Did You Remember Our Anniversary?

Hello.  Guess what???  Today is <in a high, squeaky voice> OUR ANNIVERSARY !  Yes, the Yellow River Chronicles has finished it's first year of daring travel reporting from This Side of the World, Shanghai, China.  To commemorate this event, we are republishing the first YRC, from June 15, 2011.  Oh, how the years fly by here in the 'Hai.  The YRC staff is headed out for the weekend (not to Paris, though) to do some research on Zhejiang Province south western China.  We'll have a special One Year After column next week!  In the meantime, check out the FIRST ever Yellow River Chronicles.

Here it is:

June 15, 2011

Greetings and welcome to Life on the Yellow River, my new stream of consciousness blog from The Other Side of the World, faire Shanghai, in the People's Republic of China.

You will be interested to know that the long-range plan for Shanghai is to become the "Paris of the East".  Not in the Old Colonial Days sense, but in the City of the Future sense.  If you doubt me, Google it.  Which leads me to a another thought.  Will "Google It"  become an insult in the future?  Will people say, "He's dumber than a Google Search?"  Perhaps. We may wish to meditate on that for a moment before we hurtle onward. Or not.

Jing'An Temple at Night

In case you didn't know, I currently reside in faire Shanghai in an area called Jing'An.  There is a mighty temple nearby that is part of a large shopping center, making it very convenient for shoppers and worshipers.  I promise a full report on Jing'An temple in the future because it is packed with history, adventure and commercial mojo.  How I, The Krez, descended upon Shanghai will be the subject of another blog called "Flight From The Midwest".  It recounts the tragic story of the Fall of the River House, the March Across the Plains and the Great Trip Backward.  Good stuff, that, but at another time.

In the meantime, the design for the Paris of the East can be seen (Yes!  It is not a secret!) in the highly interesting Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center on People's Square, right across from famous Nanjing Lu and the Number One Department Store (you can see a theme emerging here.  There is a reason why the PRC is now the number one consumer of luxury goods in the world.) On the third floor of the SUPEC is an extremely large and detailed model of Shanghai 2020.  Here is a day and night photo, taken with a Nokia X3-O2 cellphone.

Shanghai 2020

Shanghai 2020 at night

Dazzling, yes?  Paris.....no.  However, there are a few things that would cause one compare Shanghai to Paris.

Why Shanghai is soooo like Paris:

1. There is a large and inexpensive Metro transport system.  However, the signage is much better in Shanghai.
2. Bikes for free! You can roll around both towns on the world's ugliest bike with a sign that proclaims you as a tourist and and an inept pawn.
3. A river runs through it.  Paris wins this one because the Huang Pu has an off-the-charts level of toxicity that melts flesh instantly off the bone.
4. Both cities have brightly lit and safe tourist shopping areas where everyone is cheated regardless of race or language.  Overall, Shanghai is an extremely safe city, where even the drunkest tourist is free to crawl down the sidewalk humming "Hotel California" as they exit from the KTV (more on this in another blog).
5. Killer architecture, everywhere.  Both cities have a broad and dazzling selection, but Paris seems to have quit innovating right after Napoleon hit the beach in St. Helena (the second time he was exiled, for you history buffs).  Shanghai is currently the architects playground, with new buildings with wild designs popping up like neon toadstools. True, both cities also have large stretches of soulless, concrete apartment blocks.
6. Food culture.  Paris has +8,000 restaurants, Shanghai has +50,000, according to various sources, so Paris wins based on R.P.C. (Restaurants Per Capita).   However, there is excellent food everywhere in both cities.  I would give Paris the edge for fine dining and Shanghai simply owns the street food segment.
7. Many inexpensive and clean taxis.  Score Shanghai.   You can cross town for $3.00 with an non-smoking and courteous driver in Shanghai.  The language barrier is about the same, but in Shanghai they have taxi cards!
8. Vibrant and growing culture.  Score, Paris.  This is Shanghai's largest issue.  Yogurt has a more active and living culture scene than the 'Hai. 
9. Five-star shopping.  Walk down Champs de Elysee and then walk down HuaiHai Lu and you will find....no difference, except HuaiHai has more trees... Serious.  There are Zegnas, Cartier, Tiffanys, Hermes, etc. on almost every block on the Hai.  Big shoppers, the Shanghaians.   I call it a tie, except all my French friends go NUTS when they shop in Shanghai.  You know who you are, mon amis.
10. Decadence!  Yep, they both have an ancient tradition of....well, late-night partying, we shall say.  During the Great Colonialization, the Europeans infected Shanghai with the decadence gene and it has florished here.  Very different cities during the day, but around 1:00 am.....

So that's the first post.   I will be posting a new one every Friday, so be sure to check back!