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Guide Cité Bourgogne
Shanghai wasn’t always a city jammed with skyscrapers. Up until two decades ago, most of its citizens resided in shikumen, alleyway houses characterised by stone gates and double wooden black doors. Today, most of these homes have been sacrificed in the name of urbanisation, but Cité Bourgogne, a 100,000sqm neighbourhood built by the French in 1930, is one of the few remaining places for a glimpse of the original Shanghainese lifestyle. There are 74 of these protected and restored red brick houses, and each unit is home to multiple households who usually share a kitchen. Hit the lanes early for a waft of local breakfast being prepared, or go in the afternoon to see female dwellers chatting in the sun, with curlers in their hair. Also listen out for traditional mobile knife-sharpeners who bellow out to customers. Lane 287 Shaanxi Nan Lu, Huangpu District (former Luwan District)
Murals on the Bund
Almost all tourists in Shanghai visit the Bund, the city’s waterfront cluster of colonial architecture, but few have seen the breathtaking murals hidden behind the revolving door of building No 12. The Shanghainese only re-discovered these mosaics in 1997, some 40 years after they were covered up for their imperialist connotations. Sitting roughly 20m from the ground, the nine artworks – each measuring 4.3m in width and 2.8m in height – were the original components of a massive marble mansion that was built by the HSBC bank in the 1920s to house its Shanghai branch. The eight paintings depict the scene of the eight cities where HSBC had offices at the time, including Shanghai, Hong Kong and Bangkok. The main piece showcases a Renaissance-style take on ancient Greek mythology. The neo-classical building was nationalised after the Communist Party took over Shanghai and was first assigned as the Shanghai Municipal Government office building before becoming the headquarters of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank. } No 12 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, Huangpu District
Shanghai
(Facing page, left and far left) Cité Bourgogne, built by the French, is an interesting example of the original Shanghainese lifestyle; (below) the stunning mural inside the former HSBC bank
Secret Shanghai The sprawling Chinese metropolis is never short of two things – pounding jackhammers and the many ways to sample the very heart of local life. Here are seven of the city’s most intriguing finds. TEXT LI MEIJUAN PHOTOS MAODOU
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Guide captions in Mandarin and English. Affable and knowledgeable, Yang is sometimes there in person to share a story or two. The gift shop sells originals and copies of the posters. Room BOC, 868 Huashan Road, near Wukang Road, Changning District Tel +86 21 6211 1845 Opens 10am-5pm Admission RMB20 http://www.shanghaipropagandaart.com Note Few can find this private and (literally) underground art centre on their own; ask the compound’s security guard, and he will hand you the map and give you directions
Bao Luo Restaurant
Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre
Located in the basement of a local residential compound, this private museum is a throwback to hardcore communist China. Approximately 5,000 propaganda posters, released between 1940 and 1990, are on display in the 400sqm space. These artworks document a bygone era, a time when youngsters hailed Chairman Mao’s little red book and factories strove for modernisation by forging steel. Owned by 64-year-old collector Yang Peiming, all exhibits have
When Shanghainese foodies want some traditional fare, they head to this alleyway house. The reception of the 20-year-old eatery is a hole in the wall, but a flight of stairs leads you up to room after room of bustling dining space. Dishes come in share-sized portions. Must-tries include its soy sauce braised chop. Steamed egg and clams is another local favourite and one of the lighter dishes on the menu. Bao Luo also serves up what is probably Shanghai’s best sheng jian, a type of dumpling with a slightly burned and crispy underside, filled with meat and topped with scallion and black sesame. A plate, with six pieces of fist-big sheng jian, makes a meal all on its own.
Fu Chun Restaurant
Situated on a quiet, tree-lined street in central Shanghai, the two-storey, time-honoured food stall offers the most authentic xiao long bao in the city. One bamboo basket contains 12 irresistible meat pockets (weighing about 10gm each), which look like a dozen adorable doughy crowns. Each one of them has 16 pleats and at least a tablespoon of savoury broth. To eat like a local, first bite a small ‘window’ through the skin, suck out all the soup, then dip the dumpling in vinegar and gobble down the whole lot. Besides the pure meat version, Fu Chun’s xiao long bao also comes in two other variants: Mixed with shrimp, and with crab roe. The large combo basket (nine pieces) consists of all three types of dumplings for a fraction of the cost at average restaurants. } 650 Yuyuan Road, Jing’an District Tel +86 21 6252 5117 Opens 6am-midnight
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271 Fuming Road, Jing’an District Tel +86 21 6279 2827 /+86 21 5403 7239 Opens 11.30am-3.30pm and 5pm-3am; reservations are recommended
Step into a bygone era at the Shanghai Propaganda Art Centre, where some 5,000 posters jostle for space on the walls; (facing page) Shanghai’s xiao long bao is iconic and Fu Chun’s version is one of the best in the city
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Guide
Marriage market
Every afternoon over the weekend, thousands of parents come together at one of Shanghai’s most populous central parks to find love for their children in what has come to be known as a unique dating phenomenon in this country. At its busiest hours, as many as 2,000 middle-aged people hold pieces of paper with the name, age, occupation and salaries of their children. And, for male candidates, this list includes whether or not they have a separate house for after they are married. Parents approach each other to arrange a blind date, and the children, usually in their 20s, very often don’t know about this search for prospective partners at the ‘marriage market’. Every Sat and Sun afternoon, come rain, shine or snow at People’s Park (western end of Nanjing Road)
Happy Valley
This wonderland is a dream for scream machine warriors. Over a dozen white-knuckle rides, including roller coasters, free-fall drops, a gigantic spinning arm and log flume are scattered across the 900,000sqm, RMB4 million compound in suburban Shanghai. Fireball and Big Hammer are the two that will make you scream the most. The former is a 1,200m-long wooden roller coaster, the longest of its kind in Asia when the amusement park opened in 2009. The latter is a 15-storey-tall metal arm that spins 360 degrees at speeds of up to 110kph. 888 Linhu Road Tel +86 21 3355 2222 Opens 9am-8pm Admission RMB200 Malaysia Airlines flies nonstop from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to Shanghai (PVG)
Love and marriage is on the minds of those who throng the ‘marriage market’, a phenomenon quite unique to China
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