The Shanghai Shakedown

Memories of Shanghai

2006-12-13T06:20:00.000-08:00

Twilight on The Bund...

Well, that's a wrap. Just short of 1 year and 2 months later, I'm outta here. Bye bye Shanghai, hello (once again) Copenhagen. It's been quite an experience, a year in China. Will there be more in the future? Who can say. Once the door to Asia has been opened - and believe me, it certainly has been - I suspect it's not such an easy one to close.

So for now, I'll just leave it with a few memories. These are pictures I've selected because they really do represent the day-to-day scenes that were my life in Shanghai - as opposed to those stereotypical shots of China that really don't represent the modern reality of the place. They are variations of scenes that I have witnessed countless times over the past months. So here we go...

Here we have a view from the 40th floor of the Mariott hotel - where we drank
martini's many a Friday evening after work...

That's the Mariott - incidently, my favourite building in Shanghai...
(aside from the 88 floor Jin Mao Tower).

A scene found repeatedly all over Shanghai (and China, for that matter)

Exercise is good for you!

Coke - it's everywhere you want it to be...

...and so is Pizza Hut!

Visit any grocery store to find this one...delicious chicken feet.

you can get it all on the street...

A little break...

This was never my barber, I can assure you...

And this was in front of a new, high-end apartment
complex - China will be China, no matter what clothes
one tries to fit it with...

Everybody would love a grasshopper for their living room, no?

Traffic, traffic, traffic....

and bikes, bikes, bikes...

A bike can pretty much carry anything...

Many, many floors above the ground, hanging by a rope, scrub scrub scrubbing
those windows...

The infamous bamboo scaffolding - I've seen this used on buildings up to 30 stories high,
which is quite a sight to see.

New buildings to live in, old laundry hanging out to dry...

Evening on The Bund...ya' gotta love it!

Um, yes, I did...

The Bund from the 88th floor of the Jin Mao Tower...

It was a pretty crazy year - from the tofu, mooncake, to the firecrackers and everything else in between...

Pass the acid, please...

2006-12-12T05:33:00.000-08:00

It has occurred to me that I've neglected to take advantage of some of the easiest humour in China, the jokes that write themselves.

A Little Cruise up the Huangpu

2006-08-25T05:51:00.000-07:00

The 3 hour trip up and back to the Huangpu River (to the mouth of the Yangze River, pictured at the top) is a more than worthwhile experience. A bustling, working river full of tankers and freight ships of all sizes - the big ones with tugboat escorts, and plenty to see along the banks of the river. So here's a few quick pics...

The 88 story Jin Mao tower in the background - just to the left of it is the rapidly-rising from the ground and soon-to-tallest-building in Shanghai (and China) - all 101 floors of it.

An impressive shipbuilding operation...

A couple more Goliaths under construction...

And here it is...The mouth of the mighty Yangze River...

Complete with tugboat escort...

Hong Kong Part 3 - Lantau Island

2006-07-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, there's the city. Yes, there's the beach (plenty of them), And yes, there are island - over 200 of them. The most well-known is Lantau Island, home to Hong Kong Disneyland (didn't go there though), Ocean Park (didn't go there either), the airport (we flew into Shenzhen for half the price - a short boat or bus ride away on the mainland). But on Lantua Island, which is not a small place, we did get to a little fishing village Tai O which, though somewhat oriented to its tourist clientel, is still quite the traditional place - and a startling contrast to Hong Kong Island a short hour away, where the 7.5 million are found. We still managed to spot a dolphin on the short boat tour we took...

On the island we also visited Po Lin Monestary - home of the world's largest giant Budda (apparently). Can't verify that claim - there are plenty of pretty big budda's scattered around Thailand...

The day we visited Tai O, the locals happened to be out in full-force for what was apparently the annual long-boat race day.

'Row, row, row, row...'

Another 70 story Hong Kong skyscraper beginning?

Where are the 7.5 million people?

Your truly also managed to make a few new friends (while his girlfriend wasn't paying attention)...

'So where are all the boys hiding?' wondered the girlfriend...

Hong Kong Part 2 - The Beaches

2006-07-24T05:47:00.000-07:00

Few realise that Hong Kong is a fabulous place to catch a few rays. Hong Kong is not only a 7.5 million person mega-metropolis. It's also a 20 minute bus ride away to sweet sand and clean water - away from the crowds. So here are a few pics from the less-known areas of Hong Kong.

That sun can really get in the lens...

'Actually, I think men with umbrellas are kinda sexy...'

For those wondering, this is the Shek O beach, about 20 minutes away from the middle of EVERYTHING - not bad. And the water is very clean.

The beach at Stanley, again maybe 20 minutes from it all. And these people are way to serious and silly to be on a beach - except your truly in the water...

Hong Kong Part 1 - The City

2006-07-24T05:46:00.000-07:00

I have seen the future and it involves me living in Hong Kong. When? I don't know. For how long? No idea! But damn it, it's gotta happen!! It just has to.

Dense, urban, chaotic - but in a very controlled way - tropical, modern and there are BEACHES!!! Plenty of beaches. Not to mention nature, hiking, and the perfect place for international connections to anywhere. And whenever you need a fresh breath of madness, just grab a bus across the boarder into mainland China for a (perhaps unhealthy) dose of that. And thanks to a lengthy presence from the British, English is everywhere. Ahhh, what a place...

Sometimes, you just can't hide the joy an English breakfast brings...

There is a serious lack of parks in Hong Kong - that is the city itself. Surrounding that is green, green and more green - but you wouldn't know it standing amidst all those skyscrapers. So the Phillipino locals tend to simply improvise, all over the place. You'd think the government would get the message and figure out what sort of space really needs to be created next.

Parked between cars? Yes, it's still basically China, after all.

Well, you gotta hack 'em up somewhere - might as well be in full public view on the street in front of your shop...

