Lofty views of cityscapes

Singh stands on the roof top of a residential building overlooking the urban jungle of Shanghai.

They took nearly 26,000 raw clips and spent five weeks on reconnaissance, shooting, assembling and editing before releasing the video on June 5.

"On a personal level, the overriding reason we made this video was to visually show the world how China is rising, in particular - how the Chinese cities are doing so," Singh says.

Special: City Living

"Just as New York City exemplified the strengths and ambitions of emerging America in the 20th century, Shanghai, perhaps more than any old or emerging rival, personifies the power and dreams of rising Asia in the 21st century."

Even though Shanghai is very famous and most people have heard about it, the international community does not actually know what it is like. Singh says there are no compelling images or conceptions about Shanghai that are well known.

The video is about getting a global understanding of what the city is like, and the producers climbed to dozens of high points in the city to find perfect locations.

"Stealth and curiosity were required to discover breathtaking vantage points of the city, and I became addicted. There was always an adrenaline rush upon reaching the top of a different building to see the vast urban jungle of Shanghai," he says.

The pair also tried to explore the diversities and eccentricities of the metropolis that lie behind the famous skyline.

They spent weeks pounding the pavement to better understand the urban fabric of Shanghai. They invited local people to walk with them and tell them stories about the city.