China 2013 Part III: Age Matters

A Hindi-Urdu word of Persian origin meaning "embankment" or "levee" is now used to describe the mile-long riverside strip of well-preserved buildings that once formed part of the Shanghai International Settlement. What used to be the heartland of the city's English-speaking community, thriving under the 1842 Treaty of Nanking that made Shanghai one of the original five Chinese treaty ports, has now become a Times Square by the Huangpu.

Every night, or as soon as it turns dark enough to reasonably open streetlights, both locals and foreigners turn up by the hordes in this waterfront tourist mecca. And all for presumably one reason: to witness the spectacular lights display care of both the skyscrapers of Pudong and the ageless inanimate residents of Puxi. A stroll through the crowd is the standard activity. A Huangpu River cruise is optional, as is ascending the designated observatory for viewing the strip above the thousands of heads.

The sea of people provides a marvelous swim.

Spot the Terence!

The indefatigable Customs House, with its postcard-famous clock tower purportedly modeled after London's Big Ben.

When the crowds have dispersed, say, around 10PM, The Bund (coupled with the chilly night air) becomes the ultimate Shanghainese setting for "On My Own."

Now how to beat the crowd at the observatory? You don't go there. Number 3 on The Bund (the buildings are famously numerically marked) is the Union Building, and a high-end restaurant and clock tower occupy the top floor. The restaurant, though, does not care if one is a customer or not. They have an open-air terrace, which I think was made for both diners who smoke and tourists smart enough to sniff out the existence of this terrace and thick-skinned enough to not care about barging into an expensive restaurant's terrace to take vanity shots. 

The Bund from the topmost floor of the Union Building.

We also went inside the Fairmont Peace Hotel for some chillin' at the lobby, and the Waldorf-Astoria, formerly the Shanghai Club (where the Brits socialized). We rode the Astoria's old-fashioned elevator (you know, the ones that have... sliding gate rails, is it, like in the Ministry of Magic.

Facade of the HSBC Building, current home of the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.

The principal subway station to get to The Bund is East Nanjing Road, and turning the opposite direction (that is, westward) upon exiting leads to Nanjing Road - famous for its pedestrian-only strip of shops, restaurant, malls.

Together with The Bund, Nanjing Road is the de facto pimps' hideout. Our two visits to The Bund and subsequent walk down East and Nanjing roads yielded a total of three naughty encounters. The first one ("You want ladies?"), we just ignored; the second was this kind-looking girl whose offers I countered with "I don't understand," smiling face.

The third one was this pimp who followed us all the way from the intersection of Hankou and Zhongshan roads along The Bund to East Nanjing Road station before furtively announcing his offers. What a strange pimp. What an inept pimp! He should scout for another job.

I approached a policeman for directions and spoke to him in English. He responded in Mandarin. I said, "I don't understand." He replied in irritated Mandarin. Do I really look so Chinese? Screw him.

 Nanjing Road, looking west.

Nanshi literally means "southern city," and this district is the historic core of Shanghai. The old city was established under the Ming Dynasty, and the preserved architecture is much to behold. The defining site is the worship complex Chenghuang Miao ("City God Temple"), although today, the name is widely used to refer to the surrounding areas as well.

Yuyuan, "Garden of Happiness" or "Garden of Peace," is unmistakably the star attraction of the old city. Its history encompasses many generations (which is another way of saying I'm not really up to discussing it here). I managed to take only three lousy photos because once inside and lost in the maze of ponds, corridors, gardens, halls, and pavilions, I realized pictures will never do this place justice. If you happen to be in Shanghai, never miss this.

The entrance to Yuyuan.

"Fishing couples."

Chinese tour guide speaking fluent Italian - now that was a treat. But the sentiment extends to every Caucasian or White person who speaks fluent Mandarin.

Big doggy!

I apologize; my cameras are inefficient in the dark, or when there's too much light. As far as my techie skills are concerned, I am quite the Cro-Magnon.

PREVIOUS: China 2013 Part II: Playing in Pudong
NEXT: China 2013 Part IV: High in the Hyatts

China 2013 Part II: Playing in Pudong

Some twenty years ago, the eastern side of the Huangpu River (this body of yellow-brown water that cuts right through the heart of Shanghai) used to be an undeveloped agricultural and manufacturing area. Now, Pudong - literally, East of the Huangpu - is home to three of China's tallest buildings and an ever-changing, ever-growing skyline concentrated in the Lujiazui financial zone. Here we find the city's four most famous emblems: Oriental Pearl Tower, Jinmao Mansion, Shanghai World Financial Center, and the soon-to-be-finished Shanghai Tower.

