Note: As a guest of CNTO Sydney, Mark Barratt-Boyes visited Shanghai on Sept. 2010.
As I watch the young woman at the Nanxiang Steamed Bun Restaurant through a narrow pane of glass, her fingers fly so fast I can barely follow her movements. She takes a small round of pastry from a huge pile on one side, a precise amount of filling from a huge pile on her other side and within about five seconds she has made a perfect dumpling, exactly the same as the others she made in the minute or so I watch.
Shanghai Market
Just as I think how boring it must be for her, a manager, looking stern and self-important in his white coat, asks her to stop for a moment while they discuss some invoices. So, she has an important job in one of Shanghai’s bigger attractions, at least as far as food is concerned.
The restaurant is located in the Yuyuan Bazaar, a complex of temples, shops and gardens as dizzying as the switchback path across one of its ponds. There is a queue waiting for takeaways, but I prefer to wander upstairs to one of the restaurants for my evening meal. I choose the busiest, order a dozen or so and sit down at a communal table.
Shanghai Grace Hotel
As I look around, I see the brightly lit tower of the Shanghai World Financial Centre framed within the restaurant’s traditional red windows. It is an odd but appropriate contrast in this city of 19 million people that is determined to make its presence felt on the world stage alongside New York, London, Tokyo and Paris.
Next morning I decide to see what the centre is all about. Many visitors are happy to use taxis to get around the city, as they are cheap, and sensibly charge by distance, not time.
I prefer the subway, or metro, which has been massively extended as part of Shanghai’s improvements for the World Expo it is hosting until October 31. The trains are fast, clean and safe, with clear signage in Chinese characters and English and spoken reminders.
The 492 metre-high World Financial Centre is the focal point of Pudong, the new part of Shanghai. The honour takes some beating, as its competition includes the 421 metre Jin Mao Building and the 468 metre Oriental Pearl Television Tower.
Shanghai Bund
I join the queue and after buying my ticket and passing the security checks I step into the elevator for a smooth, fast ride. To reach the SkyWalk, a corridor in the sky, I take a second elevator and step gingerly outside.
The weather is a typical Shanghai day, with a mix of smog and haze restricting visibility. Looking straight down through the clear glass blocks to the street is a good test of whether you like heights or not.
I cross the Huangpu River by metro again and make my way to the Shanghai Museum, one of the city’s highlights, not least for its exterior design, shaped like an ancient bronze three-legged food vessel. The layout is very simple. There are 21 categories, such as bronzes, sculpture, ceramics or furniture, each with its own gallery.
Shanghai Temple
These national treasures are beautifully lit to present them to their best effect. Some of the most stunning pieces are the ceramics, their elegant simplicity belying their great age.
As I make my way through the galleries I’m amazed at the quality of life Chinese enjoyed centuries before the European Renaissance.
A special exhibition at the museum on Russia’s great ruler, Catherine the Great, provides a contrast, with pomp and splendour marking her reign.
In Xintiandi, former alleyways of old terraced houses, called shikumen, are now stylish cafes, bars and boutiques. One house, the Shikumen Open House Museum, originally built in the 1930s, has been fully restored. With its use of angles, courtyards and light wells it could serve as an example of inner-city living anywhere in the world today.
Around the corner, the Dongtai Road Antique Market is crammed with Communist memorabilia and Chinese tat. There are some good pieces, though. I call into one stall and start looking around. The manager asks what I’m after.
“I’m looking for a walking stick of old carved wood or maybe ivory.”
He tells me to wait and an assistant rushes away. She is soon back with a yellowed ivory stick with a handle of dark red resin. I haggle hard and knock him down to a third of his original asking price.
“You Kiwis,” he mutters under his breath as I hand over my money.
I make my way, as every visitor to Shanghai does, to the Bund, the row of wonderful buildings facing the river. It has been extensively redeveloped and the promenade is a popular place for a stroll. The statue of a former mayor still stands proudly, but a nearby row of tatty stalls has been transformed into a tourist information office and fancy boutique.
The Peace Hotel, on the corner of Nanjing Road, has been restored to its art deco glory. It’s worthwhile entering through the revolving doors just to gaze at the marvellous interior and wander down the corridors. The shop sells an eclectic mix of curios and modern, and the café is perfect for tea and cake.
The old guys still play jazz, though the room is smaller than it was.
I wander around the shops and department stores of Nanjing Road, have a drink in a couple of bars and take the metro out to Pudong, only to find myself stranded.
A guy on a motorbike approaches and asks where I want to go. I show him the hotel card and he nods. I have no choice and hop on. We career around a few roads and down some footpaths, and there in front of us is my hotel. I pay him 10 RMB and breath a sigh of relief as I enter my room. It’s been a hell of a day.
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