If you only count people, this city is the largest in the world. Daily, Shanghai becomes the final venue for hundreds of rural workers leaving their agrarian lives for the lure of better-paying jobs and the big-city life.
Row upon row of high-rise concrete towers go on for miles, devouring fields and homes along an expanding spider’s web of highways and green space at a high premium.
This is new Shanghai, 25 million people and growing, a city steeped in history and people without end.
Teeming millions
It’s difficult to imagine 25 million people living together in one place — and at rush hour, all 25 million seem to be heading to the same place as I, using the same road, wanting the same taxi, heading in the same direction.
I am not claustrophobic — I used to go caving, so I know this to be true — but I think I have developed a fear of so many people wanting to do the same thing as I all at once.
I experienced this phobia for the first time as I walked along the Bund, the wide, concrete embankment on the banks of the Huangpu River that runs through the soul of Shanghai on the Puxi side. A Monday evening is normally a quiet time for a riverside walk. But it seems as if every other person in this giant city had decided the same thing. Though 50 metres wide, the promenade was crowded with tens of thousands of people, all stopping and chatting and looking across at the impressive Pudong side across the brown waters flowing past.
Barges plied their load of coal inland from the mouth of the Yangzee to fuel this vast populous nation’s growth; ferries disgorged their passengers by the hundreds; advertisements stretched from street to sky across the river on the sides of skyscrapers 50 storeys high.
Cultural revolution
And above everything else, the quixotic Pearl Tower stands needle-shaped, pointing to the sky as a sign of progress — onwards and upwards for a communist China that is fully immersed in a cultural revolution of wholly capitalist proportions.
Shanghai is a city on the move. It is the banking and financial centre of this land of 1.4 billion. It is the place where Western brands meet Eastern demands, where foreign powers have historically settled.
Along the Bund, you can feel the colonial influences of Shanghai’s past.
“Look, that’s just like Paris,” a companion noted as we strolled past side streets of six- or seven-storeyed buildings of Parisian architecture. Indeed, the French settled in part of this city in the mid-1800s; with its many broad boulevards, some guidebooks still refer to Shanghai as “Paris of the East”.
So too came the British and the Americans. And the Japanese.
British influence can also be found in some of the dominant public buildings that have survived the ravages of war and occupation and revolution, one bank standing almost identical to the Roman-colonnaded structure of the Bank of England on London’s Threadneedle Street.
American influence? Not so much in buildings. But the brands are here — McDonalds, Starbucks, Nike. This cultural revolution has a penchant for the trappings of the West.
Big event
Shanghai is the venue until October for the World Expo, a showcase of corporate and international innovation on a two-square-mile site spread over both east and west banks of the Huangpu. The former shipyards and heavy industrial factories have been levelled to build an exhibition space for 200 pavilions, which are expected to draw up to 100 million visitors, 95 per cent who which will be Chinese.
The Expo has cost almost $60 billion (Dh220 billion), just slightly less than what Beijing spent on funding the 2008 Olympic Games. A new subway line links the Expo with the city’s extensive network of subways.
During my three-day stay in Shanghai, I stayed at Hyatt on the Bund, a modern and suave hotel conveniently located at the eastern end of the Bund on the River. Its rooms are modern, slightly minimalist, where Western demands meet Eastern designs — and the result is comfort and sophistication.
Along with the Yuan Luxury Spa, the Hyatt on the Bund offers all the charm, comfort and service one would expect from this award-winning brand. It’s a five-star luxury hotel offering a central location to most tourism amenities in the city. It also has convenient access to the airport and major areas of the city.
If so inclined, the Hyatt can arrange for limousine service, though taxis are cheap and plentiful. The Hyatt also on the Bund features a Tea Room, a sophisticated coffee shop and a terrace to recover and take a break from the hustle and bustle of the world’s most populous city.
