Friday, April 24, 2009
10 killed, 15 injured in factory roof collapse
AT least 10 people were killed and 15 others were injured after the roof of a clothing factory collapsed in north China's Hebei Province today, the local authorities said.The whole roof of a workshop of the Jinbo Clothing Factory in Anci District of Langfang City collapsed at about 7:40 am, according to the provincial emergency affairs office.At least 39 people were buried in the debris, according to the provincial work safety supervision administration.The 15 injured, including eight seriously wounded persons, were hospitalized.More than 500 rescuers and 100 fire engines and ambulances participated in the search operation.
China sets sail on unity for 'harmonious' seas
PRESIDENT Hu Jintao yesterday presided over an international naval review that highlighted China's desire to cooperate with other navies to keep the world's waters safe.Ships and naval aircraft from China and 14 other countries took part in the display in the Yellow Sea off the northern port of Qingdao, the first such international gathering. It was hosted by the People's Liberation Army Navy in honor of its 60th anniversary.Hu, who also heads the Communist Party commission that commands the armed forces, announced the start of the display from aboard the Chinese destroyer Shijiazhuang, accompanied by the Chinese navy's commander, Admiral Wu Shengli, Defense Minister Liang Guanglie and other top military brass.Earlier in the day, Hu met with US and other foreign naval commanders, telling them China supported increased cooperation among navies to safeguard maritime safety."Strengthening exchanges between the navies of all countries and embarking on international maritime safety cooperation substantially contributes to the building of harmonious oceans and seas," the president said.The president also repeated China's position that the country would never threaten other nations or seek regional dominance and that its military "will always be a force for the preservation of world peace and advancement of common development.""For now and in the future, China would never seek hegemony, nor would it turn to military expansion or arms races with other nations," he said. The PLA Navy parade, the fourth staged in China since 1949 but the first to be held on an international scale, displayed 25 of China's vessels, including two nuclear-powered submarines, and naval aircraft.Foreign flagsThe parade was followed by an international fleet review featuring the participation of 21 foreign vessels, including the American destroyer USS Fitzgerald and the Russian cruiser CG-011 Varyag.More than 200 military officers from foreign embassies in China, reporters and Chinese people observed the fleet review on the viewing ship Zhenghe, named after a Chinese maritime explorer who sailed about 600 years ago.Rear Admiral Zhang Shiying, deputy commander of the PLA Navy's Beihai (North Sea) Fleet, pointed out that all the Chinese vessels and aircraft on display were independently designed and built by China and represented the latest stage of PLA Navy equipment.All the submarines and aircraft and the majority of the warships in the parade came from the Qingdao-based Beihai Fleet."The goal is to showcase the development of the PLA Navy over the past six decades," Zhang said.Admiral Wu said that the celebration was aimed at demonstrating China's determination and capability to maintain a peaceful, harmonious ocean in cooperation with other nations.The naval parade also featured the public debut of two Chinese nuclear submarines, the Long March 6 and the Long March 3."To invite so many countries to the review shows that China will open more to foreign countries and in the future will be more willing to cooperate in the Gulf of Aden and other regions," said Colonel Patrick Sice, defense attache with the French Embassy in China, referring to a pirate-plagued area near the coast of Somalia."China is emerging as a global power, and there is nothing wrong with China's modernization of its navy and other armed forces. But more power means more responsibility and transparency. Otherwise you will lose confidence from others."After reviewing the foreign vessels, the destroyer Shijiazhuang, with President Hu and senior military officers aboard, headed back to the Qingdao port.Most of the visiting foreign vessels raised their anchors and began sailing back home. Ships from Australia, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Pakistan will stay longer in Qingdao.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Expo Shanghai Online--Innovation in Expos
Shanghai Expo Online is an opportunity to bring the communication of Expos to a whole different level and scope.
For a few years now, the BIE has seen in the Internet a powerful source for innovating and for enhancing the educational value of Expos. With the Internet we can bring Expos and the messages linked to their theme to a larger and more diverse international public. However, let me stress that we cannot underestimate the challenge of raising the internet in Expos within the Internet, which is a world where competition for information and attention is very high.
