I finally got my photographs from China scanned in, and wanted to share them. I toted several disposable cameras around while travelling… and here’s the results of my mad snapping:
Tip: Next time you’re travelling take some disposable cameras with you too! I used the them whenever I needed to take a quick shot or when it was extra precarious e.g. snapping while cruising a luge down the Great Wall of China. They are light weight and you don’t have to worry about losing them (the ones with flash perfect for nights out too). Mmmm lo-fi 35mm goodness!
After careful consideration and research – read cocktails and Tsing Tao – I think Shanghai is at its shiny best at night. Darkness falls, and huge towers light up like Star Wars sabers. It’s magical. If you’re visiting Shanghai, even for a day or two, I highly recommend you go out and explore some of the city’s varied nightlife (and finish your evening with some tasty skewers from street vendors).
Here’s a few mini-reviews of the Shanghai bars and clubs I visited on this trip:
M2
A Shanghai super-club (located at the top of a mall), packed with pretty people and an interesting stage show. Get ready to dance your ass off if you start buying jugs of redbull and vodka…
Windows
There are a few Windows bars around Shanghai. The chain stands for cheap beer, bad music and random conversations with both tourists and locals. I found it good for people watching and kind of endearing!
G-Plus
Another super-club perched on the upper levels of a mall. Everything at G Plus is on a massive scale… spread over two levels with massive LCD screen behind the multiple DJs. Watch out for the diamonds on the wall and odd unisex bathrooms.
Shelter
Located in the French Concession, the club is an old bomb shelter. Low ceilings, good music and hanging smoke create a unique experience. I really liked this place – I went there twice!
ArtLab @ MoCA
A cool bar/restaurant located on the rooftop of Shanghai’s Museum of Contemporary Art. Laze on a wicker lounger and look out over the beautiful park – it’s a good place to chill both day and night.
Three On The Bund
Head to the 7th floor and the New Heights bar for a sparkling view of the Bund. It’s not cheap here (cocktails are better value than beer!) but when you see the views from their large outdoor terrace you’ll forgive all.
Number Five
Number 5 is a very unpretentious basement pub on the Bund, with free pool, a foosball table and friendly staff (they took photos for us). A place to linger before heading out to a dance club. The girls I went with were mightily impressed by the Japanese style toilets too!
Grand Hyatt
There are several sky scraping bars in the Jin Mao Tower, located on the Pudong side of the river. Sit inside at the Patio Bar and look up at the amazing 33-story atrium. For views, head to the Cloud 9 Bar that looks out over the rest of Shanghai – almost making the Oriental Pearl Tower look small! Hint: if you can’t afford the drinks just go to the lobby area on the 87th floor and peep out the windows.
Xi’an and the terracotta warriors. One word: epic! In case you’re not familiar with them, the warriors were cast in 210 BC to protect the tomb of the emperor Qin. There’s around 8000 men, horses and carriages; who, earthquakes and other natural disasters aside, will be on guard until the end of time.
Yangshuo. Monuments of nature and tourism. Bruising massages, too much beer and eating chocolate cake with chopsticks. It was an incredibly relaxing place to be.
Still to come: Shanghai redux (the Bund from on high & a few cocktails) and sexy, steamy Hong Kong. I’ll post these later on in the week. Entertain yourself in the meantime with the China Flickr set, good times!
Yangshuo is a scenic riverside town, surrounded by towering limestone karsts. It’s glorious. The surrounding countryside is lush, smothered with rice paddies and other agricultural endeavours. A lot of the produce ends up at the Yangshuo Farmer’s Market, which we visited in preparation for a cooking class!
The space is stuffed to the brim with pomegranates, wheelbarrows of citrus fruits, exotic berries and bunches of greens. There is also a wet market and butchery section, which was challenging; but it was a good example of the local way of food shopping.
Once we had bought tofu, greens, duck eggs and a big bag of fragrant garlic, we headed to the cooking school. With an awesome view of the river; we toiled over smoking woks, coughed our lungs out as we inhaled chili fumes, and tossed vegetables with vigour – all in preparation for a lunchtime feast.
Making steamed tofu with Chinese mushrooms and goji berries.
The end result was extremely delicious. We sat out on a stone terrace by the river, chugging beer and eagerly consuming our dishes – in my case: egg wrapped potato dumplings, tofu with mushrooms, Yangshuo style eggplant, stir fried lotus root and green vegetables with garlic.
