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Published: August 28th 2008
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hidden lily pad pond - it was huge! Today is Thursday, my 4th day here in Shanghai spent "being alone". Technically, in a city of 22 million people you're never really alone - and though Ollie's working during the day the instant I step outside my door I'm surrounded by throngs of people. But being in a city and culture where most people don't speak my language (and my chinese conversational skills are not up to speed) you really do need to find ways to entertain oneself.
So far I have found that there's no shortage of stuff to do in this city (providing you have sufficient $$).
Monday it was pouring rain all day, but I wanted to get out and about anyway. So raincoat on I took a taxi to the Shanghai Centre to check out a bookstore I'd previously seen. Being in the Shanghai Centre (full of foreign stores and consulates) I hoped it would sell foreign titles - and it did! It was great, small, but quite well stocked. I won't have trouble getting a new read if I want it. I spent the afternoon walking around my Renmin Park neighbourhood. I only got asked by one hawker (shocking, only one!) if I
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these were three times the size of my head! The photo doesn't do justice to their size wanted "shoes? purse? DVDs? watches?", but he gave up very quickly. I went exploring in Renmin Park, discovered the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) nestled in the trees (gonna go one day for sure!), and I stumbled upon this massive lily pad pond hidden along a path nestled in the trees! It was so beautiful and peacefully quiet. I met Ollie at his office when he'd finished work later that evening and we stayed in for the night.
Tuesday afternoon I got "china-ed out". When I say that I mean that I got a little tired and overwhelmed by the city, and needed to come back to the hotel for a breather (and maybe some English via an episode of the Office or something). In the early afternoon I'd braved Nanjing Road East to go see a gallery called Room With A View. It was supposed to be a really cool bohemian contemporary art gallery, small and innovative (and free!). It was located about halfway down Nanjing towards the Bund and on the 12th floor of a building housing a department store. Surprisingly I wasn't hassled by as many hawkers as when Ollie and I had gone together.
So either I just walked faster and blended in with crowds more, or they hassle women more when accompanied by men (maybe thinking there's a chance for a better sale?). Needless to say I found the address of the gallery and went in. There were 3 elevators - 1 was out of service (or so I assumed, the writing was in chinese), 1 only went up to the 8th floor, and one to the 5th. So I though I'd try my luck to the 8th floor and then walk up stairs if I could. My elevator was crammed like sardines (and two men were totally lit up and smoking in the elevator), and we came to the 8th floor and right into the middle of a chinese food restaurant. No stairs to be seen. I went back down and as soon as I stepped into the lobby I was greeted by a homeless man who had what I assumed was leprosy (although that is extremely infectious...), as his hands were mottled, his fingers missing, and a giant tumor was growing out of the side of his head. Okay - no more gallery hunting! I decided immediately. So after I gave
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the alley entrance to Taiking Art Centre up on that I found my way into two malls along Nanjing East. The only problem with being western is that the second you walk into a store you're hounded by a sales person - probably thinking you'll be an easy person to sell too. Store after store I'd have a sales women literally standing beside me as I'd browse. NOT an easy way to browse - let me tell you! I've made this little game for myself which I call "Try to Get Rid of the Sales Girl" - basically it means trying to move in as random a path and as quick as possible to confuse the girl and get her to leave you alone. Needless to say, I was tired of shopping after about 15 stores and went home empty handed, "china-ed out". Night was a different story however! I took a cab back to Jazz du Funk to take my first evening of classes - Street Jazz, and Pilates/Stretching. It was fabulous! Holy jeez i was soaked 30 minutes into the Street Jazz (which I discovered is a mix of jazz and hip hop/popping/locking, ie: think Madonna's or Justin Timberlake's dancing style, with a little club
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map of the maze of boutiques/galleries/cafes dancing thrown in for good measure). The teacher was a professional dancer originally from France and the class was very quick moving, really fun, and challenging (did I mention the sweat!). I'm so happy that I found a place to train while here! While I was in class I was thinking to myself how extraordinary dance is - it's an international language, the language of the body, and one that everyone can share in. My classes included me, representing Canada, two french people, and 4 chinese people (3 fluent in english, one who didn't speak a word of english). We all came from different countries, different backgrounds, and spoke different languages, and yet in class we could all follow and dance the same language. How beautiful. I remember thinking at one point "I can't believe that at this very moment I'm in Shanghai!" I could've been anywhere.
Wednesday, yesterday, I decided to go off and explore the city on foot. I taxied to the most southern part of the French Concession because I'd heard of an art community there called the Taiking Road Art Centre. Map in hand, camera and water bottle in backpack, I started off along Jian
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I loved the exterior of this store - it sold traditional chinese garments with an artistic twist Guo Zhong Rd and immediately found a large complex called Bridge 8 - housing art galleries, an art/architecture boutique, and art schools, architecture studios and companies. I explored the boutique a little then continued on (again, sales lady at my elbow). I walked down to Taiking Road hoping to stumble upon the alleyways that would lead me into the Taiking Art Centre, and sure enough I eventually did. I have officially found my most favourite place to browse/shop in Shanghai (thus far). Totally secluded and non-commercial - unlike the massive shopping streets that line so much of the city (what street needs 5 Lacoste stores within 3 blocks???) - the Taiking Art Centre was a maze of alleyways containing artsy boutiques, clothing and accessory stores, cafes and restaurants, numerous galleries, studios, and schools. There was a beautiful mix of people around - locals, foreigners, artists, it gave off such a great vibe. I wandered around for about an hour, browsing every store and taking many photos. I even met a Canadian from Vancouver! He owned one of the cool clothing boutiques and had lived in Shanghai for 6 years. Although he said he missed the beauty of Vancouver and was
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example of "modern" traditional dress moving back home to it later this year.
After seeing all that Taiking had to offer I decided to go and check out a martial arts studio where Ollie and I want to take classes together (YES! Kung Fu! Tai Chi! Oh my, so much fun it'll be!), but after walking around the winding streets for an hour I couldn't find it! I'll be checking the website map much more thoroughly before going again. It was such a beautiful day and I had my sneakers on, so I decided why not walk all the way home? And I did! I walked all the way from the south tip of the French Concession up to northeast of Renmin Park! It gave me a wonderful walking tour of central Shanghai - I ventured down streets I'd never been down and many that I had. I shared smiles with people, played many a game of charades with sales people (including one little old lady in a Watsons pharmacy who went on and on in chinese to me, attempting to get me to try her beauty product), and enjoyed a good 2 hour walk home. I even popped into a Yoga studio I'd
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Taiking Art Centre - one of many lanes researched which is close to my hotel (actually in the building next to Ollie's work - how convenient!) and will certainly return to take classes. All in all it was a great day - but man was I sweaty by the time I got home! Needless to say I showered and took a well deserved nap.
As for today, I'm taking 2 more classes at Jazz du Funk - contemporary, and modern jazz. Yay dancing! I'm sure over the next few days I'll have many more stories to come.
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