China Report #6 - Shanghai

China's New York City

Shanghai. The name itself conjures up visions of old China, back alley hustlers, shady saloons full of sailors from all over the world, sepia colored photos of dock workers, opium dens and black market transactions. At one point in history, that all was more true than fantasy. But today, Shanghai is the quintessential modern Chinese city - symbolic of the nation's economic rise and aspirations of modernity. If Beijing is China's Washington, DC, Xian its Boston and Guangzhou its, say, Chicago and Hong Kong its L.A., well then Shanghai is its New York City. Only it literally has twice as many people and twice as many skyscrapers! 

Another unavoidable thing about Shanghai is that it has spectacularly polluted skies. See my post about that here. After returning from our trip to China in May I learned that 20 percent of China's GDP is produced within, like, a 20 mile radius of central Shanghai. With China being the number one producer economy in the world, this easily explains why you can't see most the buildings on a sunny day because of how thick the smog lays in.

None the less, the city offers some really first rate things to see. Here are some:

The Bund

This is the "old side" section of the city next to the river. You'll notice when visiting that the big buildings lining the riverside look distinctly European and of a certain vintage. Well, that's because indeed they are British built a hundred years ago or so. (See picture at left.) The British

won the "concession" of the land here as a result of them defeating the Chinese in the various Opium Wars. They proceeded to build grand hotels, office buildings and - most of all - banks. The Brits turned Shanghai into Asia's leading financial markets and trade ports.

Today, in a bit of double-irony, those former British banks each fly communist China's national flag or sport a red star (for example, see picture at right). It's a double irony, because some of these buildings so obviously marked with communist iconography are, in fact, now banks, fancy hotels, restaurants and spas. So, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Anyway, the grand walkway up and down The Bund (see picture at left) is fun with great views (even with smog) of the old buildings and across the river to the new, gleaming Pudong section. At night, things go to another level with Pudong skyscrapers lighting up with massive video on their sides, street performers on the walkway and ships made of nothing but bow, stern, engine and a  huge video screen plying the river showing advertisements to the masses. 

Oh, and there are some really good restaurants encrusted on top of some of these old buildings. We went to M On The Bund for a spectacular meal and view.

Old Town

Just up the river from The Bund is the old town. One of the distinguishing traits of the old town is how it keeps shrinking as it's destroyed to free up land to build office buildings, malls, parking lots and new freeways. But, what's left is truly a step back in time with a labyrinth of narrow streets and everyday life happening right in front of you. Sure, a lot of tourists go to the old town markets for great shopping and eating, and we did too, but if you ever find yourself in Shanghai and the old town still exists, I recommend deliberately trying to get lost in it. 

Peek into the windows to see men playing dominoes, see how people buy their daily supply of food, dodge bicycles, soak up the smells and the "this is how it's been forever" atmosphere. (See picture at right.) Take yourself back to a little bit of that old Shanghai you might fantasize about. You ain't gonna see that anywhere else in Shanghai - or most big Chinese cities any more. When you're done, find your way to the Nanxiang Steamed Bun restaurant and do yourself a favor you'll always thank yourself for - order the dumpling lunch.

Pudong

In a city full of new construction, this is the most modern section. From our experience, there isn't a lot to do here compared to the rest of the city. (Picture at left is a view of Pudong from The Bund.) But, there are a few exceptions to that rule. First, if you arrive into Shanghai by air into the Pudong Airport, you MUST take the Maglev train from the airport into the city - 

arriving in Pudong where you can easily take a taxi to your final destination. "Maglev" is short for magnetic levitation, the the Maglev train is a virtual rocket as it pushed along at 431 km per hour as it floats over a rail, suspended a few inches in the air on an bed of opposing magnetic forces. The whole 20 km trip takes maybe six minutes. 

Another exception is the Grand Hyatt at the top of the Jin Mao Tower. (See left tower in picture to the right). After two weeks of eating great Asian food and living life "closer to the ground," we were craving a five star evening and we got it 87 floors up at the Hyatt. Drinks at the bar, a wonderful steak dinner, piano bar, magician and a fortune teller all were on the agenda, all first class and all with a view of the city.

The other must related to Pudong in my book is you have to take the "Shanghai Tourist Tunnel" from one side of the river to the other. Taking you under the water in a tram via a tunnel, the trip is as close as you're going to get to a psychedelic experience while NOT on psychedelic drugs. Very bazaar, but fun. Puppets, flashing lights and weirdness abound. (See picture at left.)

French Concession

The British weren't the only country that won concessions from the weak and defeated Chinese empire in the late 19th century. The French were in on the act too. Today, the French Concession is a breezy, tree lined section of the city with low rise buildings housing art galleries, fashion boutiques, great restaurants and bars. Suffice it to say, it's worth going to for an evening's entertainment. We headed straight for Simply Thai for a wonderful change-up from the Chinese food we'd been eating for most our trip.

