THE sun has only just risen above the Shanghai skyline but already thousands of locals have descended on Fuxing Park - the leafy backyard for many apartment dwellers in this sprawling city.
There is an eccentric collection of Shanghainese going through their workout regimes, which range from swordplay to tai chi; ballroom dancing to calligraphy; kite-flying to head-butting a tree; playing musical instruments to playing cards.
Nightlife in Xintiandi. Photo: Getty Images
All age groups are involved; some of the dancers appear to be in their 80s. Some move energetically, others more languidly. Some are dancing to traditional Chinese music blaring from portable loudspeakers, others to 1940s big-band tunes.
The tai chi devotees are similarly diverse. Some move with considerable vigour, others barely at all, although all stay well out of the way of their compatriots who are waving swords.
There are a few joggers, a makeshift stand where locals are queuing to have their blood pressure tested, two choirs practising and one man fast asleep on his motorbike.
A trio of elderly gentlemen playing saxophones combine to create something of a cacophony, while on an open expanse of grass, a small group is doing what looks like maypole dancing.
All take their pursuits seriously and are scrupulously polite about getting out of each other's way but the mahjong devotees appear to be pretty intense and aren't too keen on being watched.
This beautiful setting seems to attract people of all ages and interests and is a part of the city that is not seen by many tourists.
Fuxing Park - known as French Park until 1949 -covers about 10 hectares in the former French Concession district and is designed in a classic French style, with a central lake, several fountains, fish ponds and flower beds.
It is just a 15-minute taxi ride from downtown (taxis are cheap here - and even take public transport pre-paid cards as payment), or a short ride on the ultra-modern subway.
If you are taking a taxi, it pays to have the name of your destination written down, as few drivers speak English. But getting around Shanghai is surprisingly easy, from the high-speed Maglev train from the airport to a busy subway system that puts those of Paris and London to shame for cleanliness and ease of use.
At any time of the day, Shanghai's green expanses are reached easily, offering the chance of a stroll away from the manic pace of one of Asia's fastest-growing cities.
Shanghai is very much on the move, with high-rise office blocks and apartment buildings sprouting at an amazing rate. A remarkable 73 million people visited last year for World Expo and the 492-metre Shanghai World Financial Centre in the futuristic riverside district of Pudong is the world's third-tallest building, with the highest observation deck on its 100th floor.
Around the corner from Fuxing Park is the former residence of Sun Yat-sen, modern China's founding father. His house, now a museum, gives the visitor an idea of what Shanghai was like during its first heyday as a trading post.
Another island of greenery, People's Park, provides a different window into modern China, where a growing shortage of eligible women poses a problem for upwardly mobile parents.
Every weekend, anxious parents set up shop with flyers, photos and resumes and try to find the perfect match for their offspring. Trees, benches and walls are covered with ads posted by parents spruiking the merits of their sons and, occasionally, daughters.
It's called zhenghun: marriage seeding. This open-air marriage bureau is another unique slice of local life. Head for People's Park Gate 5 off Nanjing Xi Lu, across from the Grand Theatre, on Saturday and Sundays from noon. You can't miss the hubbub.
Another link to the past can be found at the Dongtai Road Antique Market, which is perfect for browsing for communist artefacts, Buddhist statues or even opium pipes.
While many traditions survive, Shanghai's new wave of upwardly mobile thirtysomethings are thriving - and enjoying decidedly Western pleasures.
This growing tribe - witness the number of Lamborghini and Bentley dealerships opening up all over town - populates new nightlife and dining precincts, such as Xintiandi and Cool Docks.
Xintiandi proper is a new pedestrian-only shopping, eating and entertainment district created in an area of reconstituted traditional houses on narrow alleys, some adjoining newer houses that now serve as bookstores, cafes, restaurants and shopping malls.
This is an active nightlife area, frequented by rich locals and expats who enjoy dining alfresco.
The areas surrounding Xintiandi are a typically Chinese mix of old and new and the streets and laneways are wonderful to explore.
Xintiandi is still a work in progress, with the imminent opening of Andaz Shanghai, the first Andaz hotel in Asia, a 24-storey, 307-guest room luxury venue near Huai Hai Zhong Road, one of Shanghai's main shopping areas.
Cool Docks, on Zhaongshan Road, an extension of the main thoroughfare The Bund, is the city's newest cross-cultural hot spot, with a combination of restaurants, cafes, bars and boutiques. Somehow it seemed a little artificial and removed from reality, like the white ghetto shopping malls in Johannesburg's northern suburbs.
