Susan's Shanghai Blog - Week 20

Back in Shanghai for the week. Normal work week with the exception that we had a friend from work here with his family, and so we went to dinner with them on Wednesday night before they left to head back to the US. We had a great time and enjoyed seeing Todd again, along with meeting his wife and kids! We went to Din Tai Fung, which is a fairly famous dumpling place, that servces xiaolong bao, the famous Shanghai pork and crab dumplings. The dumplings, who's name literally means "little steamer bums", are very popular here in Shanghai. They are unique dumplings due to their hot broth inside. These are the kind that I learned to make a few weeks ago in my cooking class, although mine don't yet quite come out as good as Din Tai Fung!

On Saturday, we took a walking tour with Spencer Dodington via the American Women's Club of shanghai. A little background on Spencer, he is an American from around Austin (went to UT) who came to Shanghai after college to do backpacking, loved it, and decided to stay! He's been here 16 years, and runs the cultural tour company, Luxury Concierge China. He gives walking tours for several groups in different areas of Shanghai. He also renovates Concession-era residential property and it looks like he has a line of furniture as well. His work has been chronicaled in various newspapers and magazines, including an article in the New York Times about his renovations and Art Deco in Shanghai. So, we had this great walking tour, one of 4 that he gives, on the French Concession.

In taking the walking tour and chatting with him, we found out some interesting things that we didn't know before that had really nothing to do with the tour itself:

1. Fireworks ... we hear lots of fireworks going off, during days and nights. We were talking to him about it because we heard someone setting off firecrackers during our walk and I said "gee, they do love their fireworks here". He explained that yes, but not for the reasons we thought. They are not necessarily for celebrations, like we use them to ward off evil sprits. In ancient China, people believed that fire could disperse evil spirits. Sparks were a good omen, sound could frighten ghosts, and smoke could create a healthy atmosphere. Fireworks had universal appeal as they combined these three elements. In the Han Dynasty (206-220 BC) it is said that people would roast bamboo to produce a load sound that was intended to disperse ghosts and apparitions. In the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420-581 AD) this kind of sound was not only used to dispel evil but also to pray for happiness and prosperity. At the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, the first paper tube crackers, filled with gunpowder, were produced. Firecrackers strung together by hemp rope, known as 'hundred-break' crackers, appeared at the end of the Southern Dynasty (fifth Century AD). Li Tian is credited as the originator of the cracker industry.
2. Flowers in front of new stores - I mentioned this a few weeks back, that we keep seeing these pedestals of flowers (and lots of them) out front of newly opened businesses near us, but I wasn't sure what exactly they were for, or who buys them. He explained that yes, these are for their opening and they are bought by friends and well-wishes of the business and its' owners. They will have a ribbon on them that says who it is from and for example, if there is one from the local government, or something very well-known, it is thought that people seeing it will be somewhat impressed, and will then frequent the business.
3. And lastly ... many businesses and restaurants have a fountain of some kind near the front door of the business. I thought it was just for looks or maybe, for relaxation, which ends up being somewhat close. In Feng Shui, you place a fountain by the front door to promote wealth and invite opportunity into the home. The sound that the water makes in a fountain sounds like money, for example the sound that bills make when they are counted here in China (they use a specific technique to count lots of bills). So the sound of money is from the fountain found by the front door of businesses are to "call in money".

The French Concession was established on 6 April 1849, when the French Consul to Shanghai obtained a proclamation from the Governor of Shanghai, which conceded certain territory for a French settlement. Its borders were expanded twice, in 1900 and 1914. It seems that with each conflict or war that went on between France and China, when China lost, the French Concession got larger. A concession is different from a colony in that with a concession, the land is not actually "owned" by the foreign country but rather, it allows the citizens of the foreign power to live and do business there. In most cases, the concession has its' own police force and legal jurisdiction, so there are police stations and courts in each concession. During WWII, France decided to give up its' concessions in China back to the Chinese government.

We started the tour at a place called Tian Zi Fang, which is an arts and crafts area that has been developed in a renovated residential area of the French Concession. This is a view looking down through the small alleyways. The story that was told was that this area was built in the 1930's in the Shikumen style. In the early 2000's, a local who had moved back to Shanghai bought 2 buildings that was an old candy factory and converted it to studios for artists. As more and more artists came in, small shops and restaurants started opening up in the area to support these artists. Today it has more than 200 diverse small businesses such as cafes, restaurants, art galleries, craft stores, design houses and studios.

Here you can see the 2-story type buildings. In some cases, there is a business on the ground floor and someone still lives on the 2nd floor. Many of the restaurants use both floors. He mentioned it is actually somewhat difficult to rent out an apartment on the 2nd floor because, in many cases, the entrance to the apartment could be a set of stairs or ladder on the backside of the building, and due to the fact that it is now a very busy area at most times of the day and late into the evening.

This building is interesting, in that it is the normal red brick, but at some point in time, the owner has added some art deco parts around the windows and at the peak of the roof.

This is one of the few old 1800's farmhouses that still is standing, and it is the middle of Tian Zi Fang. The rest of the houses are just built up around it.

This is an interesting building in that it used to have multiple apartments or houses in it. It looked like it was built for an extended family where the parents could have each of their children living next to them in their own house. You can even see what used to be the well to provide water for the families that lived here.

These are Plane trees lining the road, and they are one of the key characteristics of the French Concession. In 1902, the Concession introduced platanes (London Planes) as a roadside tree on Avenue Joffre. They are great because they grow quickly and provide a nice canopy, which shades the area and keeps it cooler in the summer. He also mentioned that it is a perfect tree for areas where there is alot of pollution because the trees shed their leaves and bark, which then "cleans" the tree and rids it of the pollution that has collected on it.

More art deco. Shanghai is listed as having the largest number of Art Deco buildings in the world, many of them designed by a Hungarian architect named Laszlo Hudec. The first building is an example of a late Art Deco design style called Streamline Moderne, which emphasizes curving forms and long horizontal lines. The second picture shows diamonds mixed into the facade of the building.

We then walked through this other section of town, which has these very nice, larger homes.

One of them, there was a little chinese-style addition in the garden, which has a bat on the front of the roof. The Chinese word for bat is bianfu -- fu meaning happiness, and around the 17th century bats began to feature in pictures as a symbol of happiness. By the middle and late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) bat motifs had become widely used on architecture, like this one.

This rough-looking stucco is the original style of stucco done in Shanghai. Any that are "smooth" are newer.

Here you'll see a rock garden or rock sculpture that we find walking through one of the little lanes.

These are pictures of what used to be the "MOrriss Estate" and is now the Ruijin Hotel.

Yet another couple Art Deco buildings, these on corners. I really know nothing about Feng Shui, but he mentioned that the 2 apartment buildings on the corner (this one included) were obviously built for Westerners, since they go against Feng Shui in a couple of areas, and therefore, would be bad. The buildings are built on, and have their entrance on, a corner, which allows bad chi to enter. As well, neither face south, which is important with Feng Shui. Westerners tend to build it facing whichever direction has the best view.

This is what used to be the "Cercle Sportif Français" or French Sporting club, and was built in 1925. Now it is the lobby and 2nd floor of a Japanese hotel, which you can see the tall newer-looking tower in the back. The first floor has been totally renovated and looks like a normal "new" high-end hotel but the 2nd floor still retains alot of the character and period features from the 20's. It has a garden and fountain as well.