Dan Washburn

by DAN WASHBURN

Fortune once ran a story entitled “The Shanghai Boom.” The magazine wrote breathlessly about “the tallest buildings,” “the cradle of new China,” “the inheritor of twentieth-century Manhattan,” “the orgy of building,” “the fantastic piling of wealth upon wealth,” “a new vitality,” “wild, luxurious, and astonishing parties,” “unparalleled sin and glamour,” “a new middle class,” and “the gaudy cacophonic mixture of the East and the West.”

Truth be told, that’s a pretty accurate characterization of China’s financial capital, circa 2007. One thing — the story was published in 1935.

If Shanghai is indeed the hottest city in the world right now, it wouldn’t be the first time the city of 20 million at the mouth of the Yangzte River has assumed that mantle. Just a lifetime ago, while America was in the throes of the Great Depression, Shanghai — partitioned into foreign-occupied self-governing zones — was the world’s boomtown, a thriving, modern and very Western metropolis that happened to be in the Far East.

A series of treaties in the mid-1800s opened up China’s ports to international trade, setting the stage for Shanghai’s transition from sleepy fishing village to “Paris of the East” and, later, “Whore of the Orient.” Money, sex, jazz, gangsters, parties, corruption, opium, decadence. Shanghai had it all.

And then the Japanese invaded and occupied. And then the Communists came to power. The party was over.

Well, it took a half century, and a switch from a Soviet-style central economy to “capitalism with Chinese characteristics,” but the champagne, if not opium, once again flows in Shanghai. China’s economy, the world’s fastest growing, is seemingly unstoppable — really, the government tried to slow things down in 2006, and they still saw double-digit growth — and now the former “poor man of Asia” is poised to overtake Germany as the world’s third-largest economy.

Shanghai, by design, is the king of the Chinese economic castle. Its crown is the Pudong skyline — the outlandish assortment of structures occupying the once desolate land on the east side of the Huangpu River, which cuts the city in two. The odd-looking Pudong skyscrapers, as planned, have become a symbol of the new Shanghai, and every morning they cast long shadows on the dignified old buildings across the river that represent Shanghai’s initial prosperity.

As a new skyscraper, the biggest yet, nears completion, foreign direct investment continues to pour into the city — $7 billion in 2006 alone. And, in a true sign the tides are shifting, many Fortune 500 companies, including UPS, McDonald’s and Coca-Cola, have recently moved their regional corporate headquarters from the old stalwart Hong Kong to upstart Shanghai. Shanghai, the world seems to realize, is once again the place to be. And everyone wants in on the action, be it through stocks or real estate … or even art.

Which brings us to Shanghai art dealer Zhao Yong Gang. Five years ago, the ruggedly elegant 32-year-old, with a shaved head and stubble on his chin, was a struggling artist looking for work. Now, thanks to a keen eye for talent, some fortuitous timing and lots of connections (Zhao went to art school with many of the artists he represents), he owns two prominent Shanghai galleries and is considered a rising star in the increasingly big-business world of Chinese contemporary art. When Zhao got started dealing art in 2004, he said the outside world had very little interest in what Chinese artists were doing. He and his artists didn’t even draw up official contracts: “If we make money, we share. How much, we never know.”

Just three years later, the situation is completely different. Collectors and investors are increasingly looking at Chinese contemporary as another way to cash in on China’s “it” factor, and in the process have turned some of China’s more prominent post-Cultural Revolution artists into newly minted millionaires. Auction prices for Chinese contemporary art are soaring. In 2006, Zheng Delong, one of Zhao’s up-and-coming artists who recently has specialized in abstract paintings of dogs, had two paintings auction off at Christie’s for close to $90,000 — and that’s just a fraction of what China’s more established artists are fetching at auction.

The big numbers have Zhao both excited and scared. He sees inflated prices. He sees speculation. He sees many things that remind him of Shanghai’s bloated real estate market. “It’s not selling a house; it’s art,” said Zhao, whose resonant voice belies his slender frame. “I fear it’s happening too fast. Especially for the young generation, when they face this commercial environment they could lose their identity. I am sure the quality of art will go down. I’ll just have to work harder.”

