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Every morning, China’s most vibrant, pulsating city takes a moment to breathe. This is exercise time, a two-hour window when the usually frantic streets of Shanghai belong to the elderly, who trot out religiously to participate in their daily fitness rituals.

In the People’s Park, a group of octogenarians practices tai chi, slow motion warriors in grey pyjamas; while down on the historic waterfront promenade, fan dancers in formation flutter silk fans against the silhouette of the futuristic Pearl Tower. There are people drumming, sword fighting, stretching and doing aerobics; and under the portico of a sparkling new department store, sequin-wearing ballroom dancers cha cha cha to faux-Cuban sounds emanating from a tinny portable ghetto blaster.

Two hours later, Shanghai is back in the hands of its younger citizens, fresh from gym workouts or perhaps still bleary-eyed after a big night out on the town. Now the city marches to a different beat – one of blatant commercialism, of progress, traditions be damned. Beijing may be the political and cultural hub of China, but Shanghai is this booming nation’s public face - glamorous, flamboyant and successful. It seems the Whore of the Orient, as Shanghai was dubbed in the 30s during the height of the opium trade, is back. Only this time, she is spreading her shapely legs to capitalism.

Modern Shanghai is a veritable construction site, its astonishing skyline changing in the blink of eye. Ten years ago, Pudong, the eastern side of the murky brown Huangpu River, consisted of rice paddies and market gardens; today it’s a forest of steel and glass towers piercing the smog, with the 88-storey Jin Mao Tower and the bizarre, baubled Pearl Tower leading the skyward push.

And there’s more to come. At the very informative and rather sobering Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition, the future is proudly on display, albeit in model form. The vision for 2020 is one of total reconstruction; all the old houses and shops are to be torn down, replaced by high-rises and parkland. Much of the riverside will be eaten up by the 2010 Expo site, which begins construction in 2007.

Standing in the sanctuary of the 30th level Club Lounge in the Sofitel Hyland hotel on Nanjing Rd, I gaze down at the amazing vista sprawling before me. Pointing to an old, untouched section of red-brick residences amid tiny alleyways, I ask my guide what that area is called. “Oh, that’s going soon,” she said, not apologetically or callously, just matter-of-fact. In Shanghai, progress is inevitable, with no place for nostalgia or heritage listings.

For western tourists, it’s a fascinating time to visit this super-metropolis, home to an estimated 18 million souls. Aside from the visual opulence, the influx of wealth has resulted in the most exciting shopping and dining possibilities in Asia. And on the streets, the energy is palpable - step out into the shoulder-to-shoulder throng amidst a sea of neon, and even the weariest of travellers is energised.

However, if you want to experience the old Shanghai, to seek out traditions, life on the street, and the romance of the city’s glory days, be quick. These things – like the morning exercise regime - may well disappear as the younger generation embrace the ways of the west.

Fortunately, the past has not been completely obliterated, just glamorised. After fifty years of neglect, the grand neo-classical buildings of the Bund, the former British financial district on the waterfront, have been given a spit and polish, and now house the city’s most exclusive shops, bars and restaurants, including international mega-labels such as Dolce & Gabbana and Armani.

Curiously, Australians are at the vanguard of the Bund’s style revolution. When ex-pat Melbournite Michelle Garnaut opened Shanghai’s first international restaurant in the old Nissin Shipping Building in 1999, people thought she was crazy. Instead, she proved to be a visionary; ‘M on the Bund’ is now an institution, with Shanghai’s ‘it’ crowd flocking to its rooftop terrace to sip cocktails as they watch the flashing lights of Pudong. Garnaut also recently opened a sophisticated new bar downstairs, the Glamour Bar, whose name says it all – this is the place to be seen, particularly if you sport an Australian accent!

Next door at Three on the Bund, Greek-Australian executive chef David Laris’ self-named restaurant is a veritable quarry of white shiny marble – proof that in Shanghai, there’s no such thing as over the top. Upstairs is New Heights, boasting a cool, cosmopolitan crowd, affordable drinks and fabulous views. And down the road at Bund 18 is the sexiest bar on the strip, the Rouge Bar, with decadent red Venetian glass chandeliers and a rooftop terrace decked with four-poster beds.

Bar-hopping on the Bund is the ultimate Shanghai night – but be prepared to pay Sydney prices for the experience. As one local told me, “I’ll only go to the Bund if someone else is picking up the tab!” Fortunately, the after-dark options in Shanghai are endless, with funky new bars opening every week. Try Barbarossa, a Moroccan-style pavilion located in the heart of the People’s Park; Face, a Thai bar and restaurant in an art deco villa in the French Quarter; TMSK, crystal museum by day, fantasy bar by night; or the very exclusive Yong Foo Elite, a private club for VIP members located in the original British Consulate and decorated with antiques from the opium era.

Another area that’s been redeveloped largely for the benefit of foreign visitors is the Xintiandi district, in the former French Concession. Now home to bars, cafes, restaurants and designer clothing stores, this neighbourhood of old ‘shikumen’ – traditional stone-gated courtyard houses, unique to Shanghai – was the site of the Chinese Communist Party’s first meeting in 1921. Apart from a small museum commemorating this historic event, however, there is very little of Mao left in this glamorous part of town.