The Oriental Pearl Tower looks like a rocket on its launch pad. It's most famous for the three spheres streaked pink-violet that define its height. Until 2007, it was the tallest structure in China.

How many balls do you count?

Jinmao (literally, Golden Prosperity) Mansion is a play on the number eight. Wikipedia says it all, but for starters, it has 88 storeys. The Shanghai Grand Hyatt is its most famous occupant, but our adventures there shall be discussed in another post. Until 2007, this was the tallest building in China.

Thank you to Thea Katrina Pascasio for selfie lessons during first year.

The Shanghai World Financial Center was topped out on September 2007, becoming China's tallest structure and the second tallest building in the world after that ambitious ugliness in Dubai. The Shanghai Park Hyatt is its most famous occupant, but again, a separate post for that. What one should know about this building is that it has a trapezoidal aperture at the top, earning it the annoying moniker "bottle opener."

As you can see, I'm getting good at taking selfies.

The Shanghai Tower will become China's tallest building upon completion. It has a double-layer glass facade, which means it's more energy-efficient in lowering heat absorption.

The first day, we took a 20-yuan Pudong sightseer bus that drove us around hyper-modernized Lujiazui, and that was a complete waste of money. Air pollution was unbelievably abominable, that the tops of skyscrapers were no longer visible from the ground. In contrast, our last day in Shanghai (right photo) was warm enough for just one thin shirt.   

The Shanghai Ocean Aquarium is supposed to be the largest oceanarium in Asia (but nowadays, a lot of aquariums claim to be the largest in this region or wherever, that it only confuses the people who care about them, which includes me). 

According to the internet, there are eight major exhibition zones and four underwater tunnels, but what's important to remember is that this place is not for those who suffer from dizziness or eye problems. I don't exactly know what it was with the glass that they used for the exhibits, but the refraction sure as hell ain't nice. If you are an old person, might as well skip this. I had lots of fun looking at the animals, but at some point, I wanted to get a metal rod and just smash the glass. 

Some of the jolly inhabitants of the Aquarium: the Chinese alligator, Japanese spider crab, sand tiger shark, and penguins.

This frog reminds me of someone whose three-letter name starts with J.

A few minutes' southerly drive from bustling Lujiazui is the site of the World Expo 2010 - or what remains of it. Three years ago, more than eighty pavilions from the nearly 200 participating countries and 50 international organizations populated the area, each one styled and designed to create the architecture geek's ultimate dreamscape. Today, only the China and Saudi Arabia pavilions exist for visitors to gawk at; the former is now the China Art Museum, while the latter is called the Moon Boat, which does not sound appealing to me. Just... sad. 

 Facade of the China Art Museum, formerly the China Pavilion of Expo 2010.

Spot the Terence!

The Mercedes-Benz Arena, with a capacity of 18,000.

Conclusion: Pudong is an overrated wasteland of buildings. Don't bother going there a second time.

PREVIOUS: China 2013 Part I: By the Numbers
NEXT: China 2013 Part III: Age Matters

China 2013 Part I: By the Numbers

Last time I was in China, Kim Jong-il was still alive, and so were Margaret Thatcher and Roger Ebert. How the world changes in a span of six years! It was actually just a day-trip to Shenzhen, where they keep the fascinating Windows of the World, but to step foot on the motherland was simply rejuvenating. Not. To be in China is to feel foreign, much like emerald in a sea of jade. But I digress.

Number of cameras used: 2

My neanderthal iPad 2 has finally been to China, and so has the trusty 12-megapixel Olympus digital camera. SLR cameras don't exist in my world. So does photo editing, which means all my photos appear as taken. Click to enlarge.

Number of cities visited: 3

Shanghai is the "Paris of the Orient," Suzhou is the "Venice of the East," and Hangzhou is actually a lake surrounded by a city (I made this last one up, but it's true).

Number of travel buddies: 1

Terence writes at [http://terencetravels.blogspot.com]. Jim writes at [sanguineperigee.tumblr.com], but he didn't go with us. (I imagine him cursing me at this very moment.)

"Cultured in Pudong Airport."