GO had a simpler task for Zhao: to sell us on Shanghai, a city he says is “easy to fall in love with.” Follow Zhao to neighborhood Chinese restaurants, French parks, Buddhist islands and upscale teahouses — and discover that “the gaudy cacophonic mixture of the East and the West” from 1935 is still alive and well 72 years later. Shanghai is city full of wonderful contrasts.

1. The Bund, a mile-long stretch of riverfront grandeur, is the backbone of Old Shanghai. More than a dozen architectural styles, from neo-classical to art-deco, are represented in the stately collection of buildings that line the western bank of the Huangpu River. The structures have changed little in appearance since the 1930s, when they housed international banks, shipping companies, consulates, hotels and exclusive social clubs. Back then, The Bund was the most recognizable feature of a city that a small group of Western settlers — some might say colonizers — managed to build into the world’s third largest financial center, behind New York and London. The Bund was Shanghai’s Wall Street.Today, banks once again occupy some of the buildings on The Bund, but Shanghai’s financial focus has shifted to Pudong, the “special economic zone” (code for “tax breaks”) on the east side of the river. In fact, the latest — and when it is completed sometime next year, the tallest — Pudong skyscraper goes by the name World Financial Center, although most who have seen the plans agree it will look something like a giant bottle opener. Zhao suggests a Huangpu River cruise as the best way to simultaneously take in the old-world charm of The Bund and the otherworldly curiosities of Pudong. “When you are in the boat, you can see both banks of the river,” Zhao explained. “When you look at Pudong, you see the modern vitality of the city. And when you look at Puxi, the west side of the river, you see the classic traditional buildings that will never go out of style. For me I don’t care much for Pudong, but I care greatly about the west side of the city. It is Shanghai.”

   The west bank of the Huangpu is home to scads of tour boats offering pretty much the same thing. If you want to separate yourself from the pack, however, call up the Shanghai Ritz-Carlton, +86 (021) 6279 8759, and inquire about renting out their luxury cruise boat of choice, the Sheng Rong Guo Ji. It accommodates up to 200 people and can be yours for $3,900 an hour. If you want the Ritz to cater your outing, add another $2,500, which doesn’t include the cost of your menu items. The Bund, known as Waitan in Mandarin, occupies Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu (”Lu” means “Road”), between Suzhou Lu and Yan’an Xi Lu.
   

2. For landlubbers, there are still spectacular views to be had. Zhao likes to grab an outdoor seat at M on the Bund, the establishment that re-introduced sophisticated Western dining to Shanghai in 1999. On the top floor of the 1921 Nissin Shipping Building, with an interior modeled after a 1930s luxury ocean liner, M continues to be one of the classiest haunts in town despite a massive uptick in competition over the past few years. “Looking north toward the other buildings on The Bund, I daydream about what the road must have felt like two or three generations ago,” Zhao said. “And I like to imagine what it will someday become. I’d like to see museums move in beside these bars and restaurants and high-end clothing shops. That is what these buildings deserve.” After dinner at M, head downstairs one level to the aptly named Glamour Bar, a huge open space highlighted by a pink-lit bar of polished nickel and a wall of windows facing the Huangpu. With its tall ceilings, dark parquet floors and eclectic mix of comfy art-deco furniture, Glamour perhaps is the closest re-creation of the swanky and swinging Paris-of-the-East days that modern-day Shanghai has to offer.

   5 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Guangdong Lu. M on the Bund, 7F, Tel: +86 (021) 6350 9988. Glamour Bar, 6F, Tel: +86 (021) 6329 3751.
   

3. For serious collectors looking to invest in Chinese contemporary art, Zhao believes there are only two places in Shanghai worth shopping: His 1918 ArtSPACE, naturally, and the Shanghai Gallery of Art, located across Guangdong Lu from Glamour Bar. “They have a very clear direction,” Zhao said of the SGA. “They only show the most important Chinese artists.” And they do so in impeccable surroundings, Three on the Bund, the cupolaed 91-year-old former Union Assurance building with an interior recently redesigned by renowned American architect Michael Graves. If you happen to work up an appetite at the gallery, consider yourself lucky — the building is also home to fine dining establishments such as Jean Georges, Laris and, Zhao’s recommendation, Whampoa Club, where master chef Jereme Leung serves up “modern Shanghainese” food in an opulent setting.