Probably my favourite Hong Kong building - a bit of a blurry picture as it was taken as we rode the (bumpy) tram...

One of the many market streets on Kowloon...

Aquarium street on Kowloon - shop after shop selling, yes, you guessed it, aquariums and fish. Lots and lots of fish.

small fish, like these...

and big fish, like these...

Ahhh, but that skyline. What a skyline...

And let's not forget to mention Hong Kong's favourite son, man of many action movies, appearing here in wax...behind a this silly staff member ('YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE PHOTOS!! (click, click). NO PHOTO!! (click, click), STOP TAKINGPHOTOS! (click, click), AHHHHHH!! (click, click) etc....).

The Maglev to the Middle of Nowhere...

2006-07-12T05:47:00.000-07:00

Now in anticipation of the next entry (3 actually), I must make an obligatory comment about the fastest, silliest and funnest way to get from the airport into Shanghai or vice versa.

Yes, the much discussed Maglev train making its 30 km run from between the airport and Shanghai is fast - clocking in at a cool 431 km/h - and quite a fun little experience (all 7 minutes of it!). Unfortunately, being dropped of 10 km outside of town in the middle of nowhere is rather silly (it proved to be a little too expensive to bring the trackes all the way into town as originally planned, you see, cost overruns and all). It is connected to the metro system, so you can get to it at least. In terms of efficiency, a taxi remains your best option to and from the airport - but in terms of fun, you can't beat 431 clicks.

An amusing side note. As you approach the Pudong Airport Shanghai on the Maglev travelling at 430 krm/h, if you're timing is good you'll have one of the rarest experiences. At 430 km/h, the train is actually travelling faster than the jumbo jets on their final approach to the Pudong Airport runway for landing - since a jumbo jet is travelling in the area of 300 km/h at this point. At Pudong, the runway is actually lined up in a way that planes landing come in right beside the Maglev as they approach, so (as happened to us), there was a jet coming in right beside us which we could watch out the window as we approached the airport - a jet that was initially ahead of us, but that we actually caught up to as it approached the runway. An odd feeling, indeed.

Anyway, this was where we found ourselves on our way to our most recent travel destination, the subject of the next 3 entries, soon to follow...

Democracy in China? Don’t hold your breath, but at least liberalization seems to be flourishing…

2006-07-11T05:45:00.000-07:00

Lest anyone miss the slant of this, let me be clear at the outset. This article should be read as if asking yourself in the run-up to an election, 'Am I generally satisfied with the direction things are going or not?' When you find your answer, you are about where this article gets to. Now the next step, the question which would be for a future article (and which you would ask when deciding who to actually vote for) is, 'could things be better than they are?'. Such an article would sound quite different from this one. And please excuse the Anti-American rant if you are a non-right leaning American. I do realize if you are reading this, you probably are...

When can we expect the inevitable to occur, for the Chinese to cast off the shackles of dictatorship for democracy, freedom and real human rights? The truth, I would posit, is that slowly it is already happening. Much, much too slowly, yes, but it is unlikely there will ever be, a big ‘BOOM!’ for the foreign media to grab onto that will signify the moment of its arrival. If there is a truth illustrated by the case of China, particularly when contrasted with the flatulent rhetoric coming from the U.S., it is that freedom and democracy are sprawling concepts, ones that cover a broad swath of activities. A democratically elected government with a true opposition is without question the cornerstone of any true democracy, and an independent judicial system backed up by a legitimate constitution follows close behind, but there are other important factors signifying its existence as well. Existence, as opposed to arrival.

In China, Shanghai, followed closely by Beijing, is the best demonstrator of this. The government holds significant sway in both places and elsewhere, but it is handcuffed and chained to freedom. Money is really in control, if anything is – and not just big money. Small money is having its impact in the form of consumerism at all levels of society. The freedom for anyone with a bit of cash to go out, find and acquire whatever accessories they wish to accessorize their lives with, large or small. At present, the government would be hard-pressed to limit this freedom, at least in any systematic way. Choice has flooded and overwhelmed quickly and decisively - and continues to do so unrelentingly. It would be difficult to imagine the scale of the reversal and crackdown that would be required to even shift this course, much less actually reverse it.

A little puposeful digression.

The stereotypical American’s has always had a preference for the grand, unmistakable and unavoidable entrance. Loud, dramatic and abrasive. Unsurprisingly, those infamous all-American highly erratic crusades for democracy and freedom generally have a similar appearance. The ‘Big Bang Approach’ is thought best - that is, ‘BOOM!! LOOK, DEMOCRACY, FREEDOM – THEY’RE HERE! HURRAY!! REJOICE!! THANK GOD!!’ A wonderfully idealistic approach, but not one terribly attuned to reality, unfortunately. Take Iraq. Democracy was supposed to arrive (with a BANG!) with the toppling of that Saddam statue several years back, but of course it hasn’t quite worked like this. Worse still, somehow in the mind of the average right-leaning American, Hollywood fantasy has become reality. Certain global terrorists are more like a character straight out of a James Bond film. Or the leader of an unimaginably huge virtual corporation. Something that doesn’t really exist quite to the extent as imagined and described, but as long as it believed to and people seem to think it does, they may as well pretend to hang onto their supposed role as chief executive and chief spokesman.

But back to democracy in China.

Democracy, that is the ‘BOOM! HERE IT IS!’ sort, is unlikely to happen in China because the booming economy of the last years has been felt at all levels of society and by in large, I would posit, it feels quite good. Especially if it comes down to a take it or leave it question - even for those seemingly being left behind. If incomes are pitiful in too many cases, at least they rising. If you were making $1 a day (as many in China are), then over a short period of time it became $2, this may not change your life and you may remain unsatisfied, but it’s an improvement and a damn significant one. You’re not likely to rock the boat too hard as long as it continues in this direction.