I am convinced that right approach rests on our joint ability to identify, maintain and support the correct ideal position for a virtual counterpart to a physical Expo.
Today, I am very happy to see that the necessary joint efforts that must be done within our Expo community are indeed taking place and paying back.
The background work sponsored by the BIE in the area of Virtual Expos, the determination of the Shanghai Organizers to advance this project as added value to Shanghai 2010 and the presence today of many participant countries highlights the necessary shared commitment that will allow us to turn this dream into reality.
In recent years, the BIE has stressed the need to boost and enhance the communication of Expos on the par of other major international events. However, we have also recognized that the uniqueness of Expos needs equally unique communication platforms to promote their interactive and multidimensional nature. With the Internet, I believe, we find a natural medium for developing the contents and engaging the visitors.
In this way, with an Online counterpart to the physical Expos we are gaining the coverage that International Sports events have gained through television: the Internet can be to Expos what TV is to sports events. These two very different media, TV and Internet, match the nature and the objectives of these very different events.
As an increasingly interactive medium, the Internet is very appropriate to accommodate the type of educational experience that is promoted by Expos. Online visitors will be able to choose the paths through the Expo that best fit their curiosity and interests, they will be able to return as many times they wish, they will explore the many dimensions of the theme as seen through the perspective of each international participant.
Whereas the objective of sport events is to increase coverage of the event, that of Expos is to increase participation.
Expo Online will indeed promote participation and dialogue for the duration of the 6 months of Expo Shanghai 2010.
I think that in the years to come we will see EXPO online become an indispensable complement to EXPO, especially as the BIE continues to insist on the importance of creating a global dialogue around the theme of each Expo.
To this end, the Internet is a powerful tool that will contribute to promote, next to the physical architecture, not only a virtual counterpart, but a real development, explanation and dialogue around the theme of the Expo.
Expo Online can become an instrument to be followed as an example by other future expos for promotion of the event, of the theme and of a global dialogue.
Although the technical aspects are really important, I urge all of us to leave them to the engineers and the technologists who have the expertise and the talent to make the Expo happen and focus on the content, the message and the vision of what we want this Online Expo to be in order to achieve a real global impact. In fact, this Expo can fulfill and enhance the educational value of Expos in multiple ways.
The first is to bring the "world to the world". The Expo site in the city of Shanghai brings to China a glimpse and a vision of each of your Country. The Expo Online will bring your countries beyond borders and at the finger tips of the each person with internet access on the planet, that is billions of citizens of all ages, races and walks of life.
The second way in which Expo Online can fulfill a cultural mission is by creating a permanent virtual legacy for the Expo that will enhance and complete the cultural heritage of each physical Expo. Expo Online will be accessible by everyone well after the physical Expo is closed thus providing a virtual destination for all sort of publics.
Shanghai 2010 Online will be a destination for many different publics: for the curious public looking at exploring the world, for the Expo experts that are doing research on World Expos, and even for future organizers who will look at the Online project as a benchmark to improve and innovate their own Expo.
Finally, Expo Online will encourage organizers and participants to expand the contents of the theme. For all of these reasons, Expo Shanghai Online is highly significant both for the development of world expos, as well as for the participants who will be building their online pavilions in the coming years. It is extremely important for Expo Online to offer a large and diverse number of online pavilions through which participants will with present their ideas and technologies to a global audience, will display a larger number of exhibits in the virtual space, and will contribute to promote their own official language(s) besides Chinese and English.
Expo Online is therefore a perfect occasion for Participants to promote the multiple aspects that together make up their national image—which is at the heart of the richness of Expos.
I wish to stress that the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination has done a lot of work to make Expo Online a success both at the level of the design and concept as well at the financial level, thus ensuring major funding that will help participants have an online presence during—and even after—Shanghai 2010. In the spirit of solidarity towards all participants, the organizers have also put in a place a system that will ensure the online presence also of countries with insufficient means to build a virtual pavilion. In the course of this day of work I would like to encourage us all to think of the Virtual Expo as a continuity of the Physical one, such that Shanghai 2010 will have introduced in our World Expo a new dimension that pursues the values of openness, accessibility, education and solidarity that is called for by our Convention. I look forward to a productive day ahead.
