This is China?

China is supposed to look like this:
Or this:
Right? Sure, these places exist (both of the above photos are from the Yu Yuan Gardens, a traditional Qing official's retreat). Yet they are the exception rather than the norm in Shanghai, which I've consequently decided isn't really China at all. Sure, the people there speak Chinese, write Chinese, eat Chinese food, and have lived through modern Chinese history, God bless 'em. But the city itself occupies a weird in-between space, a syncretic merging of cultures, like in Hong Kong or Singapore. To whit, this is also Shanghai:
Frankly, there is so much new building going on there that, as my Dad would love to say, "the construction crane is the state bird." What I found so interesting about this glass and steel world, though, was how much attention was paid to design. No cookie-cutter architects, these. Some have cut-outs in the center, strange Jetsons towers (the Oriental Pearl), or entire walls made of LCD displays.
Sitting amidst this Blade Runner backdrop, though, is yet another China: the funky, offbeat, creative, new, young China. It's iconoclastic--you can buy t-shirts printed with old Red Guards propaganda, which just goes to prove the old adage correct: humor = tragedy + time. I bought a pig stuffed toy dressed as Mao. Apparently, it's not alright to say that Chairman Mao was a pig, but it's okay to dress a cute little homemade pig doll in a Red Army uniform with the chairman's signature hat. I'm not exactly sure where the line is there, but apparently others see it clear as day.
Popping up in the area once controlled by the French in their "sphere of influence," new smaller shops have opened up, selling small signature items like my new doll. Fashion houses abound, bringing in a new eclectic mix of European and Asian fashion. It's particularly cool to take a Chinese collared shirt or Mandarin jacket and give it a new flashy touch with fabric printed in modern designs. Even cotton or wool is used, to make the items more everyday business attire. The European pea coat, for example, is altered with a slightly boxy cut and Chinese embroidered button ties. Very chic stuff, actually. I spent a lot of time with my sister-in-law Christina shopping in an area known as Tai Kang Road, which will soon give SoHo a run for it's money. I think this aspect of Shanghai interested me the most--the glimpse of where the entrepreneurial, educated youth of China are taking the city (and eventually maybe the country). It's such a refreshing contrast to the chain-store mentality of the United States. Oh my goodness, I've spent a whole paragraph talking about fashion--my mother has probably fallen to the floor and in dire need of resuscitation. Stay out of the light, Mom...the shopping talk is over.

Now, let's talk about food. While on my own (during my curriculum workshop, the work that brought me to Shanghai), I had mixed experiences. I loved the shao pao, steamed buns with vegetable or pork filling, that I found outside the hotel. The cheapskates at the Sofitel didn't include breakfast, but it was a blessing in disguise because these babies were de-lish.
My first lunch was less of a success, partly because I tended to order based upon the humor level of the English translation, like "Pork with Grandmother flavor." I don't know what my granny would taste like if stewed in a clay pot, but I'm guessing she would have been just about as fatty as this was. Still, it was pretty edible, so I didn't starve (I know you were worried).
After the conference was over and I crashed at Jamie and Christina's house (Stephen's brother and his wife), I got the royal culinary tour. First, the Shanghai specialty, dumplings (see above picture). These are filled with a bit of soup, so you have to bite into the top and suck the soup out before dunking the rest into a vinegar and ginger sauce. Yum, yum. We went to the place for dumplings, and as you can see below, they are all about quality as well as quantity. On another night we ate at a Hunanese restaurant with dry roasted ribs rubbed in cumin and other spices. I'm getting hungry now just thinking about it.
And there was, of course, Jamie and Christina's cook, who prepares a delicious meal, but has no control over the silliness-quotient at the dinner table. The master of ceremonies, as one can clearly tell, is Jamie himself, who makes each meal a memorable one for his two boys, Marcus and Coltrane. Despite the constant prodding of Christina to get the boys to eat (Why, Mom, when there's so much other fun going on?), it is a really nice family time that most Americans miss out on nowadays with their frantic schedules and tv-driven evening time. The fact that Jamie makes sure to be home for dinner (even if he has to go back to the office afterwards) will be something that the boys will remember.
Good thing they're cute, too. That's Marcus (almost 6) above and Coltrane (4) below.
Here's me and their mom, Christina, below at Yu Yuan Gardens. She was my guide, translator, and companion during most of this week, and it was really fun for this only child to have a sister! Despite being a hot-shot business consultant and a lot smarter than me, we still have a lot in common being married to the Wallace brothers, and we had a great time, often at their expense. Works for me.
Finally, here is their lovely house in the French Concession neighborhood. I thank them for letting me stay there and for entertaining me all week. It was a terrific spring break (even if not very "springy" since I'm definitely not used to the cooler climes) and I look forward to going back soon. Maybe it isn't exactly what I expected China to be, but it was far, far better as a result.