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The Great Wall is impenetrable
Because it's never been breached...until today, by hordes of tourists. Au Revoir Shanghai,
It may seem strange to begin a wrap-up of our year in Shanghai with a pic of the Great Wall, but as a site we’d heard about all our lives, it certainly lives up to its name! Even if the trek to see it and climb its formidable height is so daunting that the Chinese themselves say: bu dao chang cheng fei hao han (You’re not a man until you arrive at the Great Wall) well…we feel it was well worth the trouble. The Great Wall is also emblematic for us….according to legend, it entwines the mountains like a dragon’s tail, going up and then coming doowwnnnnnnn. Well, so too has our year seemed at times like a ride on the dragon’s tail through the day-to-day - and sometimes even moment to moment -- challenges of living in Shanghai.
And in this vein, we’ll remember fondly the following heights of our ride…..
Art Street
If you didn’t know this hidden little gem was there, you’d walk right by it. But thanks to Garry, our Shanghai guru and colleague (and local resident for four years) we found the entrance hidden behind a post office….with one
Dinner at the Kommune
Comes with all the trimmings! By the looks of things, maybe we should be cutting down on those! un-lit sign….in Chinese. Since then it has become one of our favorite haunts.
A collection of boutiques, art galleries and cafes - our absolute favorite being the “Kommune”, an Aussie themed hangout where we have whiled away many an hour sipping a wine or chowing down on it’s daily specials in its open-air courtyard. - Art Street is actually a warren of renovated French concession houses. And the maze is a-MAZING, if only for the way it keeps growing, as it seems that as fast as the buildings are renovated a small business moves in. (The first few times we visited it felt like we needed to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to find our way out.) But we're so grateful that the expansion is out and not up, like the direction for 99% of all development in the city. Luckily for us, the ‘street’ is a ten-minute walk from our complex. We understand that the ROM has a Shanghai showing this summer, which includes a collection of the latest designer clothes and artists from the city, and we’ve no doubt that a number of them have probably come from Art Street.
Xin Tian De
Our only
Hanging out at...Paul
Grammar aside, this French chain is now spreading throughout China, because of the authentic French pastries and baguettes. This outlet is one of our fave hangouts at Xin Tian De for Saturday brunch. wish for this incredible city is that they build more Xin Tian De’s. Many are promised, but for now there is only one. And from the moment we first stumbled upon it last August, hot, panting, dodging the skyskrapers, and trying to follow an out-of-date Lonely Plant Walking Tour (but it’s probably almost impossible to keep current with this ever-expanding city!)…we vowed to live in its vicinity. And so we do! Even if we move next year, we plan to keep within the same affordable 15 to 20-minute walking distance. Inspired by the “shikomens”, Shanghai’s original houses -- 3-storey residences from the 30’s era complete with balcony, twisting staircases, and servant’s quarters - the area has been reconstructed in this style, brick-by-brick. Some original columns and ballistrades have been maintained, and you have to look closely to see that the buildings are in fact, brand new reconstructions of these historical relics…so skillfully have they been done. And what Xin Tian De amounts to is a collection of these edifices sporting side-by-side out-door cafes along a two-block long, central corridor...and for us our home-away-from-home. So at least twice a week you can find us enscounced, watching the world walk by, which
Ain't no sunshine
Not this time in Pudong...but if you look closely the Bund is visible from the historic Peace Hotel on the right to clock tower on the left. it does regularly as XTD is a regular stop on tours. Strangely enough, this doesn’t detract from its charm, but just leads one to ponder from which country the latest group following the flag hails from!
So our wish is that Shanghai developers take note!! Look to the past, and they will come!
The River Boulevard
We’re kicking ourselves for having just discovered this beautiful strip of cafes along the Huangpu River…Shanghai’s central waterway, and tributary to the Yangtze. Even though we had become very accustomed to weekend bike rides to the ferry and across to Pu Dong for breakfast, we were unaware until a recent chance closer inspection, that a boardwalk existed literally on the river’s edge, where the ocean-going traffic passes by within a hundred meters, and where a line of cafes are sitting open and waiting for passer-bys to sit, sip and watch the pedestrian and boat traffic!! The former being so much fewer on this side of the river, Pudong, (literally Pu west) as opposed to the other, much busier Puxi (Pu east)…that now we’re saying oh, Pu pu to us! Because we now can see that this other vantage is actually much
better one for viewing the historic buildings which make up the famous Bund skyline across the river. Oh well, better late than never we suppose…..
We’d heard that as few as ten years ago that the Pudong side was mostly swamp. Hard to believe that swampgrass and bullfrogs reigned here so recently when you see the massive buildings that now provide the backdrop, but at the rate this city is literally exploding, possibly true. In any case, we’d been mostly passing on Pudong, being that it's only home to the city’s business section…which is geared up to rival Wall Street within a decade…or so, we thought. Now that we’ve discovered the River Boulevard, we’re not just appreciating its visual feasts, but so too its sounds…the bleating of a ship’s horn broken by the occasional sound of a lone sea bird, for example, provide for welcome respitesl! Oh…and the sky is always blue, too! A colleague scoffs when we say this, but time and again it’s proving true! That’s probably because like us, people have been ignoring the quieter side of the river for the hustle and bustle of Puxi. In any case, we’re glad we’ve discovered Shanghai’s hidden treasure
Roel likes Pudong
...for its views of the historic Bund...and the boats! on the other, quieter shore…and only hope it remains so - largely undiscovered, that is -- for at least the rest of our stay! Now that it's on our radar, we plan to visit often.
The Bund
Last, but not least, a short hop across the river from Pudong, a ten-minute ferry and you’re back in our next of the woods, the infamous smoggy Puxi. But if like us, you’ll also find yourself sitting in the art deco buildings of the historic Bund, from where you now look back at the modern Pudong side, which with its futuristic Pearl Tower is the skyline that’s rapidly becoming emblematic of Shanghai. Rather a shame since Roel, for one, loves the Bund for the very fact that it doesn’t look any different from photographs of its heyday, taken almost 100 years ago. Renovations have kept the buildings intact, and the Peace Hotel build by Victor Sassoon at the turn of the last century, is currently the latest to undergo restoration. We hope we’ll be there to witness its reopening. In the meantime, one of our favorite hang-outs is New Heights, and we are willing partakers of its 7th floor patio, open
Bund View Restaurant
...from this vantage also displays the new emblem of Shanghai...the Pearl Tower. We prefer the view of the Bund the cafe promises...and delivers!! all year, and from where we can watch the freighters, sight-seeing boats, ferries and barges, from a great perch, sipping our drinks and listening to the far-off sound of Chinese flutes from the congested Bund Boulevard, far off below.
The Portman Hotel
Also known as the Shanghai Center, this hotel complex is another favorite expat hangout. Though its serviced apartments start at 20,000 yuan per month (about $3,000 US) we appreciate the foreigner-friendly stores, restaurants and supermarkets that surround its lobby. Colonial buildings from the former British concession are also found in the area, and lend a feel of old Shanghai with the new. The longtangs still exist in this area called Jing'an, after Shanghai's famous Jing'an Temple...but again, for how long, is still anyone's guess.
In the meantime, we're still enjoying the unique blend of old and new in Shanghai...and looking forward to one more year appreciating both.
What we're really looking forward to though is a summer of clean Canadian air, nature and most of all, 'old' faces.
See you soon all,
Love
Amy & Roel
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Cindy & Jay
non-member comment
Thanks for sharing
Once again, Amy and Roel, thanks for sharing your year's adventure with us! I've enjoyed reading every report and living a bit vicariously through you. I certainly hope our paths cross again sometime! ~~Cindy