Shanghai Museum 

Finally, lest you think Shanghai is only about shopping, eating and architecture, check out the Shanghai Museum. Stationed in a park encircled by the numerous elevated freeways, the museum stands as a beacon of culture in a seemingly Blade Runner world of Shanghai.

The exhibits within are a concise, not boring and comprehensive view into Chinese history. Galleries feature ceramics, painting, furniture, ethnic groups, jade, coins, bronze, sculpture and whatever special exhibits are there at the time. (Picture at left is of a ceramic warrior in the museum.) Oh yeah, and the other thing they have there is a great shop where you can buy a guaranteed high quality vase. Sure, it's a bit expensive, but unlike the markets out on the streets, here you know you're getting quality - both in its composition and artistry, as well as authentic designs. We bought a wonderful Qing Dynasty vase here and love it.

So, to sum up...Shanghai is a far cry from the city of your imagination. It is indeed China's New York City. It offers the glitz, the glamor, the history, neighborhoods and the culture while serving as Exhibit A for where China is going - or hopes to go.

Pollution Threatens Olympic Games

My buddy Marcus forwarded me this story today from the New York Times regarding pollution in Beijing and it's potential impact on the Olympic Games coming up in less than two weeks.

As bad as the the pollution is there, and as much of a sports fan as I am, a part of me hopes that horrible, horrible smog inundates Beijing during the Games so that the world sees the problem for what it really is...and maybe does something about it.

Is Pollution an Olympic Sport?

Or, how will the media cover the pollution during the Beijing Olympics?

China is polluted. If pumping smog into the air was an Olympic event, China would be the hands down gold medal champion...by a long shot. They do it faster, with more volume over a sustained period of time than any nation on earth. With the Beijing Olympics coming up this summer, they have the addition of home court advantage.

Seriously, China produces enough smog to block out the mid-day sun. I was just there last month and at mid-day you could see maybe a mile with skyscrapers disappearing into a haze that looked like fog but wasn't. Beijing was one of the worst cities for this...trumped only by Shanghai.

That got me and some of my fellow China travelers wondering how the international media will cover that angle of Beijing during the games. Will they cover it like glamour events such as basketball, gymnastics and track? Or, will they minimize coverage like they do with sports like shooting, kayaking and badminton?

Clearly, the massive air pollution has the potential to inhibit performance for outdoor events. If this occurs, the Beijing Olympics will not be remembered as the big coming out party for China, but the "smog Olympics" with times/finishes including an asterisk.

The government is trying to minimize the Beijing pollution by shutting down factories in the lead up to the games, reducing car traffic and other measures. We even met a Westerner while hiking on the Great Wall who said he was in China to help them "seed" the clouds right before the games so it will rain and clear out the air. Good luck.

OK, the US media. NBC is the broadcaster of the Olympics for the U.S. They, like other mainstream media, are prone to puffery and letting the bigger story slide by without much comment in favor of sensation, celebrity or a good sex scandal. So, not much confidence they'll be seriously looking into how the smog may be impacting the games or the greater world.

But, here's the other thing. NBC is owned by GE. GE is one of the world's biggest manufacturers with big time operations in China. A polluter for profit. Guess who is also a major sponsor of the Beijing Olympics? You guessed it. GE. In fact, you can see their logo everywhere in public places associated with the games - starting when you arrive in China with placements in all Olympic advertisements in the huge new Beijing international airport.

GE will not be interested in anything other than a perceived spectacular success to these games. That includes minimal negative talk about anything - including pollution. Happy talk, happy talk.

So, predictions for NBC (sports and news) coverage of pollution in Beijing:
1) They barely touch it
2) When they do, they acknowledge "that the Chinese recognize that its a problem" but they are working on cleaning things up - queue the set piece on what the government has done to clear the air for the games
3) You won't hear about it again once the games are over

The only deviation from this I think will be if there is a major epidemic of poor performances or celebrity athletes pull out of competition...and even then, the games will go on and someone will win. You know, "overcoming the odds" of the pollution to win that gold medal.

I also predict that the foreign media - UK, Canada, France, Germany - will likely do more critical reporting on the pollution and how it is effecting the games and the world. But, we here in the US will not see that coverage - essentially, unless you go out of your way to look for it online. Something most people don't do.

So, in the end, I think the US media will report on pollution in Beijing like they will women's field hockey. They won't do it in any meaningful way.

If it comes to pass like this, it'll be a shame because China is the Olympic champion polluter and the games should be an opportunity to point that out...not to mention connecting the dots back to the US by talking about how a lot of the pollution there is generated by US companies making products that US citizens buy for cheap at Wal-Mart and similar stores.

We'll see. I hope I'm wrong.