Service right across the city was mixed. It was super slick at the Xintiandi outpost of Taiwan's famous dumpling eatery, Din Tai Fung, while I was brusquely turned away from a nearby yoghurt outlet by a grim-faced fellow saying "Not ready, not ready" even though it was well past the appointed opening time.
Shanghai is packed with foot-massage joints and day spas of varying quality.
Evian Spa and Shile are among the upmarket options but you will get a serviceable foot massage at any one of hundreds of basic shopfront operations. For the best value with Western comforts, try one of the several branches of Green Massage or Dragonfly.
With about 20 million people to do battle with for pavement space and subway seats, a massage just might be the best investment you could make.
It's been said that being in Shanghai is to experience where the world is heading. If that's true, our lives are going to be pretty frantic.
The writer was a guest of Hotel Indigo Shanghai on the Bund and was assisted by Qantas.
Trip notes
Getting there
Qantas has daily flights from Sydney to Shanghai, qantas.com.au, prices start from $1169 return.
Staying there
Hotel Indigo Shanghai on the Bund, 585 Zhongshan Dong Er Road, Huangpu, Shanghai. +86 21 3302 9999. shanghai.hotelindigo.com. Rooms start at $200 a night.
Need to know
Shanghai experiences extreme weather variations. In winter (December to February), the temperature regularly drops below zero degrees, while in summer, temperatures sometimes exceed 40 degrees.
More information
cnto.org/shanghai.asp.
Three others things to do
1 The Oriental Pearl Tower on the banks of the Huangpu River is 468 metres high. It is the highest TV tower in Asia, the third-highest in the world and dominates the Pudong skyline. It is the best place to get a bird's eye view of the city.
2 Nanjing Road, which links The Bund and People's Square, is Shanghai's main shopping precinct and is home to dozens of international fashion stores. A sightseeing trolley also travels the 3.4-kilometre strip.
3 The Jade Buddha Temple houses two statues brought from Burma before the revolution that overthrew the Qing dynasty. The temple itself was built in 1928 but the two Buddhas (one sitting, one lying down) are rare cultural relics made from white jade.
Eat + drink
For authentic regional Chinese cuisine, try Lost Heaven (17 Yan'an Dong Road, +86 21 6330 0967), which specialises in dishes from Yunnan Province and features live music; Dishuidong (56 Maoming Nan Lu, +86 21 6253 2689), an unpretentious Hunanese joint; or Sichuan Citizen (30 Donghu Road, Xuhui District, +86 21 5404 1235), a restaurant/cocktail bar/tea house with funky decor, specialising in the spicy dishes of Sichuan.
Xi's Garden (8893 Ju Lulu, Shanghai, +86 21 6466 1246) serves Shanghainese dishes not for the faint-hearted, including bullfrog and hand-torn pigeon. For eating on the run, the local soup dumplings, or xiaolongbao, are to Shanghai what the meat pie is to Australians, with moist dumpling skin wrapped around a pork ball, or maybe crab, served with a hot broth.
Dining hot spots include the modern European fare at Fulton Place (Unit 111, 570 Yongjia Lu, Xuhui District, +86 21 3461 1775) where chef Marc Johnson is creating something of a storm with dishes such as seared kampachi fish with fennel salad, citrus and elderflower sauce, a seafood risotto and a good wine list; upmarket steak house Char (585 Zhongshan Dong Er, Huangpu, +86 21 3302 9995) at the new Hotel Indigo on the Bund; and Jean Georges (3 the Bund, +86 21 6321 7733), another in the growing number of overseas interests for superstar New York chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
Other popular dining options include long-time favourite M on the Bund, which started the Shanghai Western culinary revolution; The Purple Onion, where Australian Lex Hauser mans the pans; Fu 1088; Fu 1039; Factory; Lynn; Mint; the French-accented Maison Pourcel and Goga, which often hosts wine dinners.
When it comes to late-night drinks, the ultra-trendy el Coctel (47 Yongfu Lu, Xuhui District, +86 21 6433 6511), with its showy Japanese cocktail artists making apple martinis and elegant daiquiris, has a relaxed vibe and is popular with well-heeled expats, but is not cheap. Constellation, Alchemist Cocktail Kitchen, Dr Wine, Apartment and Apothecary also come highly recommended.
Restaurants and clubs fall in and out of fashion, just like in any big city, so pick up a copy of Time Out Shanghai or Shanghai Weekly or City Weekend to discover what is hot and happening when you are in town.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/travel/jump-off-the-express-20110901-1jntx.html#ixzz1XR6cTWFM
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