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Shanghai surprise

Nicky Dew experiences the fast pace and exotic atmosphere of China’s biggest city

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I’m in Shanghai on a street that’s pounding with six lanes of traffic. Bearing down on every side are gigantic glass shopping plazas with tides of people flowing in and out of their revolving doors. I’m drinking cans of iced tea only marginally faster than I’m sweating them out again and I think I need a break from the pace.

I wander round the corner, down a side street and suddenly I’m amongst dilapidated brick tenements, in the company of a dog, a chicken and a careworn-looking soul who is lugging a large pot towards a communal tap. Strings of laundry are hanging out of every window, and to complete the picture, a long-bearded fellow is sitting on a crate, fanning himself casually. His white vest is hiked up to his armpits so his tummy can enjoy the breeze. only one street away, an identical row of houses is being demolished, soon to be replaced by residential tower blocks not dissimilar to the ones springing up around central Auckland.

Everything in Shanghai is in a state of flux. I jump in a cab to get back to my hotel a few blocks away on Shanghai’s most famous and salubrious- yet still affordable- street, The Bund. on this side of town, the cityscape morphs into a 1980s space-age fantasy.

Skyscrapers are popping up along the eastern bank of the Huangpu River, frantically outdoing each other in size and technological wizardry. The rocket-shaped oriental Pearl Tower is the jewel in this glittering crown. A few skyscrapers along, a building flashes with thousands of lights that recreate the oona Lisa. Look away just long enough to put a dumpling on your chopsticks and it’s changed to oonet’s Water Lilies. But the air is so hot and damp that my camera lens fogs up every time I try to take a picture.

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As we sit in a neon-lit city restaurant, dining on what was meant to be a dish of roasted aubergine but definitely contains meat – including what look like chicken heads – I’m desperate to know what the twenty-somethings at the next table are discussing as they giggle and chatter away in between eating and smoking. Dishes of food that look much more appetising than ours continue to appear for them, delivered by teenage waiters dressed like the staff of a US diner.

I sip on Chinese rice wine, which is a far cry from any wine produced in our own part of the world, but at least it helps to sear the taste of the food from my tastebuds. Dining experiences in Shanghai don’t have to be quite this rustic, though.

The next night we splash out (still only spending about $30 each) and eat seven courses of exquisite food served on black and gold lacquer trays. As we head back into the humid night, our mouths are still tingling with lemongrass and chilli. Nearby, we find a velvet-adorned bar, which could just as easily be in New York, and indulge in a couple of Belgian white-chocolate waffle martinis. That’s more like it.

Heading to one of the city’s parks to watch folks practising t’ai chi is a great way to chill out. The practitioners appear oblivious to everything around them, slicing the air with incredible focus, and don’t seem to mind me sitting and staring at them for cheap entertainment.

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Around the bend I find a group of men and women in their twilight years who have set up a tape deck in a clearing and are sashaying about to ballroom-dancing tunes. Again I wish I could understand the language because I can tell from the expressions and body language that there are some complex politics going on here over who gets to dance with whom.

one of the women is becoming increasingly disgruntled with her partner, who is clearly the short straw in the pack, but her attempts to find a more favourable pairing are being continually rebuffed. I could watch for hours.

The markets are another great place to experience Shanghai life – even if you’re not looking to buy. The Dongtai Road Antique Market is full of porcelain, bronze and jade. I scored a great teapot (though I’m not sure it’s really an antique) and even managed to employ my bargaining skills to negotiate a set of four hopelessly small cups that I’ll never use for the same price! There are more oao Tse Tung-emblazoned items than you’ll ever need and you can pick yourself up a life-size replica member of the Terracotta Army, if that’s your thing, but you’ll need to buy an extra seat on the plane to get it home.

The flower, bird, fish and insect market is another place worth visiting – you can probably leave your credit card at home however. Bird-lovers might feel a little distressed by the caged-in factor and arachnophobes should definitely give it a wide berth. There are plenty of other opportunities for hardcore shoppers to get their fix, though, from pedestrianised Nanjing Rd, which heaves with malls selling all the world’s big brands, to the more exclusive designer boutiques of Huaihai Road.

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Every street in Shanghai tells a different story and the whole city is bursting with life. It’s overwhelming but completely beguiling all at once.

**Factfile

**Get there Air New Zealand flies direct from Auckland to Shanghai Pu Dong International Airport three times a week. The city For more information on Shanghai, visit www.cnto.org/shanghai.asp. New Zealand passport holders require a tourist visa for China. Visas should be acquired from the Chinese Embassy before travelling, take five to seven working days to process and cost $60 per person. For more information, visit www.chinaembassy.org.nz/eng

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