Three top-class restaurants cater to Eastern and Western tastes. And with the cost of living in Shanghai being less than that which most Westerners are accustomed to, it’s easy to kick back and indulge in the five-star services available at Hyatt on the Bund. Indulge yourself and your budget won’t be broken!
I do not speak Mandarin. While most official signs come with an English translation, it is advisable to plan carefully where you are going. The staff at the concierge desk at the Hyatt were very helpful, carefully writing down in both English and Mandarin where we wanted to go, a must for showing to taxi drivers and most other people with little or no English.
The Vue at the top of one of the twin towers that make up Hyatt on the Bund is a twin-level restaurant, offering breathtaking views across to the neon-lit skyscrapers of Pudong. Upstream and downstream, vast illuminated suspension bridges span the Huangpu’s waters, while most rooms have at least a partial view of the Pearl Tower.
The easiest way to get around the centre core — and it is a vast city — is by using taxis. Fares start at 12 yuan (Dh7) and are good for five kilometres. At no time did I spend more than 50 yuan (Dh27) and I explored most of the central district on both sides of the river.
Thanks to the helpful concierge staff at Hyatt on the Bund, we found ourselves dropped off at XinDianDi, a trendy shopping area with a distinctly Western feel, replete with jazz venues and Western-style restaurants, the buildings feeling like older parts of Paris, Montreal or Chicago.
Real face of the city
But for a taste of real Shanghai, away from the Western brand-themed shops, head to the area around Shanghai’s city temple. There, bargains abound and haggling will get you better deals from store workers used to the ways of bargain hunters — take any price and divide it by three to begin your negotiations. You will also have to fend off the hawkers of fake brand names and goods who flock to Westerners.
But above all, get yourself off the beaten track and wander away from the hotel, down side streets and alleys. There, time does stand still. Shanghains will do laundry on the street next to a man fixing bikes, a fishmonger selling from bubbling and teaming plastic basins, dumplings steaming as neighbours clamour to the street vendors for snacks.
If you’re not adventurous, keep away from street food. Not suited to all Western tastes, the smells of stale, fishy oil may not entice you or calm your stomach.
Above all, though, Shanghai is open for business. It is vibrant, if not a tourist destination of first choice. But it is a place where everyone must experience at least once. I hope to make it at least twice — I have a lot more people to meet there.
Hub of fashion, fakes and flora
XinDianDi
Old and new Shanghai blend in this fashionable district. XinDianDi features restaurants, clubs and trendy shopping in a cultural melting pot with the feel of the side streets of Paris. Jazz clubs thrive along Vietnamese restaurants, where more English is spoken than most other areas of the city.
The Maglev
Even if you don't use the Maglev travelling to and from Pudong International Airport, make sure you take time to ride it. A return trip costs 80 yuan (Dh43) and takes 20 minutes for the 60-kilometre round trip. Riding on magnets and floating above the track, the train cruises comfortably at 300 km/h.
The Bund
The wide embankment is the central meeting point for most Shanghains. Offering an unparalleled view of the Huangpu River and the Pudong side, home to most of the city's new commercial towers, the Bund offers a glimpse of the influences left by the French, British and Americans.
Nanjing Road
Considered by many to be the leading commercial area in China, the street is jammed by 1.7 million people daily, with traders offering everything from the latest mobile phones to art and sculptures and blossoming flower teas. Have fun spotting the obvious brands, such as Lastcost or Dolce and Cabanna!
Yuyan Garden
Based on Ming and Qing dynasty styles, Yuyan Garden is the largest of Shanghai's old gardens still remaining. The area around Yuyan is replete with crowded snack stands and souvenir stalls. Inside the gardens, though, it is possible to get a limited sense of the city's past through its six themed gardens.
Shanghai city temple
A reclining jade Buddha occupies the central altar of this working temple. Though closed for nearly 20 years as a victim to the central government's Cultural Revolution, the temple opened again in 1994. It is still visited daily by many city residents who burn rushes and offer prayers.