   Three on the Bund, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, near Guangdong Lu. Shanghai Gallery of Art, 3F, Tel: +86 (021) 6321 5757. Whampoa Club, 4F, Tel: +86 (021) 6321 3737. 1918 ArtSPACE Warehouse, 78 Changping Lu, near Suzhou Lu, Tel: +86 (021) 5228 6776.
   

4. Let’s take a break and put things in perspective for a moment. The average Shanghai family has an income of roughly $200 a month — not much left over for $10 lychee martinis at bars on The Bund. Thus, Zhao urges you to go local at least once or twice during your stay in Shanghai. His choice is a no-frills Shanghainese meal at his favorite neighborhood restaurant, Lan Xin, tucked away on a quiet side street in the heart of the city. It’s tiny — five tables downstairs and two more beyond a narrow flight of stairs — and the food is fantastic, which explains why the place is often overflowing with patrons, some occupying benches outside waiting for a table to free up. Reservations are recommended. “Sometimes I go three times in one week. It’s very local, like family food,” said Zhao, who likes the you bao xia (stir-fried shrimp).

   Lan Xin, 130 Jinxian Lu, near Maoming Lu, Tel: +86 (021) 6253 3554.
   

5. If you prefer to eat your Shanghainese food in more stylish surroundings, Zhao suggests you take a short walk south on Maoming Lu to Yin, hidden inside the compound of the Jinjiang Hotel, an art-deco classic completed in the late 1920s (in 1972, President Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai signed the historic Shanghai Communique here). Yin, which you’ll find in an alleyway near the complex’s main gate, is spacious, warm and inviting, with deep cherry wood throughout and, occasionally, live jazz music on the stage in the main dining area. “The jazz music has a very big sound,” Zhao said. “ I like it, because I can speak in my normal voice — which is also loud.”

   Yin, Jinjiang Gourmet Street, Old Jinjiang Hotel Gate No. 2, 59 Maoming Nan Lu, near Changle Lu, Tel: 5466 5070.
   

6. Zhao says mornings are the best time to visit 98-year-old Fuxing Park. That’s when the 19-acre expanse in the heart of the French Concession — the large swath of downtown Shanghai (much of present-day Luwan and Xuhui districts) France occupied for nearly a century starting in the mid-1800s — is at its most interesting. “I used to go to the park and sketch when I was a student at Shanghai Theater Academy,” Zhao said. “The whole park is a stage for senior citizens. It’s a great place to people watch.” Throughout the park, you may encounter people participating in the following activities: taichi, ballroom dancing, opera singing, mahjong, Chinese checkers, fishing (yes, fishing) and a host of other activities.”I have seen men telling fortunes and doctors diagnosing patients for free,” Zhao continued. “One time, a really old man placed his stereo on the ground, he began dancing in a way that really copied the young people. He was dancing very erotically. It was funny.” Fuxing Park is a distinctly Shanghainese place — French-style flower gardens co-exist peaceably alongside bumper cars, hip-hop clubs and granite statues of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. “It’s all kind of surreal,” Zhao admitted.

   Fuxing Park, 105 Yandang Lu, Tel: +86 (021) 5386 1069. The Longwu International Kungfu Center provides private taichi lessons in Fuxing Park (or just about anywhere else in the city) for around $40 an hour. Ninety minute group lessons at their downtown studio are $12. Longwu International Kungfu Center, 1 Maoming Nan Lu, near Julu Lu. Tel: +86 13003252826.
   

7. The French Concession is Shanghai at its most quaint, and its quiet tree-lined lanes remain home to the city’s most picturesque colonial mansions, villas and apartment houses. An historically significant collection of these old homes exists on Sinan Lu, which creates the western border of Fuxing Park and is Zhao’s favorite lane to go for a stroll. The former residence of Sun Yat-sen, the father of modern China, is there. And just down the road is the one-time home of Zhou Enlai, the first premier of Communist China. Take a turn down tiny Langao Lu and you’ll come upon a lane house once occupied by Zhang Xueliang, a warlord and former ruler of Manchuria. But if history is not your thing, you should know that some consider Sinan Lu one of the most romantic streets in Shanghai, as well. Take the hand of someone you love and wander — you can angle your gaze in such a way that there isn’t a skyscraper in sight, and transport yourself back to the days when Sinan Lu was known as Rue Massenet. “Seven years ago I had a friend, an artist, who lived on this street,” Zhao said. “The first time I was there, I felt at peace.”