More importantly, there is a true middle class in China being created by the day. Every new modern shopping mall being erected – and there are loads of them springing up across the country – is a consequence of this, and quite a meaningful one. People suddenly have money to spend, and there are plenty of things to buy. Not only has progress been rapid, most significantly a generation of Chinese knows only this. They have never experienced anything but this intense, wealth creating, rapid development.

Along with something else even more significant – liberalization.

Finding another country today on such a quick and decisive path of liberalization is all but impossible. This is China’s most significant achievement, one largely neglected by the foreign mass media and the one that most clearly foreshadows the future.

Looking around, we can see Europe, liberal without question, but grappling and fumbling with racial issues provoked by the supposed threat of immigration and integration. It doesn’t only affect Muslims and Muslim countries, contrary to the talk in the media – ask any Westerner trying to set-up shop from scratch in Europe and you will begin to understand the mighty obstacles standing in the way. Liberalization, this is not. North America is no better, largely owing to the American government’s outright paranoia over just what might slip through its borders if it isn’t vigilant. Let’s not even discuss what’s going on in Russia.

Which leaves China standing alone as a sort of beacon - as improbable as this is – not of democracy, but of liberalization. Increasing freedom. Not an entirely pretty sight in China's case, but there is an increasing level of openness, tolerance and acceptance to be seen. This process of liberalization may have a very long way to go, but at least the direction is clear, at present. So China is certainly not a liberal state, but it is a liberalizing one. And this matters immensely because true and lasting democracy is a by-product of liberalization – it’s not the other way around. Precisely why the actions of the U.S. are so disturbing and frustrating to witness at the moment.

So where does this leave democracy and China?

Quietly, democracy is at least on the radar in China, even in the media, surprisingly enough. It’s not around the corner, as one certainly wishes it was, but it is being talked about, which is a lot better than nothing. A recent article in the state-controlled (and unfortunately all too often nonsensical) English newspaper China Daily was illustrative.

'China's modernization will remain a dream without democracy with Chinese characteristics and learning from the world's modern democratic systems.

Without democracy, there would be no institutionalized and efficient public supervision. In this case, "mobilizing all possible resources for major undertakings" could degenerate into abuses of power. Cracking down on corruption, restraining monopoly interest groups and punishing 'oligarchies' which harm the nation and people could never be done in this context.

Without democracy, there would be no respect for people. Wisdom and creativity are ar the core of human dignity. In the absence of care for and encouragement of people's creativity and wisdom, creating a new type of country would remain a dream...China would never transform from a country with a huge population to a country with a huge contingent of first-rate professionals."

Obviously, there is plenty still to question and attack in these statements. The point however, is the carefully controlled press is being allowed to vent some views which, certainly up to recently, would be rather radical (or heretical) in China.

So as an outsider, I can say this much: experiencing this profound process of rapid liberalization, particularly in Shanghai, has been one of the most heartening experiences imaginable, and quite a relief after several years of living in Europe and watching various far-right, racist parties (and the small percentage of people who support them) fermenting themselves into minority positions with a frustratingly disproportionate ability to influence the political agenda in precisely the wrong direction. This, along with feeble and ineffective leaders in power in countries such as Denmark and Britain who have allowed themselves to be somewhat seduced by the perceived threat of this right-wing rhetoric, has been the unpleasant side of an otherwise pleasant European experience.

As for the emergence of meaningful democracy and true human rights in China? The sooner the better, if you ask me – I want to believe it’s on the way (if only a very tiny spec on the horizon). I hope I’m right.

Zhouzhuang!!!

2006-07-10T05:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, I admit it. What was intended as a blog primarily about Shanghai has become a bit of a travel blog about China. I think this can be excused given that my blog that I intended for more personal stuff (www.sunsandsnorkelling.blogspot.com) remains blocked in China. (Thanks for that, Ms. Nanny!)

However, an uncoming post is going to be a nice politically-oriented one with a bit more of a Shanghai spin to it, but in the meantime...TO ZHOUZHUANG!!! The No. 1 tourist water town tourist destination in China. Sorry, I meant the No. 1 watery town of China, as the posters at the bus station informed us... Fortunately, the tourists there are mostly Chinese, (as everywhere in China), which means that as a westerner, the experience is a special one regardless. Enjoy! (We did!)

Incidently, this trip was with our visitors of the month (yes, they just keep coming). Intrepid, round the world (sort of) in 18 months nomads (no longer) Seb and Anne-Marie, now back in their home and native land of Montreal.

Yes, there are still some locals who use these birds to fish - they are actually all tied to the boat by a long cord so they can swim around with a tight rope around their neck so they can't actually swallow the fish they catch...

Budda not happy...

A little laundry...

A little to the left Ms., a little more...that's it!!

The Serious Business...of China

2006-07-10T05:43:00.000-07:00

A little self promotion here:

My new blog, 'The Serious Business...of China' is up and running. This one is intended as the home for some of the articles I've been writing since I've been here in Shanghai (ones that I'm actually getting paid for and are actually getting published in a 'serious' place). The tone is generally (though not always) a little more sombre, serious (hence the name) and businesslike - but let's just call it more 'professional'.

If you want an interesting one to start with, I recommend this one about London's mayor Ken Livingstone's breakfast Q &A during his recent visit to Shanghai. Ever the colourful character, good ole Ken didn't disappoint.

www.shanghaishakedown.typepad.com/theseriousbusiness

Enjoy!
Tim.

The Cave Dwellers of Xian

2006-06-13T05:42:00.000-07:00

Billed as a taxi-tour to the Terra Cotta Warriors (the self-proclaimed ‘Eighth Wonder of the World’ - quiz question: how many ‘eighth wonders of the world’ are there out there?), in truth, the most fascinating part of the tour came after we had left the Terra Cotta Warriors museum, a stop about an hour out of Xian.