Yum. Cooking is definitely the best way to get in touch with local cuisine, and I found it rather relaxing too! The following recipe was really easy to prepare and cook – do try it at home.
EGGPLANT – YANGSHUO STYLE
250g eggplant – sliced
4 tablespoons of peanut oil
1 red pepper – sliced
25g ginger – sliced
4 cloves of garlic – sliced
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce (vegans: replace as you please, try soy?)
1 tablespoon of water
Spring onions to taste – sliced
Heat wok (it’s ready when it’s smoking like a banshee) and add oil. Heat oil, then add eggplant and fry until browned and cooked. Move the eggplant to the side of your wok and reduce heat. Fry the garlic, ginger and pepper for 1 minute. Add the eggplant with the other vegetables, and mix with water, salt and oyster sauce. Add spring onions, then serve!
Still on the road. I’ve seen some awful things that made me cry (boo, really not good). Conversely, I’ve been squealing like a loon at the sight of cheap jewellery, teapots and scarves. I’ve been frightened by food – crispy scorpions! There has also been bike riding on ancient city walls, with butterflies darting around my legs. Bliss.
This week has been bookended on each side by a 12 hour train journey. I spent most of my time in Beijing, but after another night in on the Z19 soft sleeper I’ve reached Xi’an (Western Peace). It’s pretty chilled out.
As always, there are more photos in my China Flickr set, where you can see “behind-the-scenes” shots of my ginormous bruises and crazed pizza purchases. I am updating it like a fiend – as long as there’s free wi-fi available!
Flowerpot shaped satin shoes. Detailed with paste beads and the design of Fu, meaning happiness, and Shou, for longevity. These are from the Chinese Qing Dynasty who ruled from 1644 till 1911.
Amazing, imagine walking with a centered ‘heel’. They’re certainly not suitable not for wandering cobblestone lanes in, and definitely not made for feet longer than 10cm in length. My feet would have been laughed right out of the Forbidden City (and Lacoste)…
A few photos, a few diary excerpts. I am a rabid journaller, and making notes while on the road delights me no end. I am all about moleskines and thin-nibbed inky black pens.
“After the delights and dramas of Hangzhou, we headed back to Shanghai. It’s been confirmed I am able to do anything I want in this world, nothing is impossible.”
“Midnight. We finish watching a DVD, and wander into the night to find some cheap hot chocolate and eat street food.”
“It was delicious, cooked over hot coals. You could even have a whole fish on a stick. I had mushrooms rubbed with a dark spice, chives and a skewer of morsels best described as vegetable pancakes.”
“We danced until 2am, watching the varied crowd – locals and odd Europeans (no Australians this time), before collecting our belongings and heading home in one of the waiting cabs lined up in their tens outside. I watched the city zoom past; feeling tired, drunk and everything smelling like cheap cigarettes. Ugh… it made me wretch, repeatedly. Some smoke is good; like the charcoal smokes of the street vendors, fragrant with oils, or the sweet tea-like smell of incense. But the smoke emitting from a 5RMB packet of fags? No thanks. 12 hours later, my jacket was beyond saving and had to be packed wrapped in a damp towel to try and save my other clothes. We’ll see if they survive.”
There are more photos in my China Flickr set if you’re keen to check them out! That’s it from the southern cities for now, I arrived in Beijing (bei = north, jing = capital) yesterday. Let the northern wanderings begin… after a nap!
Shuāngxǐ or Double Happy is a “Chinese ornamental design commonly used as a decoration”. It is composed of two characters meaning joy, compressed into a ligature. You’ll commonly find this character slapped all over wedding paraphernalia. Double Happiness is also a brand of cheap cigarettes here – smokers rejoice.
However, the application I really like is this clever local twist on the common western expression of “hearting” an object, a person, a place:
Take that, New York! This shot is from outside Produc-T; a Shanghainese clothing brand with a shop in Taikang Lu. They design t-shirts with a contemporary take on Chinese icons. Think tees plastered with ironic noodle/Mao imagery and cute totes to stuff cash in. There is an I 囍 SH version available of course.
Hm, it’s been a good week, and despite the bumpy language barriers, I’m starting to think I heart Shanghai.
I love travelling. The chance to experience worlds different to your own is unsurpassed by anything else. You’re constantly feeding your mind and challenging yourself – for example, the last two days were some of the best/soul destroying I’ve ever had.