Number of days in China: 5

There are a lot of reasons why one shouldn't fly Cebu Pacific, the self-proclaimed airline of the Filipino everyman, foremost of which is the level of service this literally high-flying enterprise dishes out to its consumers. But if only to get from one Asian city to another, if only to minimize wastage of travel time (defined as being in an airplane when one could very well be roaming a ruin or temple), then this indeed becomes the airline of choice.      

We departed for Shanghai the evening of April 3 and for Manila a little past midnight of April 9. April 4-5 and 8 were spent in Shanghai, 6 in Hangzhou, and 7 in Suzhou.

Pudong Airport from the sky. (iPad photo)

The international departures board (top) and the baggage claim hall.

Pudong Terminal 2 departures interior (above) and exterior. If only Philippine airport terminals were constructed this way.

Number of nights spent in a bedroom: 4 

That's because upon arrival, we opted to spend the remaining six hours of darkness in Pudong Airport. Because we both like airplanes and airports. And we're cool like that.

 

The rewards of staying overnight at an airport. Top to bottom: Emirates A380, Air China A321-200, the southern end of the Terminal 2 concourse featuring ANA B767-300ER, and Aeroflot B767-300ER.

An airport for a bedroom.

Vagabonds in Pudong Terminal 1 with its signature vertical lamps. (Below) Morning in Terminal 1.

Number of train rides taken: 5

We took the train from Shanghai Hongqiao Station to Hangzhou, then Hangzhou to Suzhou, and lastly, Suzhou to Shanghai Station. The two others were the Maglev train rides we took from the airport to the city and back. A Maglev train travels at a maximum speed of 301km/hr during non-peak early morning and evening trips, taking passengers from Longyang Metro Station to Pudong Airport or vice versa in roughly seven minutes.

 

 Number of baths taken: 1

The second day in Shanghai was terribly chilly. The last day in Shanghai was like sitting in the theater. But mostly it's because I was just too tired at the end of the day to bother turning on the shower and playing with the temperature. Or maybe because not bathing was (is) the fad. 

 

Signage at the airport entrance.

NEXT: China 2013 Part II: Playing in Pudong
SKIP to China 2013 Part X: The People of the Republic

Post-Holy Week, Post-LU4

Went home for Holy Week. First time since Grandfather's birthday last July that parents had all three of their kiddies under the same roof with them. Swear, the house was subtly bursting with life again, an energy long missed once more powering through the walls and floors. The sheen of the tiling was different, could tell with an expert's eye. 

Weather is burning, scorching. Had an awesome intermittent headache that spanned three days. Nearly went down with some respiratory affliction as well, but was quick to act on that one. The things the intestines emitted were strangely, wildly foul - the result, one suspects, of devouring pure-chocolate brownies the cousins made. 

"Cloud Atlas" was the biggest snub of the entire awards season, that much is true. Got a blu-ray copy of it (had it returned Sunday as the thing turned out to be a Russian blu-ray) - still, this film is massive, major, monumental. One can only suspect how, in twenty years, everyone will watch this again and think, "What were they thinking back then?!" Watched it Tuesday night, stayed up til two, and rewatched portions of it the next day and the day after, every viewing revealing something new - product of scriptwriting's ingenious reworking of the novel. At the very least, the score should have been nominated and won over "Life of Pi" (but Pi was a deserving winner, of course).

Watched "Zero Dark Thirty" again. Heart is still crying over Chastain's loss to that flavor-of-the-month Jennifer Lawrence (who had reason enough to beat Natalie Portman for "Winter's Bone"). Also, "The Devil Wears Prada" on Holy Thursday. Realized my high school English teacher and school paper adviser was imitating Meryl Streep's Miranda Priestley all along - "Why is no one ready?" for example, when no one would be able to present his or her analytical paper draft. And "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," which got one's Woody Allen wheels going again.

Easter Vigil went rather well, save for the pianist/keyboardist competing in volume with the choir. And that weird Exultet at the start, which came off as a rather forced new inclusion. Ryan Cayabyab's "Prayer of St. Francis" has been playing in me head nonstop since. 

Tonight, will be off to Shanghai - land of dead pigs and the new influenza strain. Second year of med school's over, by the way, but more on that some other time.

"The Prayer of St Francis of Assisi (Il Signore)" by Cayabyab.

"All Boundaries Are Conventions" from "Cloud Atlas."