Now this stop was one of those ‘foreign tourist’ moments, without question – but certainly not a typical one. To experience it, we had to accept we could only be intrusive voyeurs, briefly looking upon a life so far removed from our own – yet so damn fascinating the situation had to be accepted at face value. There was no way we belonged up there on that hillside. Worse still, aside from a pack of cigarettes and a few candies and balloons for the local kids, there was basically no benefit to the local villagers, particularly the one kind enough to show us his cave – his home. Only mutual fascination we each shared.

As we left the village, our tour guide Clarence Guo, showed us an article in Time Magazine in which his original cave tour was featured – proving that word of mouth does travel far. Guo is the only tour guide who takes tourists to these cave dwellings – he discovered them by accident some years back when he was taking tourists to see a nearby village.

We had heard about his tour some days earlier (through a friend of a friend), but assumed there would be numerous tours taking tourists to these cave dwellings. After searching the Internet then talking to a couple local tour guides, we realised that indeed this cave dwelling tour was something unique – so we called up Clarence and booked immediately for the next day.

Set on a cliff so compelling those living there probably had long forgotten how fortunate they were to have such a site to look out onto each and every day.

An earlier cave, now apparently uninhabited...

The Terra Cotta Warriors

2006-06-10T05:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, for most there is really only one reason to go to Xian - The Terra Cotta Warriors (the self-proclaimed 'Eighth Wonder of the World'. Okay, perhaps this is too much of a claim, but I didn't make it. Anyway, they are pretty impressive (though as I will discuss in the next entry, this probably wasn't even the true highlight of the trip).

So, for the record, here they are - the several thousand year old Terra Cotta Warriors...

Though they were 'officially' discovered (by accident) in 1976, there is plenty of evidence that others knew they were there. For example, there was this cave where someone lived, right in the middle of the underground cavern where the warriors were buried.

Before a little reconstruction...

The remains of a horse-pulled chariot...

...And New Amersterdam, China

2006-05-01T05:39:00.000-07:00

Following hot on the heels of the German-style town discussed in the previous post, we came to 'Amsterdam, China'. Yes, who would have believed it. But here it is...

Yes, that's a real Dutch guy, kids!

This is where it's all gonna be happening!

Treasure Planting!!! OOOOOOHHHHH!!!! I can't wait....

And of course, as always, hold your hand and green your step!

TO NEW ANTING!!!

2006-05-01T05:38:00.000-07:00

When you have an architect friend visiting, the first request is usually not the typical tourist route. Buildings and new developments seem to be a higher priority. Fortunately, these are things which also fascinate me, as a non-architect.

Around Shanghai, wiser minds than most have decreed that several - 9 I believe - 'imitation towns' shall be built. That is, replica's of other cities or countries in the world. Thames Town is one, a charming English town, as is Amsterdam (featured in the next entry).

But our first stop was New Anting, a Northern German-inspired theme town set to house 8000 families of over 20,000 people in total. Let's see how it plays out. Unfortunately, at present only 200 families have taken the bait - in spite of the town being all-but-completed. Quite a sight to see - a real live ghost town, as if transported straight from Europe! I assure you, you've never experienced anything quite like it. So here it is...

Two imposing, European-styled, unnamed (and seemingly lost) explorer-types welcomed us.

No detail was spared - flawless, tree-lined, newly constructed canals...

Authentic cement posts, pained to look like wood...

Minty-fresh buildings like this one...

Colour-themed areas of town - like this 'red district'...

Wonderful, almost-natural coloured brown stones cemented together alongside the 'river'...

And of course security....

...and more security...

But no cars allowed!! (because cars create ATMOSPHERE and ACTIVITY in a city
- even a 'city' - and we wouldn't want too much of that...

But no less then an utterly compelling vision for the future...

If it wasn't desolate, three kilometres in the middle of nowhere, outside of Anting town (which is itself 30 km outside of Shanghai, though billed as a 'Shanghai suberb'), and of course, soon to be neglected (as soon as the last apartment is sold), I might even be tempted to live there myself...

Another little Beijing Note: The Dashanzi Art District

2006-03-10T05:36:00.000-08:00

Another highlight from Beijing (and serious deficit in Shanghai) is the vivid underground art scene. While Shanghai has to content itself with a (mildly underground) art street (Taikang Lu) and a few scattered galleries, Beijing has an old industrial district now converted into row after row of fantastic art galleries. The area is so large one can refer to the 'thriving underground Beijing art scene' by simply pointing to this single area, eliminating any doubt about whether such a thing truly exists or not. The same definitive claim can unfortunately not be made in Shanghai.

There are some truly spectacular former industrial plant turned gallery conversions, such as the one pictured here.

And should there be any doubt regarding the will of these artists to offer a few necessary (and sorely lacking) political critisms, look no further.

To add to the whole...well, mystique of the areas ambiance and atmosphere, are pipes running throughout the area emiting puffs of steam continually...

Incidently, if you are ever looking for the space of all spaces to stage a little bash, this place pictured below is without any question the place to make it happen.

Yes, that's right, China - Number One! Umm, well...perhaps.

A Little Beijing note: That's an antique market...

2006-03-09T05:35:00.000-08:00

On a recent little diversion over to Beijing, we headed out to what was reputedly Beijing's largest antique market. It didn't disappoint. Rather, it left us longing for such a thing in Shanghai. Now, there is a nice little rustic antique market spanning a couple streets in Shanghai (to be featured in an upcoming entry), but it has nowhere near the scope of Beijing's vast and fascinating market.