Sinan Lu, between Gaolan Lu and Jianguo Lu. You’ll find Zhao’s smaller gallery, 1918 ArtSPACE Villa, at 6 Xiangshan Lu, near Sinan Lu, Tel: +86 (021) 5306 4950.

8. Walk further north on Sinan Lu, take a left on Nanchang Lu and you’ll eventually happen upon Yin Yang (also knows as YY’s), the cozy watering hole Zhao likes because it lacks any pretense. “It’s very close to my small gallery,” he added. “It’s just a very comfortable place to have a drink or two with friends.” While many aspects of Shanghai’s nightlife appear fleeting and fake, Ying Yang conveys an air of permanence — it’s been around for more than a decade, which is an eternity in modern Shanghai bar culture. The bar is dark, with a rich wood interior. An upright piano sits near the bar. Jazz music often plays in the background. Grab a window seat and a bottle of wine and while away a rainy afternoon. And if you want to impress your friends by deciphering the long code of backwards letters outside on Yin Yang’s front wall, it’s a humorous take on a famous Chinese saying. In English it means, “We serve the people, but we also take their money. Thanks!”

   Yin Yang, 125 Nanchang Lu, near Maoming Nan Lu, Tel: +86 (021) 6466 4098.
   

9. “In a city as big as Shanghai, you only have one real art museum — only one,” Zhao said with disbelief. “You have to go.” He’s talking about the Shanghai Art Museum, the wonderfully restored neo-classical clock tower near People’s Square that now hopes to be the heart of contemporary art in Shanghai. The regal building, with twelve exhibition halls on five floors, originally served as a jockey club — notice the horse heads decorating the railings — back in the days when People’s Square was a racetrack and the 22-story Park Hotel, nearby, was the tallest building in China. Zhao says the Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), a short walk away, is also worth a visit.

   Shanghai Art Museum, 325 Nanjing Xi Lu, near Xinchang Lu, Tel: +86 (021) 6327 2829. Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, Gate 7, People’s Park, 231 Nanjing Xi Lu, near Xinchang Lu, Tel: +86 (021) 6327 9900.
   

10. “Tea is the root of Chinese culture,” Zhao said. “We have been drinking it for thousands of years. I don’t mind paying a lot for good tea, because I know how important tea is to our culture.” In Zhao’s opinion, there is only one teahouse in Shanghai that warrants a visit: Gu Yuan Antique, where tea is treated like wine … and priced accordingly. Pots start at around $20 and increase exponentially from there. Just a taste of Gu Yuan’s speciality, fermented and aged pu-ehr tea, can cost several hundred dollars for the right “vintage” (that price includes unlimited snacks, by the way). With Buddha statues dotting a large, leafy garden and Ming Dynasty furniture throughout the house itself, Gu Yuan’s is a decidedly Chinese atmosphere on a street lined with Tudor homes and art-deco high-rises. Relax, and soak in the culture — you may discover that an investment in a nice pot of tea can keep paying dividends for an entire lazy afternoon.

    Gu Yuan Antique Teahouse, 1315 Fuxing Zhong Lu, near Fenyang Lu, Tel: +86 (021) 6445 4625.
    

