Shanghai Reminiscences

By staff reporter LU RUCAI

I arrived in Shanghai amid a throng of local and international travelers just five hours after boarding the high-speed train from Beijing. The southern metropolis， along with several other hot destinations， is reaping ever-richer tourism revenues since recent extensions of the high-speed railway network slashed travel times.

Shanghai Circus World， featuring the multimillion-dollar acrobatic extravaganza ERA – Intersection of Time， was the first leg of my visit. The first of its kind in China， the show is a multimedia theatrical spectacular， distinct for its lavish， ingenious incorporation of Chinese acrobatics， dance， music and martial arts. Thunderous applause erupted periodically from the predominantly international audience during the 100-minute performance. This high-tech psychedelic gig evolves through a constant collision between past and future. Eight years after its première， the show still sells out daily at peak season.

Being in Shanghai is itself like experiencing a faceted juncture in time. This world financial center， bristling with dynamic postmodern tower blocks， is also imbued with the rich heritage of genteel， south-ofYangtze civilization and its short-lived colonial era.

The Bund

This waterfront area is one of Shanghais most distinct landmarks. A convergence of international architectural genres， it appeared in the 1920s. Today these time-honored classic buildings house worldestablished fashion and hotel brands whose kudos has also lasted for more than a century. This onekm-long strip along the Huangpu River is site of the citys best restaurants， offering delectable fare amid classic surrounds.

A visit to the citys Archive Museum is a good way to find out more about the Bund， past and present. During my stay its main feature was the City Memory – Modern History of Shanghai exhibition， a sec- tion of which focused on the Bund. A cache of 600 or more documents， photos and objects delineate the citys evolution after the late 19th century to the forefront of feudal Chinas exchanges with the broader world.

Local museums are always reliable sources of information. The Telecom Museum traces Shanghais telecommunications journey from the telegraph， which debuted in China in 1871 with the establishment in Shanghai of the first line， to wireless telecom technologies. Exhibits include the first homedeveloped Teletype. The museum accepts tour group reservations from Monday to Friday and is open to individual visitors at the weekend. For independent tourists whose time does not fit this slot， a stop-by at the site is recommended. This eclectically designed edifice， built in 1921， is a historical artifact in itself. One of its tenants was the Great Northern Telegraph Company of Denmark， which laid Chinas first submarine telegraph cable.

The Postal Service Museum complex has distinctively British features. Built in the 1920s， it was originally the citys general post office. Its exhibits include Chinas first stamp， issued in 1878.

Other than the Rockbund Art Museum， which charges a modest RMB 15 that includes a cup of coffee， admission to local museums is free.

While strolling along the Bund I saw a couple having their wedding photos taken at the gate of the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank headquarters. Originally the property of the HSBC in the 1920s and 1930s， this 90-year-old buildings neo-classical design， exquisite embellishments and symmetrical proportions make it outstanding in the district.

Walls near the ceiling of the octagonal lobby are lavishly adorned with eight mosaic murals， and the dome bears frescoes that include the 12 signs of the zodiac， personifications of the sun and moon， and representations of the eight HSBC financial centers. Covered in stucco and paint soon after the founding of the PRC for political reasons， these ornamentations were not discovered until the 1990s.

Before 1949， the Fairmont Peace Hotel， formerly the Cathay Hotel invested by Jewish tycoon Sir Victor Sassoon， was Shanghais most prestigious hostelry. A main Bund landmark over the past century， it is a monument to the blending of cultures in a city celebrated for its cosmopolitism.

Cultural Xujiahui

Xujiahui is best known as Shanghais commercial hub， but has far more to offer. Last October it was awarded the status of a national 4A tourist spot by virtue of its historical and cultural legacy. Although rare for an urban district in a big city， Xujiahui truly merits this distinction. Its 2.4-square-kilometer area is strewn with a dozens of sites of historical interest.