You will find the former Chinese leader’s pudgy mug, however, on proud display in the Dong Tai Lu antique market, where you can pick up kitsch memorabilia such as waving Mao watches, red Chinese lanterns, Little Red Books and fake propaganda posters printed on butcher’s paper. Mao’s relegation to pop icon - like Fat Elvis in Memphis – is indicative of China’s new direction, as the current regime distances itself from a man they consider a great, but flawed leader who made a “huge mistake”.

For a fascinating insight into the Mao years, a visit to the Propaganda Poster Art Centre is a must. Hidden in the musty basement of a suburban apartment block, this is the personal collection of Yang Pei Ming, a passionate art historian who has been sourcing the now-rare posters for 12 years. With the government largely in denial about the atrocities of the Cultural Revolution, Yang felt it was his responsibility to display these posters as a reminder of what really went down. And, and he admits, they are also extremely beautiful and under-rated artworks, created by China’s leading artists of the day who were forced to turn their talents to print-making for the greater good.

On display are utopian posters from 1949 to 1979, some promoting industry and agriculture, education and family life, others showing a distinct Russian influence, blatantly protesting against US imperialism and promoting the personality cult of Chairman Mao. Each poster, espousing the philosophy of the day, carries an English translation – such as “Chairman Mao is the red sun whose light brightens the whole country”.

Yang, who is about to exhibit his rarest pieces of Dazibao, a type of political graffiti, in New York, also makes a handy living selling posters to canny western collectors. Prices range from around $30 for original children’s school textbooks, to $80 for anti-us cartoons and original army certificates, and up to $8000 for original prints.

To delve deeper into Shanghai’s past, pay a visit to one of the tranquil water villages located on the outskirts of the city. Zhujiajiao, for instance, is a traditional water canal town dating back to the Ming and Qing dynasties, a network of waterways, old wooden waterside houses and arch stone bridges presented in pristine, almost theme-park perfection. A leisurely gondola-style boat trip on the canal reveals the intimate details of life in this working village – and provides the perfect antidote to the craziness of the Blade Runner metropolis nearby.

Shanghai’s most beloved historic attraction is Yuyuan Garden, located in the heart of the old Chinese Quarter. With its teahouses, traditional zigzag bridges, 500-year-old Ming era gardens and the bustling bazaar, this is the ultimate Shanghai tourist trap – complete with persistent touts, colourful barrows selling tacky souvenirs, and shoulder-to-shoulder crowds feeding ravenous carp in a moat. The walled garden itself is lovely, and a place of respite during the week – just make sure you avoid Sunday, when the crowds are overwhelmingly claustrophobic.

Instead, keep walking through the old quarter and explore back alleyways lined with dilapidated shikumen houses. Here you’ll discover food stalls selling roast duck, barbecued octopus or steamed pork dumplings, three for 17 cents; vegetable, flower and pet markets, complete with fighting crickets and singing canaries; and old-timers wandering around in flip-flops and pyjamas, oblivious to the fashion faux pas.

At eye level, it’s a reassuring portrait of working class street life, average people going about their daily business. But glancing up, at the towering glass and steel edifices looming overhead, it’s apparent that this scene is approaching its use-by date. Within ten years, this streetlife will all be gone, the locals relocated to brand new skyscrapers on the outskirts of the city, complete with microwaves and satellite TV.

But that’s progress – and nowhere does it more audaciously than Shanghai.

INFO BOX
BEFORE YOU GO
A visa is required for mainland China, at a cost of $30 for a single entry visa.

SHOPPING
Shopping is legendary in Shanghai, from big-name international names to designer knock-offs, which have been driven underground by a recent crackdown on copyright infringement. You can still buy fake Gucci and Polo handbags, but you may have to venture into back alleys and underground basements, a clandestine, cloak-and-dagger experience. Try the Qi Pu Road market, also known as the Free Market, a huge complex jam-packed with cheap clothing stores and very few tourists.

For the ultimate Shanghai souvenir, head to the fabric market at Dong Men Road, where there are hundreds of tailors waiting to whip up a suit, shirt or dress. I recommend Ms La Ming Fang at Store #257, whose delivers quality work with a no-fuss professionalism.

TIPS
Despite its massive size, Shanghai is easily negotiated on foot, with many of its sights located within a compact area. But if you want to explore further afield, taxis are the way to go, cheap (you won’t pay more than $3 to go anywhere), polite and reliable. Just make sure you go armed with the name and address of your destination written in Mandarin – most cab drivers don’t speak English, so take advantage of the bilingual talents of your hotel concierge!

If you have access to a mobile phone, you can send a text to 85880 asking for the address of a bar, restaurant or shop, and they will send you back the address in Chinese to show your taxi driver!

FURTHER INFORMATION Chinese National Tourist Office, phone (02) 9252 9838, visit www.cnto.org.au
Helen Wong’s Tours – phone 1300 788 328 or visit www.helenwongstours.com.au
Intrepid – phone 1300 360 887 or visit www.intrepidtravel.com
Travel Indochina – phone 1300 365 355 or visit www.travelindochina.com.au

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