Rendezvous in Shanghai

We met my parents in a very rainy Shanghai. We decided against staying in one of the many high rise hotels in modern Shanghai, instead opting to stay at an old mansion turned hotel in the leafy French Concession district, a charming area of low-rise buildings, foreign consulates and upscale dining and boutique shopping spots. Whoever owned this residence in the past must have been quite a high roller, and we felt pretty special by staying there, but despite being a huge mansion it still was able to stay discreetly tucked away from the buzzing of the neighborhood out the front gates. The rain was torrential the first night so we had wine and cheese on our balcony which offered views down the sycamore-lined streets and protection from the weather. The balcony was a favorite spot over the weekend as we could watch the activity on the streets without having to battle the streets ourselves. Fashionably dressed women holding parasols to protect them from the sun and the rain. Old ladies patrolling the block with hands clasped behind their back, like they’ve done for decades. Merchants going about their business. People cruising by on bikes, mopeds, taxis. Our perspective from that balcony was like a little time portal into old Shanghai.

But Shanghai is not old any more. The last twenty years have entirely changed this historic city. Pudong, the area east of the Huangpu River, was mainly farmland and countryside until 1990 when the Chinese government decided to set up a Special Economic Zone to create Pudong. Now it is a full city skyline, with the newest of the new in skyscraper architecture on display (for better or for worse). The iconic Pearl Oriental TV Tower brings a space age flair to the view, and the Jin Mao Tower and World Financial Center are the world’s new Twin Towers. The WFC has just been completed and in observance of feng shui it has a big square cut out of the top of it making it look like a bottle opener.




Straight across the river from Pudong is the historic area known as the Bund. The waterfront strip of buildings from all different architectural styles was once the center of commerce in old Shanghai, housing many international banks and trading syndicates. The walkway along the Bund is crowded with tourists, mostly from the Mainland, and Ingrid was quite the spectacle as throngs of people descended on her hot pink stroller to take photos. We sought refuge in one of the Bund’s old buildings and a great meal in the top floor French restaurant overlooking Pudong. Modernity on one side of the river, antiquity on the other.

Shanghai has a couple of must-see tourist attractions, but the real way to take in the City is just to stroll around the streets and take in the sights, sounds and smells (good and bad). Much of our time was spent popping in and out of boutiques, looking for our next meal, and relaxing on our sublime balcony. It was a great trip.