ShangHai - world city

Shanghai is a maze of architectural styles, reflecting its cosmopolitan history. Strangely, they mesh together smoothly, from the space invader buildings in Pudong to the 1920s European architecture in the Concessions, to the old Chinese quarter, to the grand architecture of the Bund, to modern steel and glass towers. As with Beijing – and in fact all of China – the whole city is bustling with construction. Our guide in Chongqing joked that the crane is the national bird of China, and it’s certainly true…

The one jarring architectural feature in Shanghai was the replacement of the old Chinese quarters with plasticized Disney/Vegas style “old Chinese” buildings. They are unbelievably fake and tasteless, but unfortunately popular in other cities too. While the old quarter undoubtedly needs renewal, it seems more appropriate to rebuild in an appropriately modern yet authentically Chinese style. Fortunately and fittingly, the faux-old Chinese buildings seemed to be confined to the kitsch tourist-trap area.