This CFS Loves is a special Shanghai/China edition; bought to you by the letters RMB, a few giant dragons, Tsingtao Beer and a very efficient rail system. Explore, enjoy!
❤❤❤
I love Elyse Sewell’s diary of model/China life. As I understand it, she was a contestant on America’s Next Top Model at some stage; but she’s now kicking ass in this part of the world and writing some very funny stories. Ironically Livejournal is blocked here.
Chinese theatrical vocalist Sa Dingding recently performed in Auckland as part of the AK09 Festival. Her songs are an interesting new fusion – traditional Chinese folk with electronic tendencies. Discovering new musical frontiers = brilliant, whether you end up becoming a fan or not.
MRKT is a local Shanghai accessory brand. They make really cute items like journals, document folders and laptop cases out of laser cut felt. I bought one of their triangular yellow and charcoal clutches:
Smart Shanghai is THE guide to the city whether you’re a visitor or an expat. It’s got all the news, gigs, bars and cultural listings you need. It also has a genius map section, where you can type in the name of wherever you’re going – the site will generate the addresses in Chinese characters. Handy. Just print the pages out, hand them to your taxi driver and off you go!
Aeccrntic Girl is a blog by a Beijing business student/fashion fan. I’ve been looking at her blog for a while now to get a tiny gauge on local style – I like her daily outfit shots.
Currently adoring the work of Shanghai based photographer Maleonn. It’s contemporary, vivid and witty. More please! In this Scoute interview he discusses his eureka moment and inspirations.
Connie Chiu is an albino model with a Swedish/Chinese pedigree. She’s incredibly striking and this shoot from Vice is well styled.
Jellymon is a design studio in Shanghai. Apart from doing some cool projects (like 70’s inspired watches) they’ve made a super Shanghai Friend guide. Thanks to tried and tested personal recommendations, it’s been far superior to my Shanghai Wallpaper* book. If you do ever end up here, request a copy.
Barbie has just opened its first dedicated retail store in Shanghai. Comprising of 6 pink levels, it’s a place designed for girls and grown women (the ones with the disposable income) alike to live out their pink dreams.
The massive amount of space means there’s more than enough room for a candy bar, a fashion stage for Barbie runway events, a girl’s clothing zone and a “passport” counter.
Hello… After a thirteen hour flight, a two hour stopover, another 2 hour flight and the world’s most harrowing taxi ride – I have arrived in Shanghai.
It’s awesome. Bustling, always noisy – I was awake at 5am this morning and already there were voices coming from the alley below. And the smells… You know you’ve arrived in Asia when your nostrils are flaring constantly, whether it be from dumplings or fish innards lying in the gutter.
Ah yes. Drinking in a bomb shelter on the first night. Excellent times.
This woman was the world's best hustler... I'll have to go find her again because I really do want a giant squid kite.
Right, time to explore! I think today I will be visiting the Barbie store, like the brand experience geek I am.
Ni hao! I’m happy to say that my recent UK adventures were not the only travel ones I’m embarking for a while. In case you haven’t heard, at the end of the month I am off to China. It’ll be a crazy trip, one of inspiration, entertainment and hilarity I’m sure.
Shanghai: Bladerunner in 3D
At the moment my itinerary looks a little something like: Beijing-Shanghai-Beijing-Xi’an-Yangshuo-Shanghai-Hong Kong!
For the first round of Shanghai I will be staying with my awesome friend Julian, who is an architect living and working in the city. Looking into my crystal ball, I predict a week of dumpling slurping, site seeing and a thorough cultural investigation into the local nightlife… ❤ (The first two pics were stolen from Jules’ facebook.)
On my current list of things to do:
Visit the new Barbie retail store in Shanghai, kick the ass of the whole ‘vegetarian in China’ issue (though apparently there are some good fake meat restaurants out there!), take an overnight train to Beijing, climb the Great Wall, see the terracotta warriors, gently cycle through some remote villages, gawk at some panda cuties, shop-shop-shop in the markets of Hong Kong… and so much more!
Phew. I’m so excited – another 3 weeks of exploration… I can’t wait. In them meantime I’m getting prepared with lots of net research, quality time with Wallpaper* City Guides and emailing some sweet, helpful people. Also, last time when it came to hot travel tips, you guys provided the goods and then some; so any suggestions on what to do are gratefully received. Here’s a wriggling horde of miniature pandas as a thank you!
Apparently I can help bathe a baby panda for the affordable price of only €300!
