Shanghai's uniqueness is attractive

A Shanghai television station has sparked heated debate on the Internet by broadcasting live interviews with people on Nanjing Road, the city's most popular shopping street, asking them what they like about Shanghai.

Unsurprisingly, many of the people interviewed said that they liked the big city feel of Shanghai. That, of course, includes the modern skyscrapers, glitzy shopping malls and the concentration of multicolored neon signs in the major commercial strips that never fail to dazzle and thrill visitors from lesser cities.

Others said they liked Shanghai for its tolerance and inclusiveness, recalling an old Chinese saying that can be loosely translated to mean: Like the sea taking in the flow of a hundred rivers. However, this has stirred a hot debate, as the common perception is the people of this city are anything but inclusive.

There are those who were more practical and specific in picking their likes and, in some instances, dislikes. Convenience and the relative freedom from hassle by the authorities ranked top of the list of things that made Shanghai the favorite city of many of the people interviewed. Some respondents enthused that they were most impressed by the civility of the Shanghai people.

Although negative comments weren't solicited, a few respondents volunteered their complaints - all mild of course. Chief among those was the high cost of living. One respondent said dryly that Shanghai was great as long as you have a lot of money to spend. Otherwise, he said, it's not so good.

I agree with everything these people have said about Shanghai. And I share their liking for many of the things they mentioned. But I was most surprised that none of them mentioned the thing that I find most charming about Shanghai, where I have lived and worked for more than three years. That is the harmonic fusion of the city's colorful, and, some may say, decadent past with a renewed and almost obsessive drive to achieve greatness as a global center for business, finance, the arts and everything else you can think of.

That drive has made working as a journalist in Shanghai exciting and, at times, rewarding.

Of course there have been frustrating moments when phone calls to potential sources weren't answered or returned. Worse still, information is seldom disseminated openly, fairly or clearly. Even with the Internet, it's often difficult and time consuming to locate in the mountain of data what exactly you need to support a point you want to make in a story. But it's all worth it because the stories are of significance to China, and in many cases, the global economy.

And there is another side of Shanghai that has always fascinated residents and astute visitors. I am not talking about hidden gems off the beaten track that are hard to find and reach, or the well-publicized tourist attractions and the many entertainment enclaves in rehabilitated old city blocks.

The real charm of Shanghai can be experienced by a simple Sunday afternoon stroll through the winding roads and alleys of the Jing'an or Luwan districts. You get a different feeling at different time of the year. But most people who live in Shanghai know that the best time to appreciate the city's charms is late autumn and early winter when the weather is not too chilly and the air is crisp.

This is the time when the leaves of the trees lining the streets have turned golden yellow, and the fallen leaves dance along the pavements in the gentle light of the afternoon sun.

In almost every street in these areas one can find at least one coffee shop with style and character: no Starbucks or Costa Coffee here. The available space in the old buildings is probably too small for an outlet of those giant coffeehouse chains. But they aren't missed by those who prefer individual character to standardized convenience, for that, you can go to Xintiandi or Tianzifang.

That's right. What I like about Shanghai is that more than any other city on the mainland it exudes a style and character of its own. It's unique and so are its people.

(China Daily 12/10/2012 page8)