For a few years now, the BIE has seen in the Internet a powerful source for innovating and for enhancing the educational value of Expos. With the Internet we can bring Expos and the messages linked to their theme to a larger and more diverse international public. However, let me stress that we cannot underestimate the challenge of raising the internet in Expos within the Internet, which is a world where competition for information and attention is very high.
I am convinced that right approach rests on our joint ability to identify, maintain and support the correct ideal position for a virtual counterpart to a physical Expo.
Today, I am very happy to see that the necessary joint efforts that must be done within our Expo community are indeed taking place and paying back.
The background work sponsored by the BIE in the area of Virtual Expos, the determination of the Shanghai Organizers to advance this project as added value to Shanghai 2010 and the presence today of many participant countries highlights the necessary shared commitment that will allow us to turn this dream into reality.
In recent years, the BIE has stressed the need to boost and enhance the communication of Expos on the par of other major international events. However, we have also recognized that the uniqueness of Expos needs equally unique communication platforms to promote their interactive and multidimensional nature. With the Internet, I believe, we find a natural medium for developing the contents and engaging the visitors.
In this way, with an Online counterpart to the physical Expos we are gaining the coverage that International Sports events have gained through television: the Internet can be to Expos what TV is to sports events. These two very different media, TV and Internet, match the nature and the objectives of these very different events.
As an increasingly interactive medium, the Internet is very appropriate to accommodate the type of educational experience that is promoted by Expos. Online visitors will be able to choose the paths through the Expo that best fit their curiosity and interests, they will be able to return as many times they wish, they will explore the many dimensions of the theme as seen through the perspective of each international participant.
Whereas the objective of sport events is to increase coverage of the event, that of Expos is to increase participation.
Expo Online will indeed promote participation and dialogue for the duration of the 6 months of Expo Shanghai 2010.
I think that in the years to come we will see EXPO online become an indispensable complement to EXPO, especially as the BIE continues to insist on the importance of creating a global dialogue around the theme of each Expo.
To this end, the Internet is a powerful tool that will contribute to promote, next to the physical architecture, not only a virtual counterpart, but a real development, explanation and dialogue around the theme of the Expo.
Expo Online can become an instrument to be followed as an example by other future expos for promotion of the event, of the theme and of a global dialogue.
Although the technical aspects are really important, I urge all of us to leave them to the engineers and the technologists who have the expertise and the talent to make the Expo happen and focus on the content, the message and the vision of what we want this Online Expo to be in order to achieve a real global impact. In fact, this Expo can fulfill and enhance the educational value of Expos in multiple ways.
The first is to bring the "world to the world". The Expo site in the city of Shanghai brings to China a glimpse and a vision of each of your Country. The Expo Online will bring your countries beyond borders and at the finger tips of the each person with internet access on the planet, that is billions of citizens of all ages, races and walks of life.
The second way in which Expo Online can fulfill a cultural mission is by creating a permanent virtual legacy for the Expo that will enhance and complete the cultural heritage of each physical Expo. Expo Online will be accessible by everyone well after the physical Expo is closed thus providing a virtual destination for all sort of publics.
Shanghai 2010 Online will be a destination for many different publics: for the curious public looking at exploring the world, for the Expo experts that are doing research on World Expos, and even for future organizers who will look at the Online project as a benchmark to improve and innovate their own Expo.
Finally, Expo Online will encourage organizers and participants to expand the contents of the theme. For all of these reasons, Expo Shanghai Online is highly significant both for the development of world expos, as well as for the participants who will be building their online pavilions in the coming years. It is extremely important for Expo Online to offer a large and diverse number of online pavilions through which participants will with present their ideas and technologies to a global audience, will display a larger number of exhibits in the virtual space, and will contribute to promote their own official language(s) besides Chinese and English.
Expo Online is therefore a perfect occasion for Participants to promote the multiple aspects that together make up their national image—which is at the heart of the richness of Expos.