Let's be clear, first of all. Like so many other things in China, the term 'antique' is used quite loosely and may not be quite what it seems. Rather, it is a euphemism for 'stereotypical Chinese cultural relics' These may in fact be brand new, or perhaps they were just buried in a garden for a few days or months to give them that authentic 'been around for a while' look. Believe me, anything and everything is possible in China, especially in places like Shanghai and Beijing.

I must admit, I really wanted one of these little evil looking guys...

Hey, you never know when a bit of broken pottery will come in handy...

Or a stuffed deer head...

Well...

Or perhaps you'd prefer to wake up every morning to this...

An intense bargaining session for this one failed - I was at 50 RMB, she was still at 180 RMB when I ran out of time to continue...a shame, there was something about this guy I really found cool.

Now available at you favourite magazine stand: The People's Police

2006-02-19T05:32:00.000-08:00

Do you get a warm, fuzzy feeling from seeing police pictures and reading heartwarming stories about policing initiative. Well, thank goodness, in Shanghai, you need look no further then the nearest newstand to get your fix. Pick up your complementary copy of 'People's Police', the monthly mag dedicated to keeping all abreast with the beat from the street. Sorry, Chinese text only. A private sector iniative, you think? Yeah, sure...

Caesura Café

2006-02-19T05:30:00.000-08:00

No. 12, Lane 210, Taikang Road

Caesura Café is a rare, unpretentious destination to head for a quiet drink. The sort of place it could be fairly persuasively argued that Shanghai is lacking, at least in sufficient quantity. Caesura is the latest café addition to Taikang Lu, the quickly evolving art and design street situated in the Luwan district (just off Jianguo Lu). A tucked away corner of Shanghai that remains undiscovered by many. With the opening of Caesura, the possibility of some quiet after hours activity on the street has now been thrown into the mix, as well. Incidentally, Taikang Lu has experienced a pace of development of late that would probably be a bit much for a city not accustomed to the sort of frenetic rate of change Shanghai continues to experience.

The Heineken sign hanging beside entrance is about the only thing saving the café from being all but anonymous. Stepping inside, the faint smell of incense wafting through the air greets you. Though potentially inviting, the stools at the downstairs bar are not the main attraction. Up the staircase lays a small, colourful, dimly lit room filled with simple couches, soft low-level beds with plenty of cushions. It is a cosy, comfortable and intimate place - an ideal spot to lounge with a friend or two for a couple of hours. If not for the (cheap) moving spotlights, one could almost be forgiven for mistaking it for a living room – there’s even an irresistible little kitten running around to add to the illusion. In spite of the constraints of an evidently modest budget, the efforts to create a warm and welcoming atmosphere have largely succeeded. The service is relaxed and friendly – no overbearing servers waiting to pounce. All this said, Caesura is not quite perfect, at least not just yet.

The drinks menus, offering the expected selection of beers (Tsing Tao, Heineken, Carlsberg, Corona and Guinness ranging in price from 18 - 30 RMB), a largely unoriginal selection of mixed drinks (30 – 35 RMB) along with a selection of coffees, soft drinks, juices and smoothies (priced from 15 – 35 RMB) is hardly memorable. Disturbingly, the coffee served during successive visits was not quite hot enough, indicating the purchase of a more capable coffee machine should be a top priority. An expanded drinks menu perhaps featuring some a few more adventurous cocktails wouldn’t hurt either.

Caesura’s short, western oriented, snack menu should certainly not be the motivation for your visit. We indulged our sweet tooth with a brownie and piece of cheesecake. Though not homemade, they were tasty enough and at 15 RMB each, we really couldn’t complain. Ham and tuna sandwiches are also available at 25 RMB. Clearly, Caesura is not aspiring to attract people for its food.

So our verdict? Is Caesura brilliant? Definitely not. But can it succeed? We do hope so - only time will tell. In Shanghai, it is a fairly original effort. It may prove to be ahead of its time. In spite of its shortcomings, we will return.

Timothy Anderson. timothyanderson2005@gmail.com

Now that's the way to hold a New Year's celebration...

2006-02-04T05:28:00.000-08:00

Every Chinese New Year, tens of thousands of Chinese set off tonnes and tonnes of fireworks across Shanghai (and all over the country for that matter). Two of the favourite firebombs of choice are particularly ear-shattering little devices. Probably the most popular is a rather small tube from which a single fireball is launched into the air before exploding several seconds later in an eardrum-shattering BANG! A second of a line of noise-making explosives that sounds like a long round of artilery being shot.

Chinese people tend to take this little tradition very seriously - it is intended to scare off the demons from their houses (which they have spent all day cleaning). Needless to say, as foreigners caught in the middle of all of this, we really didn't need much more of an excuse than that to get involved ourselves.

It was nearly 2AM after several hours of fireworks when this elderly gentleman emerged from a row of houses across the street from my party of choice for the evening to take care of the necessary dirty business. Cigarette in mouth, away he went.

That's the way to do it, indeed.

Turtle Soup...Yum, Yum??

2006-02-02T05:26:00.000-08:00

When in Rome...visit The Coliseum. When in China...well, try turtle soup (among many other things).

Of the handful of the more questionable Chinese delicacies yours truly has tried over the past months, (arguably) none have been more questionable then the recent experience with turtle soup. While the broth itself was admittedly not all that bad, the contribution of the turtle in this dish is uncertain, to phrase it ephemistically. Turtle soup, however, is a popular dish in China with a long tradition.

The only part of the turtle where meat is found is on the rather bony arms and legs. So when one finds a little claw sticking out of ones soup bowl, one can be certain they have struck gold - even if what visual appeal the dishes holds basically vanishes. Crunch, cruch, crunch - enjoy!!

The Hot Pot Experience: Xiao Fei Yang (Little Sheep Restaurant)

2006-01-27T05:26:00.000-08:00

169 Nandan Lu (at Wending Lu, 6438 1717)

Arriving earlier than the normal dinner hour on a chilly, late-Sunday afternoon, we hoped to beat the reputedly lengthy dinner hour queue at this popular hotpot restaurant chain from Mongolia. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case.

