Converted stables, circa 1950

Old Shanghai city walls

So I’ve finally returned from a huge bout of traveling…and also, with the help of my expat friend, overcome the block on the blogs here (for now). Here is a little blurb..

Shanghai

I began my travels in Shanghai, a major city filled with throngs of people and flashing lights. The mixture between Eastern and Western architecture was quite interesting, as I soon learned of the city’s colonial history. Tree-lined streets and European-esque buildings contrasted by shingled Asian-style roofs…often within same neighborhoods. Staying near the French Concession the first couple nights with my cousin and his girlfriend, I discovered a large expat community, where I didn’t even have to speak a word of (broken and poor) Mandarin. The rest of the trip, I had to learn some Mandarin phrases, and fast—no one spoke Cantonese as they do in Guangdong…I have been spoiled.

The first day included explorations of crowded artist alleyways mixed with wine bars and bistros. The days after, I began to stay near the north of the Bund River, which featured a fantastical skyline of 50’s-flavoured Jetson’s buildings, the lights of which would flash ostentatiously. Well-lit tour boats traversing up and down the river meant the waters were also illuminated…straight until midnight, when the show for tourists shut down.

Of course, exploring across the river on the Pudong side proved lovely too. It was far away from the thousands of tourists flooding the riverview on Zhongshan Lu. I did find masses of boisterous tourists from other parts of China who moved quickly to elbow you out of the way, and spat emphatically on streets (more on ‘manners in China’ later). These tourists greatly contrasted the streets lined with Chanel and Cartier, Giorgio Armani, and other prestigious brands. To me, it felt like the city was trying to harbour a lot of class, but the people did not reflect it, locals or visitors alike. That’s not meant to sound elitist…more on that in the ‘manners’ post.

The rest of my time in Shanghai encompassed lots of art! I explored a series of abandoned warehouses that had been converted into art galleries and studios at Monganshan Art District. It was a comprehensive array of contemporary artists representing every movement of art, with a very Asian twist. I was very intrigued. Street art, life-sized sculptures, paintings, photography…the list goes on. It was very easily one of the best parts of the trip.

Of course, went to the “must-visits,” the Shanghai Museum, and then the Indonesian gallery of contemporary art (all situated smack downtown) and the Great Walled City for old Chinese architecture and again, more crowds. I rode the new high-speed Shanghai-Nanjing railroad (at 350km/hr) to Suzhou, a beautiful ancient city filled with old forts, pagodas, temples, gardens and rivers. It was quite calming to visit these places, especially with the sound of live Chinese lutes in the background.

All that to say, the mad rush back to make the last train while not understanding a word of what anyone was saying gave way to an awesome night of dancing til around 3am at an obscure alt-scene club called Logo..nightlife in Shanghai is amazing. The last evening was spent at Bar Rouge, with a spectacular city-scape view and a somewhat more posh crowd.

I would say, despite noticing a major cultural difference between large Chinese cities, such as Guangzhou to Shanghai, my experience there was positive. Would I travel there again? In a heartbeat. I feel artistically deprived in my city--Shanghai is very diverse and definitely has a more urban feel.

So there it is...my thoughts on Shanghai...and more on other cities as I travel there...