Located at the confluence of three rivers， Xujiahui was where Ming Dynasty scientist and Shanghai native Xu Guangqi （1562-1633） lived on his farm， hence its name. Xu， in collaboration with Italian Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci （1552-1610）， translated six volumes of Euclids Elements， and compiled the Complete Treatise on Agriculture （Nongzheng Quanshu）， one of Chinas four greatest ancient agricultural books.

After getting my free ticket at the districts tourist center， I headed for the Xujiahui Library， founded by the Jesuits in 1847. Its collection of rare publications in Chinese and foreign languages was transferred to the municipal library in 1956. Those remaining are mostly foreign-language books and periodicals published before the founding of the PRC.

The first floor was for Chinese books. Its interior design replicates that of the 450-year-old Tianyige private library in Ningbo， Zhejiang Province. The second floor is for foreign-language titles – totally 80，00-strong published between the 15th century and 1949. The layout pays clear tribute to the Vatican Library. The most treasured of its collection are those on Sinology and theology.

Other than reading rooms for cardholders， the building is not open to the public. As a journalist I was privileged to visit it. When I entered what was formerly the dining space， only a couple of readers were there， poring over foreign-language newspapers and magazines. The soft， warm lighting and scent of ink on sepia-toned pages conjured up a soothing nostalgia that was in sharp contrast to the bustle of traffic outside.

The Xujiahui Cathedral， or St. Ignatius Cathedral， is walking distance from the library. Designed by English architect W. M. Dowdall and built between 1905 and 1910， the stately twin-spire Gothic building was the largest church in the Far East of its time， accommodating up to 3，000 worshipers.

The last leg of my Xujiahui tour was the Tou-SeWe Museum， formerly a Jesuit orphanage for boys. To ensure they would be financially independent in adulthood， the facility ran classes in practical skills such as painting， sculpture， woodwork and printing. It also owned arts and crafts workshops that hired boys when they were old enough to leave the orphanage. Their products were popular， and received orders from abroad as well as throughout the country. One of its works， a 1913 wood carving of an archway， appeared in three World Expos. It is now on display at the museum.

Architecture is like frozen music. In Shanghai it is also arrested history – a standing monument to the Shanghai-style culture that embodies a merging of Eastern and Western civilizations. Evident in local buildings， the educational system， places of worship and film-making locales， Xujiahuis historic sites offer a rare glimpse of the citys early existence.

Back Lanes

Tower blocks dominate the Shanghai skyline. But old paths that retain traces of the past century still exist in this monument to contemporary international commerce.

One is Wukang Road in Xuhui District， originally named Route Ferguson， built in 1907 by the French Concession authority. Several famed historical personages owned properties along this densely shaded road. They include Qing reformist official Li Hongzhang （1823-1901）， revolutionist Huang Xing （1874-1916） and writer Ba Jin （1904-2005）.

The tourist service center at 393 Jia Wukang Road offers visitors travel guides to the scale models and photo exhibitions of past celebrities residences in the region. The center holds lectures on the first Saturday of each month on local history， themed“Stories of Old Homes.”

Wukang is also a popular bar area. A favorite expat hang-out， local hostelries open in the afternoon and are heaving by nightfall.

Shaoxing Road is also part of the bygone French Concession. The 300-meter-long path is lined with stately oriental plane trees that overlook the dense cluster of bookstores and galleries below as well as the Shanghai Press and Publication Administration， Shanghai Art and Literature Press and Shanghai Business Daily offices. Some of the best-preserved Shikumen buildings， an architectural genre of the late 19th century combining classic southern China style with European elements， are also found on Shaoxing Road.

Having escaped industrialization， the region is a popular shooting site for productions about old Shanghai. It is the backdrop of many movies and TV dramas.

Xintiandi， a 30，000-square-meter pedestrian commercial district in central Shanghai， also features a number of Shikumen residences. Its old lane residences having been converted into shops， cafes， restaurants and entertainment centers， the area juxtaposes the best of old and new Shanghai.

The rhythm of urban life is hectic everywhere， but the Shanghai ambience remains laid-back and easy. Visitors and residents alike enjoy leisurely strolls down time-honored lanes that clearly echo the vibrant memories of this century-old city.