Shanghai Surprise
With the world flocking to the futuristic wonderland known as the World Expo this May, HK Magazine presents an essential travel guide to the city.
The World Expo 2010, a money-burning extravaganza where countries from around the world come together to show off with mind-blowing, avant-garde architectural marvels, is opening in Shanghai on May 1. And just as the Olympics was a catalyst for shaping Beijing as we know it today, the World Expo has pushed ahead the development of modern Shanghai. There’s never been a better time to visit this glamorous historic city for the quintessential belle époque New China experience. Titillated? Well, we know you are, and you probably need some pointers. In this story, we take you through the must-visit places and where to eat and drink.
What to See
Things You Need to See in Shanghai
With its rich, colorful history, especially during the past century, Shanghai is a treasure chest that symbolizes China’s modern history. And the best way to understand it is through its historic architecture. During its racy, golden age of the 1920s and 1930s, an insane amount of Art Deco buildings were built to prove the city was a metropolis; many of them still survive in some form in the city. It has been said that, in fact, Shanghai has the largest number of remaining Art Deco buildings in the world. Apart from the The Langham Hotel, another gem is the historic Peace Hotel on The Bund (20 Nanjing Dong Lu, 86-21-6321-6888, www.fairmont.com/peacehotel), which has been closed for major renovations but will reopen during the next couple of months for the World Expo (it is now accepting private viewings—check its website for details). There are also other Art Deco buildings alongside the Peace Hotel.
Another distinguished group of buildings can be found in the French Concession district. In this once French-occupied area three are many quirky structures, including the Russian St. Nicholas Church built in 1934 (16 Gaolan Lu), the crazy Gothic towers (with a touch of Scandinavia) called Moller House (30 Shanxi Nan Lu) and the Art Deco Cathay Theatre (870 Huaihai Zhong Lu).
Beijing may be the capital, but when it comes to art is, you go to Shanghai (after all, that’s where the money is). As you know, Chinese contemporary art has been hot during the past five years, and if you know where to go, Shanghai is an excellent place to view the best art there is in China. Start your journey at the excellent MOCA Shanghai (231 Nanjing Xilu, 86-21-6327-1282, www.mocashanghai.org), located at one end of the People’s Square. MOCA is one of the best art museums in China and certainly the most successful one—since opening in 2005, it has held exhibitions for local emerging and top contemporary artists and has also collaborated with big corporations to do crossover events in order to raise the public’s awareness of contemporary art. MOCA is an independent, non-profit organization, unsurprisingly doing way better than the government-run Shanghai Art Museum (325 Nanjing Xilu, 86-21-6327-2829, www.sh-artmuseum.org.cn) nearby, which has all the big names but is undoubtedly presenting them in the most sterile way imaginable.
The Expo
The World Expo 2010 looks more exciting in pictures than in words.