11. Around the turn of the 20th century, when Shanghai’s moneyed gentry learned of Moganshan, a nearby mountain with cool summer breezes, bamboo forests and drinkable spring water, it didn’t take them long to buy the top of the mountain (for a reported $50) and set up a retreat — July and August in Shanghai can be brutal. During its heyday, some 300 foreigners and smattering of wealthy Chinese kept handsome gray-stone homes on the 2,500 foot mountaintop, many of which still stand today, and are available for lodging. In 1949, when the Communists came to power, the foreigners left Moganshan, and the mountain became a secret retreat for CCP bigwigs. Chairman Mao himself is said to have penned both poems and constitutions inside one of the bourgeois summer cottages deep inside the forest. Nowadays, mostly Chinese tourists visit Moganshan, although foreigners are slowly starting rediscover the beauty of the bamboo forest (not to mention the clean air and drinkable tap water, two things in short supply back in Shanghai). “It’s a good place to escape the hassles of city life and relax,” Zhao said. “There are no crowds. You can hike on the mountain trails and forget your worries. It’s a beautiful place, soft and delicate.”Moganshan is two to three hours away from Shanghai by automobile, and there are a variety of ways to get there, most of which involve changing modes of transportation at one point or another. We recommend simply dialing 96822 and hiring a car and driver from Dazhong Car Rental in Shanghai. Once in Moganshan, you’ll want to chat up a Briton named Mark Kitto. A former member of the Welsh Guards, an infantry regiment of the British Army, Kitto was also the founder and publisher of one of the more successful English-language magazines in Shanghai until the franchise was, as he puts it, “stolen by the state” a couple years ago. He now runs a cafe/bar/eatery called Moganshan Lodge and is the man to talk to for information on lodging and local hikes — he also cooks up a mean English breakfast.

    Moganshan Lodge, Songliang Shanzhuang, Yin Shan Jie, Moganshan. Tel: +86 (0572) 803 3011. Web: moganshanlodge.com.
    

12. Zhao grew up in a tiny village in Jiangsu Province, a five-hour bus ride north of Shanghai. His parents ran a furniture factory there. At the age of 20, Zhao had yet to see a beach — and he was tired of waiting. “I heard that there was a 1,000 step beach on Putuoshan,” Zhao said. “That is why I went there the first time.” Most visitors to Putuoshan, also known as Mount Putuo, are pilgrims of a different kind. The tiny island 100 miles southeast of Shanghai is one of the four sacred mountains in Chinese Buddhism. Dotted with windswept, yellow temples and nunneries, Putuoshan is home to long stretches of sand, curvy mountain roads and craggy cliffs that do battle with the East China Sea. There are no skyscrapers here. There are, however, plenty of Chinese tourists — around 2 million of them per year. But it’s easy to leave the hordes behind. Just set out on foot (everyone else packs into the shuttle buses) and soon it will only be you and the odd farmer toting vegetables sharing the road. Putuoshan is all of 5 square miles and can be hiked in one day, if that is all the time your schedule allows. Be sure to try some seafood while on the island. It’s famous for its freshness — so fresh they often kill while you are watching.

    There are slow boats (more than 12 hours) and fast boats (2.5 hours) between Shanghai and Putuoshan, but finding these boats (the docks are not close to downtown) can be a challenge for travelers who don’t speak Chinese. We suggest flying. China Eastern Airlines offers daily flights between Shanghai’s Hongqiao Airport and Zhoushan Airport, which is just a few minutes by speedboat to Putuoshan. The ticket for the 30-minute one-way flight runs around $55. There are a handful of four-star hotels on Putusoshan (four stars by small Chinese Buddhist island standards), as well. Expect to pay around $70 per night. Popular local travel agency Ctrip can help you book both your plane tickets and hotel room. Call +86 (021) 3406 4888 or visit ctrip.com.
    

13. To witness Chinese contemporary art as it is created, Zhao urges you to explore 696 Weihai Lu, a little-known abandoned auto-parts warehouse that recently became both home and studio for some of Shanghai’s most talked about young artists, including surrealist photographer Maleonn. Originally used as an opium den in the early 1900s, the once-regal building today is rundown and, from the outside at least, not quite visitor-friendly (since artists just started occupying the building in September 2006, it has no signage, not even an official name). But if you do some snooping, and aren’t afraid to knock on a few doors in dimly lit hallways, don’t be surprised if you find yourself spending the next couple hours sipping tea with one of Shanghai’s up-and-coming artists. 50 Moganshan Lu (or M50), a clutch of renovated factories and textile mills near Suzhou Creek, is another art district worth checking out, according to Zhao, although he feels it’s become too commercial in recent years. H-Space is the gallery he recommends there.

    696 Weihai Lu, near Shaanxi Nan Lu. H-Space, Building 18, 50 Moganshan Lu, near Changhua Lu and Suzhou Xi Lu, Tel: 6359 3923.