Sunny Shanghai

Dave is planning to move to Shanghai early next year, and as we have seen many of the tourist sights before, we set about discovering what you might do if you actually lived in the city. Cocktails, dim sum (at the reasonably-priced and tasty Crystal Jade, which I believe is a Singaporean chain) and a wander around the network of tiny lanes around Taikang Lu (home of the now famous Chinese-speaking bird), full of interesting art galleries, coffee shops and small boutiques. It was here that I had my first good coffee in China - and a big one at that!

We met up with Dom, a colleague of mine, and enjoyed another few cocktails at Constellation, though my first choice wouldn't have been the toxic mix of lemon juice, vodka, red wine and sugar.... each to their own! We then enjoyed Yunan food at Lost Heaven on GaoYou, which was a lovely place with tasty food. I have been consistently surprised at how upmarket many of the bars and restaurants in Shanghai are, especially when compared to those in Beijing. There is a corresponding price difference though - applicable to dining, drinks and taxis - which could have a significant impact on my new found life of luxury if I were to live here longterm! It would certainly be a nice place to lead a comfortable life, but people's incomprehensible accents and Shanghaianese itself could provide some hurdles!

As you would expect, Shanghai is a much more modern and Westernised city than Beijing, but it retains a pleasant mix of old and new, and wandering around the tree-lined streets of the French concession is lovely. How long this charm will survive in the face of tower blocks and skyscrapers as the business district expands is anyone's guess...

After dinner, we took a break from cocktail bars and headed to Time Passage - a pub-like venue that is much more the Beijing scene! Live music and cheap beers made for a fun evening, and we played a few Chinese-language pranks which is always a good source of amusement...! On Sunday morning, it only seemed right to work through the hangover with a champagne brunch. This was a very civilised affair, largely because the courses were served to the table and explained to us in detail by the waiting staff, and the Veuve Cliquot was free-flowing - delightful! I was born for a life like this. The Jesubites among you might spot a familiar face - yes, we bumped into Alison while in Shanghai - she was on holiday there from Australia! It's a small world, and I always love catching up with friendly faces around the globe....

We decided to sleep off the champagne at the Jazz Festival in Century Park on Pudong. It was nice and leafy, and reasonably quiet for a music festival (and in fact for any spot of Chinese land), so I had a good nap until the sun went down and it got a bit chilly...

We moved on to the "Rock Stage" (what this and an "electrograss" stage were doing as two of the three stages at a jazz festival is beyond me....) and 'rocked out' there for a while. One of the group had heard good things about the headline act, Cui Jian, who was on at 7, and told us a bit of the background. As you can see from the Wiki link if you're interested, Cui Jian is a bit of a political icon in China, and one of his songs, "Nothing to My Name" became an anthem to the student protesters during the Tiananmen protests. In c. 1990, one of his concerts was stopped by police, and the rest of the tour cancelled, when he wore a red blindfold on stage while performing. He allegedly avoided excommunication by "donating" one million yuan to pay for the Asian games in 1990....

In any event, he has a legion of fans in China, all of whom know the words and embrace his music and performances enthusiastically. Towards the start of his set, an enormous, inflatable hammer and sickle was carried down to the front of the audience and it all together made for an exciting performance. I am now learning the lyrics for my next karaoke outing (and intend to adopt his distinctive gestures) and joining that legion of fans for the time being!