Shang Hai on Life

A visitor spending time alone in big cities like New York, Paris, Berlin, and Shanghai might compare a bit to a kid standing just outside the display window of a great toy store - like NYC's FAO Schwartz - or wandering around the aisles, but without permission to play with any toys.

The city sparkles and entices and a while a lonely, short term visitor can participate in sightseeing, shopping, eating or pampering activities, she cannot expect to truly engage in what makes the city sparkle, glitter and "go." Nonetheless, with the right sort of attitude, one might derive a great deal of pleasure from simply gazing from the outside, so to speak, and taking in the delicious sights and sounds and tastes of the Shanghai toy store.

So, Friday night I dined Italian style with some Chinese friends at a restaurant run by a Shanghainese woman who lived 30 years in Milan and spoke lovely, lilting Italian and whose food, really, was as good as one can expect for Italian food halfway across the world. Afterward we went to see Harry Potter. This time, my movie viewing experience was in English, since unlike Transformers 2, I'd been anticipating this flick for about a year or so.

The stunning and (excuse me for judging, I love the Harry Potter movies) annoying cultural revelation I made that night that everyone seems to whip out the mobile devices more at movies than any time else - more so than while driving, on the subway, walking, standing on the street corner looking bored. Oooo... glowing lights..... There is just something, I suppose, about a dark movie theater, particularly one in which occurs the fantastically exhilarating climax that determines the fate of one Mr. Potter. Between the rattling of candy bags and flicking iridescent lights across the dark room... well, you get the point.

The next day I thought I'd brave the Bund alone. If you've been following, you'll known that I dined there my first weekend in Shanghai, and so it seemed an appropriate place to close my China chapters. After weeks of planned (though delightful) outings with my Chinese friends, the silent hours of aimless wandering was pleasant change.

By day the Bund reminded me of 5th Ave. NYC with a river-side Central Park directly across the street (though it's completely under construction in preparation for the 2010 World Expo). As I walked along the wide sidewalk, passing Armani, Dolce Gabbana, Gold Exchanges, Development Banks, shouting rickshaw drivers, laughing tourists (mostly Chinese, though the odd Westerner too), buses, and vendors, the wind blew and the sky shined a brilliant blue and I recalled the city's birth in the Opium Trade and comeback when the Shanghai Stock exchange reopened and international traders and businesses moved back in the last few decades.

Doubt ye not Shanghai's glory.

The shopping in this quarter too rich for my wallet, I simply made my way all the way down the promenade for a better view of the Oriental Pearl on lovely bridge. There I joined the cluster of tourists to take photos on the unlikely clear Shanghainese summer day.

In the evening I made my way to the French Concession for a two hour acro-yoga, ashtanga session during which I had my proverbial butt kicked by a tattooed, pony-tailed, American expat yogi. Afterward, some ladies from the class recommended a nice mani/pedi salon that in turn recommended a nice massage parlor where I enjoyed a deep tissue massage while my nails dried. Within a few hours my body had forgotten all about the twisted handstands I'd attempted.

The French Concession has been historically and still is where most ex-patriots prefer to live in Shanghai. It is asthetically the most pleasing area of the city, lower buildings, festooned with parks, and has the longest stretch of Art Deco buildings in the world. The latter comes as a bit of a shock, considering it is also the area where the Communist Government of China made its first gain in the '20s, hence the name of the neighborhood (which doesn't exist in Chinese), the "Concession." Truly, the neighborhood defies square block construction and faded, unimaginative architectual design the country's image projects.

Reflective of a great, growing, bold international city with vast professional opportunities, the ex-pat scene in China is young, bright, beautiful, and intense. Forget NYC, Paris, or San Fran. If you want to go somewhere to live life and make money, go to Shanghai where there's money to be made in just about every field, the night life is hopping, the people are pretty, and seem - from what I could tell - rather whip smart, too. Clubs are clubs, but as clubs go - the ones I saw had fantastic live bands, free champange for the females on ladies' night, a cleanc crowd, open spaces, great DJ's, weird add-ons like outdoor pools and seemily effective bouncers (but then, Shanghai's a pretty safe city too). Like all ex-pat scenes, one notices the darker underbelly of life abroad - local girls skanking out to expat guys, a touch of hedonism amongst the expats, and other behavior that goes along with these themes.

When out and about, one cannot help but learn a great deal about the Shanghainese life and culture - or at least a corner of it. And I think I did. But far be it for this lowly wanderer to claim intimate knowledge of a city quadruple the size of New York City with less than two weeks under her belt. Nonetheless, I can testify that the subway system is one of the best in world - if not the best, some Shanghainese do, in fact, wear their PJs on the streets, that there's a major fad in Shanghai - and throughout China - surrounding SMSing, mobile games and anything else on a little LCD lit screen. Ah, the Wonders of communication technology. I can also tell you that the city's booming and, economic slump and population problems aside, the 10s of millions of people-large city seems on the up and up in a big way.

If you have time, check out the 2010 Shanghai Expo... "Better City, Better Life" (one day). When out in this big city for a short period, there's no fun to be had if you just go out and have it. But after a couple weeks there, one does have the impression that to get into the gears of the city, much more time is needed.