I wish to stress that the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination has done a lot of work to make Expo Online a success both at the level of the design and concept as well at the financial level, thus ensuring major funding that will help participants have an online presence during—and even after—Shanghai 2010. In the spirit of solidarity towards all participants, the organizers have also put in a place a system that will ensure the online presence also of countries with insufficient means to build a virtual pavilion. In the course of this day of work I would like to encourage us all to think of the Virtual Expo as a continuity of the Physical one, such that Shanghai 2010 will have introduced in our World Expo a new dimension that pursues the values of openness, accessibility, education and solidarity that is called for by our Convention. I look forward to a productive day ahead.
Expo opens volunteer rolls May 1
scene of the press conference
People who want to help out at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo can sign up to become volunteers starting May 1.
Foreigners, seniors and even the physically challenged can apply to take part in the World Fair, the Expo organizer said yesterday.
Around 70,000 volunteers will be recruited to work inside the Expo site and another 100,000 to staff more than 1,000 service centers around the city during the event, which is expected to attract 70 million visitors, Ma Chunlei, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China's Shanghai Committee and deputy leader of the Expo volunteer recruitment team, told a press conference.
Each volunteer must agree to work at least a total of 14 days at the Expo, which starts on May 1, 2010, and will last 184 days.
Volunteers who work inside the site must be at least 18 years old, and those outside should be older than 16. There is no upper limit on age.
Volunteers must be in good health and agree to take part in training prior to their service.
Local young people are expected to make up the bulk of the volunteer team, Ma said.
The organizer will also recruit some physically challenged volunteers who have language skills or other abilities, according to Ma.
Volunteers who work inside the Expo site will be used as information consultants, assistant receptionists, aids for physically challenged people, event coordinators, assistant guides, interpreters, media coordinators and management assistants for volunteers.
Those who work in the outside service areas will help with information consultation, translation, emergency rescue and promoting good manners.
The organizer will provide volunteers with insurance, uniforms, equipment and meals. It will not pay for accommodation for those coming in from abroad or other provinces.
Recruitment and training will be finished in March. The organizer will provide special training for foreign volunteers, putting modules on the Internet for study abroad, Ma said.
Prospective volunteers can apply online at www.expo2010.cn, www.expovol.com, www.expo2010volunteer.cn, www.wmsh.gov.cn, and www.21campus.cn or dial 962010, the Expo hotline, starting on May 1. English service is available.
Applicants can also go to 19 sites located around the city's 18 districts and Chongming Island as well as 53 universities. Deadline for applications is December 31.
People who want to help out at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo can sign up to become volunteers starting May 1.
Foreigners, seniors and even the physically challenged can apply to take part in the World Fair, the Expo organizer said yesterday.
Around 70,000 volunteers will be recruited to work inside the Expo site and another 100,000 to staff more than 1,000 service centers around the city during the event, which is expected to attract 70 million visitors, Ma Chunlei, deputy director of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China's Shanghai Committee and deputy leader of the Expo volunteer recruitment team, told a press conference.
Each volunteer must agree to work at least a total of 14 days at the Expo, which starts on May 1, 2010, and will last 184 days.
Volunteers who work inside the site must be at least 18 years old, and those outside should be older than 16. There is no upper limit on age.
Volunteers must be in good health and agree to take part in training prior to their service.
Local young people are expected to make up the bulk of the volunteer team, Ma said.
The organizer will also recruit some physically challenged volunteers who have language skills or other abilities, according to Ma.
Volunteers who work inside the Expo site will be used as information consultants, assistant receptionists, aids for physically challenged people, event coordinators, assistant guides, interpreters, media coordinators and management assistants for volunteers.
Those who work in the outside service areas will help with information consultation, translation, emergency rescue and promoting good manners.
The organizer will provide volunteers with insurance, uniforms, equipment and meals. It will not pay for accommodation for those coming in from abroad or other provinces.
Recruitment and training will be finished in March. The organizer will provide special training for foreign volunteers, putting modules on the Internet for study abroad, Ma said.
Prospective volunteers can apply online at www.expo2010.cn, www.expovol.com, www.expo2010volunteer.cn, www.wmsh.gov.cn, and www.21campus.cn or dial 962010, the Expo hotline, starting on May 1. English service is available.
Applicants can also go to 19 sites located around the city's 18 districts and Chongming Island as well as 53 universities. Deadline for applications is December 31.