After enduring a little over an hour of (guiltily entertaining) Mr. Bean episodes in the entrance area, we were at last ushered past a small patch of fake green turf (where little stuffed sheep ‘grazed’) to a small wooden table in a corner of the restaurant. Happy faces visible all around and the spicy aroma wafting through the air kept our hopes high that our dogged perseverance would be rewarded. Fortunately, it was.

We went straight for the ‘yi ban la, yi ban bu la’ hot pot (‘half hot/spicy, half not’), only indulging ourselves in a small plate of vegetable spring rolls that, at 1 RMB apiece, were simply too tempting to resist. So tasty were they that we momentarily regretted not ordering more. That is, until our hotpot arrived.

Once the pot bubbled, heated by the gas burner built into the table, we began dunking our chosen morsels of various types of seafood, noodles, mushrooms we had selected. On the vegetable side, the various mushrooms were exquisite once soaked in either broth, while the bamboo shoots proved especially popular and quickly disappeared. The live shrimps, skewered on a wood stick, were plunged to a quick but glorious death in the bubbling broth. They proved an exceptional match with the spicy broth, in particular. The various pieces of frozen seafood were tasty, though hardly magnificent. The ‘manmade seafood’ (fake crab) was hardly a necessary inclusion amongst these and left all but untouched for good reason.

The real treat of the meal was the ‘AAA mutton’. It deserved every ‘A’ in it’s rating. Once boiled in either side of the pot, it became a sensually indulging tender and juicy delight on the tongue. The Chinese are known to throw various animal innards into their hotpots, but we opted to steer clear of these menu items in favour what were, from our Western perspective, the more conventional offerings.

Be warned - the spicy side of the pot is fantastically pungent, but not for the faint of tongue, while the leek and ginger-based milder half suffers no shortage of garlic.

In the end, we were stuffed and satisfied, the initial extended queue for a table all but forgotten. At 190 RMB for four (including a couple large beers and a round of cokes) the cost was certainly nothing to quibble about. But do make a reservation well in advance - or prepare to have your patience tested.

timothyanderson2005@gmail.com

Exploding the myth: A green city?

2006-01-20T05:24:00.000-08:00

Shanghai may be seriously lacking parks and open spaces, but contrary to what many realise, it remains a rather green city (in the summer), largely owing to it's numerous tree-lined roads and fairly plentiful gardens amonst the (quickly disappearing) low-rise areas. Now if only there wasn't quite so much smog and pollution...

Shanghai today and the sweep of history

2006-01-19T05:22:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm slowly getting a handle on this city, I'm ready to start really writing again. Here is the first of what will hopefully be many Shanghai-oriented articles over the next weeks and months. Tim.

Culture. If there are countries today that could be accused of languishing in a state of cultural deficiency, China is not one of them. Five thousand years of continuous civilization has left a rather solid culture backdrop in front of which the rapid modernization of the country is presently occurring. Or perhaps it is better described as a canopy casting a large shadow over the present. The same could not exactly be said for Shanghai - not at present. In Shanghai, history is just beginning - or so it would seem.

Shanghai is being reconstructed by the minute. If historians around the globe could witness the extent of the dramatic deconstruction and reconstruction occurring, more than a few would surely tear their hair out in anguish. Much has certainly been lost in the process, this rush to modernize at seemingly any cost. As a friend of mine recently noted, the Chinese government is increasingly acting more like the board of directors of a powerful corporation, rather than a political entity. The consequences of this decision, more than anything else, are probably what underlie this upcoming series of articles exploring Shanghai – which is after all one of four cities in China under direct control of the central government.

This big grey entity known as the Communist government lies far beyond my (and most other’s) sphere of immediate influence. If and when the era of Communism does come to an end in China, it will likely a spectacular crash brought about by an unsustainable level greed and corruption that finally does it in. Nobody in China, it seems, has been more seduced by the trappings of the west than the government itself.

If the Shanghai that once was is all but dead – or at least gone forever - the rest of us looking on should not feel it necessarily to a shed a tear over all that has been lost. I have come to believe that the importance of cultural preservation is occasionally overblown in the race to trace history, at least in certain instances. After all, cultural preservation does come at a cost as well, one that can be quite significant for those living in the present. Don’t mistake this for an argument against history.

Walking not 100 metres from my apartment here in Shanghai, one stumbles into a crumbling, decrepit area of town.

It’s an area that leaves an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of the stomach because it is a squalid place, one really not fit for human inhabitation. Unfortunately there is plenty of it - several hundred residents. There is also an impromptu market consisting of street vendors selling their wares, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, plenty laundry hanging out of (often broken) windows and so forth. The buildings are in an embarrassing state of disrepair. One wonders just where all these residents will go when the wrecking ball inevitably swings (and this moment of reckoning can’t be far away, judging by the pace of change across the city), while suspecting the likelihood of the government offering adequate restitution to them is doubtful at best. I have little doubt the area will soon be filled with more skyscrapers.

A friend of a friend here in Shanghai recently moved into a low-rise apartment in such an undeveloped area – though admittedly an area not quite as neglected as the one I just described. In a scene reminiscent of the opening sequence of ‘The Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy’ (the book or movie, you choose), just over a month after moving in a notice arrived announcing she had precisely one week to vacate the flat before the entire area was levelled for redevelopment. So she moved to the couch of this friend of mine, and now another few skyscrapers are being built where her flat stood a short time ago.

Even as the housing market in Shanghai comes screeching to an apparent halt (following several years of rocket-like growth), one doubts there is much chance that one developer or the next will pass up the opportunity to scoop up any available piece of prime development land available in Shanghai, anticipating the next upswing (or overlook any opportunities to be involved in the redevelopment of any centrally-located Shanghai property). After all, the pace of growth in Shanghai continues to plough forward at 10% per year, give or take a percentage point or a few. Sooner or later, or these areas are bound to be in demand, once more. Unfortunately, what results from such development projects isn’t always what one might hope for.

