The city of the 21st century and the Hallo phenomenon

Our first stop today was the Museum of Urban Planning – a boring name for a pretty cool museum designed to sell Shanghai. Saeeda thought that this museum must have been built for the World Expo committee initially, and it must have done a good job, because Shanghai will indeed be holding the 2010 Expo. The museum had some cool displays that took you through Shanghai’s history, but the showstopper was the exhibit on the third floor – a full scale replica of the entire city of Shanghai as it will look by 2010. I had already been impressed with the cosmopolitan nature of the city, but if the Chinese are able to pull off all that the museum states they plan to, then Shanghai is going to be one of the greatest cities of the 21^st century.

After the museum Saeeda and I decided to stroll through the shopping arcades of Ninjiang Street, where it was easy to find everything a shoppaholic’s heart could desire. We kept being approached by people that would start with a loud “Hallo!” and then show us laminated copies of Rolex watches and Prada bags, and do their best to try and entice us to follow them to their stores. As an aside, this “Hallo!” is starting to get a little trying. First, it is not uttered as a greeting, but as a loud attention grabber that is part exclamation and part “Yo, you, yes, you, I’m talking to you!” The other thing is that everyone says it – old women, little kids, teenagers, adult males - the moment they see a foreigner. It’s like they see a cute animal and feel the urge to say something cute. I know it'ss good natured, because everyone we’ve met so far, including the strangers on the streets have been incredibly nice. Still, the incessant Hallo’s are getting to me.

I also spotted some creative takes on American branding. These logos should appear familiar to you.

Our walk ended at the Bund, which is the waterfront district populated by colonial structures built by the British, French, and others around the time of the Opium Wars in the mid-nineteenth century. The walk was pleasant, and provided plenty of opportunities for picture taking. From there we took a cab ride to the French Concession, which was, as its name states, the area housing the French population back in the day. The effects on the architecture were obvious, because gone were the Eastern looking structures we were accustomed. Instead, we felt like we were strolling through a neighborhood in a European city.

That night we had our nicest meal of our stay in China. M on the Bund is a swanky restaurant overlooking the river that serves international cuisine. It was interesting that we didn’t spot a single Asian – the restaurant was populated with only foreigners. The view is ridiculous, since the restaurant looks out across the river onto Pudong, where the highrises of Shanghai light up beautifully at night. In all, the experience was a perfect endcap to our last full day in Shanghai.