)

(Don't think I've seen ivy in five months)

(The Shanghai Museum)

After a quick stop at Starbucks, we made our way down the famed East Nanjing Road towards the Bund. This area is the prime shopping district in Shanghai, full of the nicer stores as well as the omnipresent hawkers trying to sell watches, iPhones and hash all at the same time. A bunch of Renaissance men if you ask me. We reached the Bund around dusk, the perfect time (aside from the rain). The Shanghai skyline began to light up, as well as the old, Manhattan-style stone buildings behind us as we faded into night While I still think the HK skyline is the most amazing I have ever seen, the Shanghai one certainly rivals it with the eye-catching Oriental Tower (reminds me of the Seattle Space Needle) combined with the massive, 2008-built World Financial Center that looks like a massive bottle opener.

(The Bund)

(Other direction - lots of old bank buildings here)

(Pearl Tower on the left, much larger World Financial Center on the right)

(Me with Niclas and Mike Wu's cousin who is studying there this summer)

We grabbed a quick dinner and then headed down the Bund, taking pictures, having pictures taken of us (as usual), and making our way to the ferry terminal to journey across and meet Mike Wu (and his cousin and colleague) for a drink at the highest bar in the world. Leisurely making our way over to the WFC building, we were able to take in all of the massiveness of the Pudong side of Shanghai, similar to HK, except that the streets are still a lot wider, with a little more breathing room.

(In Pudong, looking at the WFC)

(Click to enlarge... this is the only one to rival HK I think)

The bar was pretty cool, except that, as a traveler, I always seem to be calling it an early night, it was 9:30 and there were few patrons. However, the live band was going hard, doing some John Legend, and Michael Jackson, as well as some of the more popular American songs heard all over Chinese bars and clubs – i.e. Lady Gaga and Black Eyed Peas.

(Inside the highest bar in the world)

After the bar, we headed nearby to a “biergarten” where we were able to sip on liters of some legitimate beers and enjoy each other’s company for one last time. For the record, I’m becoming more excited to buy some real, and tasty beers when I return to the US. Around midnight, we called it in, and I slept well that night, meaning that I had a great day.

(Also with Mike Wu and his co-worker (left) and cousin (right))

Sunday May 23

Today was a much more chill day for me, as I only had a couple things left that I wanted to accomplish before heading to the airport for Mumbai around 6pm. The first good thing, was that it was not raining today, and felt dry enough that I was confident to not bring an umbrella, usually a disastrous choice given my luck, but today a good one.

My first stop was the Yuyuan Gardens, located just south of the Bund in the Old Town. Supposedly a must-see, these gardens were packed with tourists (I neglect to keep track of the days of the week at this point, though realizing that it was Sunday now makes sense) but still a really enjoyable experience filled with moments of peace and harmony. Off the bat, I really like Chinese gardens, and would like to have one of my own, or nearby where I live to enjoy when I am older. Tons of interesting rock formations, small ponds, plenty of trees and peaceful pavilions make this walled-in garden a real treat.

(Entering the "old town" area)

(Steamed buns... not sure about the straws...)

(Yuyuan Gardens - definitely the best I've seen in China)

A couple hours later, my legs were tired, my mind full, and my stomach empty, so I decided to venture into the “classic Shanghai” area, full of souvenir, chopstick, and traditional Chinese stuff shops and food stalls. I ventured to the famed Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant to wait in the long line for this famous treat. Going in, I was expecting something similar to the steamed buns I had had in Hong Kong, something the size of a tennis ball filled with savory meat or vegetables. Here, in contrast, were more like glorified jiaozi – different, though definitely not disappointing. They were really delicious, and for 20Y to get 16 small buns, I could not complain. Afterwards, I walked around the different shops for a while before calling it quits and heading the to Bund and Nanjing for one last hurrah in the newfound sunshine.

(Just outside the Gardens... it was packed!)

(Chopstick store)

(What's left of 20 buns from the famous steamed bun restaurant - 40 min wait for takeout)

(That big stack of steamers fell moments later)

(Mmmmm... delicious!)

(Couldn't have asked for a better ending)

Around 5 I headed back to the Le Tour where I picked up my bags, charged my computer and had some little time to recharge my legs before another long day ahead of flying and changing countries – always a bit of a stressful experience. After nearly five months in HK and China, I was going to embark on a completely new experience, albeit for only a week, that would force me to move outside my comfort zone once again.

The only interesting thing left to note about this day was that I got to fulfill somewhat of a childhood dream going to the airport. On the Metro, there are two options to get to the Pudong International Airport, regular subway, or maglev. I think you can guess where this story is going. For a mere 40Y (discounted with proof of flight that day), I got to take a 300 km/h maglev train 35km to the airport. Hi my name is Jake, and I am a nerd. This was so effing cool. It was just a big mental throwback to 7th grade Tech class where we had to make Styrofoam maglevs, and mine was glorious. Bottom line, this was really cool – so happy they had a maglev.