A recent chat with a representative of an Australian developer (that shall remain nameless) with numerous local projects was frustratingly revealing. He explained that to succeed in the local market, there was really little choice but reach for the lowest common denominator, at least when carrying out mass-development projects (those not targeted at high-end clients). In practice, this meant matching local standards which involved ignoring local regulations. The houses they built were literally cement walls with a door – no insulation, no nothing. What they were selling were essentially house keys.

In chatting with him, I was reminded of the classic Maslow’s hierarchy of needs pyramid that every business student is introduced to early in their studies - clearly they were operating at the first level around Shanghai, to a large extent. When I asked what role innovation played in his company development projects – as this was the topic of a PhD I was offered a few months back - he could only laugh. Little chance for that.

So if this a result of modernized Shanghai (though hardly the only one), one wonders just how much room there is for culture and history at this point, and how much those living here really care? Well, it does have some allocated space – for example, in a museum located under one of Shanghai’s top tourist attractions, the Pearl Tower in Pudong. This is symbolically equivalent to placing a museum in the middle of an amusement park. Don’t expect to find academic historians trolling through its archives. Of course, there are a handful of other museums as well.

Yet Shanghai is hardly the first example during China’s long history, of the past being spurned in favour of other priorities. Back in 1644, China’s archives were all but purged of any documents pertaining to the glorious voyages undertaken under by a vast armada of Chinese treasure ships, led by Zheng He from 1421 to 1424 during the reign of Emperor Zhu Di. These voyages that lead to the discovery of South America some 70 years ahead of Christopher Columbus, it has been persuasively argued by Gavin Menzies in his book 1421. But after the departure of these ships from China in 1421, China's hierarchy turned its attention inwards. Upon their return, the resulting monumental discoveries were quickly set aside and ignored, the colonies created in the process abandoned, and the ships themselves left to rot. Once it had been decided, decreed, that the voyages had been of no useful value, there was little need to preserve them in the collective memory of the nation. All logs and records of the voyages were destroyed a couple hundred years later.

Perhaps the same could be said, less dramatically, of Shanghai today. Whatever the historical significance of the city, it pales beside the perceived importance of its new role as the shining centrepiece of modern, fast developing, China. History be damned.

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I see you baby, shaking that ass...

2006-01-18T05:20:00.000-08:00

A little cheeky, no?

The Luwan District in Shanghai

2006-01-16T07:17:00.000-08:00

The Luwan district encompasses a medium-sized area of central Shanghai within the former French concession area. Theses photos come from a backstreet area, soon to be demolished, no doubt.

UPDATE Nov. 2006: Indeed this area has now been demolished.

A little hop around the supermarket

2005-11-20T06:34:00.000-08:00

The Chinese penchant for eating anything on four legs that moves has been well documented. What was a little surprising during a recent visit to Hymall, one of the mid-sized supermarket chain-stores found around Shanghai that consistantly offers a reasonably pleasant shopping experience (a modest variety of western foods and refrideration standards simply a world apart from the open-air markets scattered around Shanghai that display the unrefriderated chunks of raw meat they are selling on wooden tables), was the open glass display of live bullfrogs - rather large ones.

The question immediately sprang to mind, why weren't these guys jumping all around the supermarket? One could speculate that perhaps their legs had been broken... The store clerks found it amusing that a westerner could find the live bullfrog display amusing, even if communicating the source of this westerner's amusement proved impossible.

Sasha, VIP Room, Shanghai, Nov. 4, 2005

2005-05-11T05:17:00.000-07:00

As it has been widely noted by the Shanghai media, last time Sasha passed through town, his performance was memorable for all the wrong reasons. After only forty minutes Sasha walked off when his computer crashed, leaving the crowd unsatisfied and none to pleased. An obvious question one could ask was why he opted to leave his record collection back home in favour of a computer in the first place?

In any event, there was no vinyl to be seen either last night, but the booming three and a half hour set was rather more in line with what one would expect one of the world top ‘superstar’ DJ’s to produce. Taking the decks, or rather the iMac, just after midnight, Sasha had the capacity crowd on his side immediately (short memories?) and held them there for most of the night. The midway part of the set did lag a bit, so the crush on the dance floor thinned for a time, but he quickly returned to form during the last hour and the crowd dutifully reappeared. This time, when his computer crashed (yes, once again), he had an already queued CD ready to take over, It seemed few even realised what happened. In fact, many cheered thinking this was part of the show. An assistant rebooted the computer while the music played on.

Computer crashes aside, without question Sasha does have the tracks to back up his credentials. Obviously for his fans this is what counts most – as was the case last night. Nonetheless, one wonders why a DJ of Sasha’s fame insists upon relying on the click of a mouse rather than the (less crash prone) spin of vinyl upon which a good portion of his reputation has been built. His fans have faithfully held on, but the technology keeps letting him down.

Tim Anderson, timothyanderson2005@gmail.com.

One man’s fists, another man’s pleasure

2005-04-11T05:13:00.000-07:00

It was on my third day in Shanghai that I witnessed my first little traffic altercation (of any notable significance), one that improbably concluded with a rare, rather poetic, resolution. I accept this term is more often used to describe countless insipid Hollywood endings, not traffic accidents.

Okay, here’s the story - one in a million.

As a traffic light turns green, a cyclist speeds across the intersection. Simultaneously, a fellow on a scooter turns the corner, oblivious to all going on outside his own little bubble. A scene repeated countless time every minute of every hour, all over Shanghai.

Crash.

