Mad About Shanghai

Red Sedan Chair

This is what they call a 轿子 or in English terms, sedan chair.

In historical times, this is their version of the "limo", powered entirely by 2 men or more carrying the "passenger/s". Of course, the more people carrying this sedan, the more "powerful" the engine is.

The red variant is traditionally used to carry the bride to be to her new place of residence or to the wedding ceremony.

In some parts of China, and perhaps also to add in an element of fun, this tradition still carries on.

You can see a mix of the East and West in this photo contributed by Jennifer. Bride to be in a Western styled gown sitting in a traditional Chinese red sedan chair.

Glad to see traditions are being kept alive!

Kathleen 5 - A Place for Tea in the City

Just the other day, R brought me to Kathleen 5 located at the roof level of the Shanghai Art Museum for afternoon tea on a hot day.

 

It was a hot day. The tea and respite from the weather was most welcome.

 

The place was surprisingly empty on a weekend afternoon.

 

 

Address: 5th Floor, Shanghai Art Museum, 325 Nanjing Xi Road, Shanghai 200003

 

Tel : 021 - 63272221 

 

 

Shanghai Folklore

Some say this story is true. Whether its true or not, it is one of my favorite story line.

Plot:

It was the year 1949 in Shanghai and a time of great uncertainty due to the civil war.

A pair of young lovers met in their school. The girl was sobbing as she met her boyfriend for she was about to flee Shanghai with her presumably rich family. The boy for unknown reasons, decided to stay in Shanghai.

Just as they are about to depart, the girl passed the boy a small music box and pleaded with the boy to wait for her return.

The boy promised and told her if she cannot find him, she should go to the school to look for him.

Fast forward 40 years later to 1989 in Taipei. A man walked into the living room as a granny was feeding her grandson. The man told the granny he found "him".

Granny got up, seems dazed and and fell from the shock of the news.

Upon regaining her composure, she told her family she needed to go and see "him". "Him" is the man she left behind 40 years ago in Shanghai. Her family agreed.

They met at the school ground. Initially lost for words, the granny broke into tears and the couple took a walk down memory lane by walking the down some of the old Shanghai streets they once walked together.

As they chatted, the old man revealed that he has been teaching in the school they once studied together, refusing to leave for he feared that she might not be able to find her when she returned. He kept the promised and waited 40 lonely years.

She then revealed she was sorry and already got three sons and grand children. As she was constantly wondering on the whereabouts of the boy she left some forty years ago, she asked her son to look for him in Shanghai whom he located.

He then led her to his study and showed her the music box she left for him forty years ago. The old man told her whenever he felt lonely or down, he would have a look at the music box and he would feel better. He never dared opened it for it might contain a farewell message to him and he would lose her forever.

Back in Taipei, the granny pleaded with his family to let her return to the man whom she left some 40 years ago. She explained that she needed to repay the debt.

The family reluctantly agreed.

She returned to him. In Shanghai, they bought a house and lived happily ever after.

Do you believe this is true story? Some insist it is. Others are more skeptical.

Well, the story has been turned into a MTV some years back.

Catch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5uEH3Pzeqg

Tian Zi Fang Center @ Tai Kang Road (Part 2)

And so we walk through the maze and found a cosy cafe we like:

 

 

Tian Zi Fang Center @ Tai Kang Road (Part 1)

Rose was the one that introduced me to Tian Zi Fang Center at Tai Kang Road. We went to the place one fine night after dinner and took some pics. Plenty of cosy cafes around !

 

    

Something about old Shanghai

There is something about old Shanghai.

A reader wrote to me for a picture from "In the Mood for Love"  Sabrina & Brad posted.

Though the movie is shot in 1960s Hong Kong, the way it is shot (extravagant usage of rickshaws, ladies in qipao, and alleys [nong tang]) immediately draws an association with old Shanghai from the 1920s-1930s era.

Whenever I walked past these old alleys or come across those old Shanghai advertisement posters from that era, i couldn't resist taking a picture of it.

Apparently, I am not the only one. Heres someones that collected more than 500 originals .

Anyone into old Shanghai Jazz as well?

Thank you, Mr. China!

Finally I finished the book Mr. China by Tim Clissold. I enjoyed the book thoroughly from the beginning to the end.

Out of everything, I have completely enjoyed the author's style of writing - vivid, lively, humorous, and sharp. I couldn't help reading aloud sometimes just to appreciate the powerful words he used and to imagine the pictures in his stories. I have felt like I have being listening to the author telling his stories directly to me, laughing heartily when coming to the funny parts, feeling stressed when being involved in a complicated row or seemingly everlasting stalemate, getting angry when facing deliberate fraud or betrayal, and  raising admiration when meeting people with great guts and incredible persistence.

Equally I was totally moved by the unbelievable effort the author has made to dig bone deep to understand Chinese people no matter who they were:  business partners, government officials, employees, peasants living in the remote areas of China. I was actually nearly to tears  coming to the very end of the book when the author said "If by writing this book I can make the Chinese people seem more human, less mysterious or threatening, just flawed and beautiful like us, then the troubles of the past ten years will all have been worthwhile." 

As a native Chinese, I can't appreciate more about the author's genuine intention to explain and illustrate about Chinese people and China to the rest of the world based on his own personal experience. Obviously as a white person from England and as a  respresentative for the Wall Street working and traveling throughout China for more than ten years, he can't be more a justifiable person to tell the rest of the world  about China and Chinese people.  However, he did not abuse this authority by lightly making some unfair or biased judgement, instead, he has been  passionately learning about Chinese history and has been persistently discovering the reasons behind Chinese people's "mysterious" behaviour. Disregard of his personal struggling , sometimes even dismal  while carrying on his business duty and ambition in China, he was always based on matter of facts to make any comments on Chinese people and always reserved great respect to the nation and its people no matter how much difference there remained either on the surface or in deep.

As a native Chinese who was born , grew up and educated in China and who is living overseas now, I understand perfectly the author's frustration in China with the "Chinese economic environment" such as the  banking system, legal system, definition of contracts, land ownership, lack of morale in the workforce etc and  I was also educated about my own country because while reading the book, I was looking at China as an outsider rather than a Chinese who is always "in" without seeing the whole picture!  You always see the picture more clearly if you are "out" of the picture. And as a younger generation, I was also educated about the early stage of China's opening up and reform which I wasn't aware of because I was still a bookworm in school back then. Now when I see the modern China, I will have a more complete picture when connecting it to the old days and I am sure I will appreciate more about the changes happening everywhere in China.

All in all, Mr. China is an excellent book both in terms of literature and information. It is a great book demanding slow sipping for both western and Chinese people who are interested in China and Chinese people. The world will be a more peaceful and more beautiful place if there is more understanding !

Thank you Mr. Tim Clissold!