The cyclist is knocked off his bicycle (uninjured) and the scooter driver crumbles gracelessly to the ground (also uninjured). A few short seconds lapse while the two recover their wits. Then the shouting match begins. I am unable to pull my attention away - there is an eager voyeur in all of us, I’ve long accepted.

The cyclist is incensed and raging - he has no doubt about who is in the right. His anger boils stronger as the shouting intensifies. These are two middle-aged men, I might add, certainly not ones who in any way resemble your stereotypical brawlers. Nonetheless, the dispute suddenly turns to fisticuffs.

Provoked, the scooter driver takes the first swing, a defensive jab aimed to deter his opponent from making a strike. The fuse is now lit. The cyclist follows up with a short flurry of punches of his own. He has managed to prop his bicycle in the middle of the busy intersection while the slightly damaged scooter of his opponent lies nearby. It appears to be leaking copious amounts of petrol, though it’s owner is oblivious to this fact at this point. He is rather preoccupied since the cyclist is now grabbing at his helmet, ripping at his shirt and trying to connect fist to face in the process.

At this point in the story, I have to come clean. I am all for the little guy on the bicycle. I know exactly why. He is the underdog and as a frequent cyclist, I know just what he is feeling. Most injustices on the road are left unresolved when the offending driver speeds recklessly away in a puff of exhaust fumes, oftentimes blissfully ignorant that anything at all has even transpired, much less that they may have been the cause.

Here and now, this is unconventional vigilante justice being administered on the Shanghai streets with no police in sight.

Finally a couple of middle-aged ladies manage to wedge themselves in between the pair. The cyclist kicks the scooter-driver’s helmet that he has managed to pull off across the intersection, walks to his bicycle still standing in the middle of the street, mounts it and pedals away. The dishevelled scooter driver stands in the road stunned, unmoving for a few moments, then notices for the first time that his scooter is leaking petrol. He has lost face.

Score one for the underdog. I wander away from the scene, feeling somewhat guilty for smiling. I’m not normally like this.

Shark Chasing Madness (A story from the Perhentian Islands, Malaysia, Sept. 2005)

2005-02-11T05:12:00.000-08:00

Before arriving in Shanghai in mid-October, Elisabeth and I spent 7 weeks backpacking, starting in Singapore, criss-crossing Malaysia, then up the East coast of Thailand to Bangkok. This is one of my favourite stories from that trip. Hope you enjoy it!

On the first evening of our arrival on Kecil, one of the two Perhentian Islands off the northeast corner of the Malaysian mainland, we began chatting to a few fellow travelers as we ate dinner. An agreement to take a snorkeling trip together the next day was made, and details quickly arranged.

The next morning we met our happy guide, a small but energetic Indonesian fellow who spoke very broken English. We climbed into his simple, covered boat and headed for sea.

The first spot, close to shore, featured shallow waters with wonderful corals and plenty of colourful little fish that swam all around us. Since the others in the boat preferred to wear life jackets while they snorkeled, this spot made for an easy starting point. If our guide had revealed exactly what he was planning for later that day, the group may not have been quite so relaxed.

The day previous, on our way to the Perhentians from the Malaysian mainland, I had chatted with the ferry captain as we pulled towards Besar, the larger of the two Perhentian Islands. He had pointed to an area marked off by a lengthy rope buoy at one point, casually noting that sharks regularly swam in the area. I certainly wasn’t expecting that. I ignorantly asked him if the rope buoy was a shark net. His reply, “no, no, lots of people snorkeling there every morning!”

My curiosity was aroused. I had never seen a shark in open water before.

The second stop of our snorkeling trip - a cement buoy a significant distance away from shore - was a rather more challenging one for our group of skeptical deep-water swimmers. This time, after assuring everybody it was perfectly safe to swim (‘safe’) and that lots of corals could be found there (‘many coral’), our faithful guide donned his own mask and fins and jumped in the water. Now he meant business. He benevolently ordered everyone to follow and we gamely obeyed as he lead the group on a lengthy tour, further and further away from the boat. As we climbed back into the boat, he declared enthusiastically, “Now we find sharks...we see sharks today!” With that it was off to the infamous spot pointed out to me the day previous - Shark Point.

Arriving, he jumped straight in as before, reassuring us once again that these apparently shark-infested waters were safe, then pointing and summoning us to follow. We were on the shark trail now. Who would have guessed that those nervously floating around in life jackets a couple hours before would consent to this?

Soon he became excited and started waving. Three people in the group caught a fleeting glimpse of the target - a 150 cm Black-Tip Shark close by. It was hot pursuit time, like a chase scene straight out of Hollywood. Of course, the shark was not around for long.

Over the next while, two more sharks were spotted and pursued. Frustratingly, yours truly never managed to see any of them. Perhaps it was a case of simply trying to hard to see what was evidently right before my eyes. Or maybe I just didn’t really want to and willed myself not to see anything, I don’t know!

Following a pleasant lunch stop at a nearby fishing village (accessible only by boat) where sheep roamed around our tables hoping to scavenge a bit of food as we talked excitedly about what had transpired so far, it was time for the final stop of the day.

Pulling into a clear, sandy bay, one with beautiful clear blue water, but not a coral or rock of any sort in sight - and hence not much in the way of fish - we wondered just what our guide was thinking. A pleasant, if not all that exciting, swim to cool off before we headed home? We didn’t have time to question him, as he was quickly shouting, “there, big turtle! You lucky today!” And there it was, swimming close to the sandy bottom, but plainly visible in the clear waters. It was the largest live turtle I have ever seen.

We jumped in and like that were swimming along with him (or her). Our sharp-eyed guide quickly spotted two more, each of whom we accompanied for as long as we could keep up.

At last, we climbing back into boat and headed for home, still buzzing from all that had happened. Quite a day, indeed. I would recommend a trip to the Perhentians to anyone.