Brife introduction of Shanghai Expo
World Expositions are galleries of human inspirations and thoughts. Since 1851 when the Great Exhibition of Industries of All Nations was held in London, the World Expositions have attained increasing prominence as grand events for economic, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges, serving as an important platform for displaying historical experience, exchanging innovative ideas, demonstrating esprit de corps and looking to the future.
With a long civilisation, China favours international exchange and loves world peace. China owes its successful bid for the World Exposition in 2010 to the international community's support for and confidence in its reform and opening-up. The Exposition will be the first registered World Exposition in a developing country, which gives expression to the expectations the world's people place on China's future development.
So what will Expo 2010 Shanghai China deliver to the world? There is no doubt the Chinese people will present to the world a successful, splendid and unforgettable exposition.
Expo 2010 Shanghai China will be a great event to explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century and a significant period in urban evolution. Fifty-five percent of the world population is expected to live in cities by the year 2010. The prospect of future urban life, a subject of global interest, concerns all nations, developed or less developed, and their people. Being the first World Exposition on the theme of city, Exposition 2010 will attract governments and people from across the world, focusing on the theme "Better City, Better Life." For its 184 days, participants will display urban civilisation to the full extent, exchange their experiences of urban development, disseminate advanced notions on cities and explore new approaches to human habitat, lifestyle and working conditions in the new century. They will learn how to create an eco-friendly society and maintain the sustainable development of human beings.
Expo 2010 Shanghai China will centre on innovation and interaction. Innovation is the soul, while cultural interaction is an important mission of the World Expositions. In the new era, Expo 2010 Shanghai China will contribute to human-centred development, scientific and technological innovation, cultural diversity and win-win cooperation for a better future, thus composing a melody with the key notes of highlighting innovation and interaction in the new century.
Expo 2010 Shanghai China will also be a grand international gathering. On the one hand, we shall endeavour to attract about 200 nations and international organisations to take part in the exhibition as well as 70 million visitors from home and abroad, ensuring the widest possible participation in the history of the World Expositions. On the other hand, we will put Expo 2010 Shanghai China in a global perspective and do our best to encourage the participation and gain the understanding and support of various countries and peoples, in order to turn Expo 2010 Shanghai China into a happy reunion of people from all over the world.
In addition, Expo 2010 Shanghai China will offer a wonderful opportunity for cross-culture dialogues. Before the conclusion of the Exposition, a "Shanghai Declaration" will be issued. This declaration, hopefully a milestone in the history of the World Expositions, will epitomise the insights to be offered by the participants and embody people's ideas for future cooperation and development and extensive common aspirations, thereby leaving a rich spiritual legacy of urban development to people throughout the world.
The Chinese Government will go to great lengths to make Expo 2010 Shanghai China a special event that carries on traditions and opens a new vista into the future. Our motto is: "Keeping in mind the next 60 years' development while preparing for the six months' Exposition." We count on the continuing attention, support and participation of all the peace-loving countries
With a long civilisation, China favours international exchange and loves world peace. China owes its successful bid for the World Exposition in 2010 to the international community's support for and confidence in its reform and opening-up. The Exposition will be the first registered World Exposition in a developing country, which gives expression to the expectations the world's people place on China's future development.
So what will Expo 2010 Shanghai China deliver to the world? There is no doubt the Chinese people will present to the world a successful, splendid and unforgettable exposition.
Expo 2010 Shanghai China will be a great event to explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century and a significant period in urban evolution. Fifty-five percent of the world population is expected to live in cities by the year 2010. The prospect of future urban life, a subject of global interest, concerns all nations, developed or less developed, and their people. Being the first World Exposition on the theme of city, Exposition 2010 will attract governments and people from across the world, focusing on the theme "Better City, Better Life." For its 184 days, participants will display urban civilisation to the full extent, exchange their experiences of urban development, disseminate advanced notions on cities and explore new approaches to human habitat, lifestyle and working conditions in the new century. They will learn how to create an eco-friendly society and maintain the sustainable development of human beings.
Expo 2010 Shanghai China will centre on innovation and interaction. Innovation is the soul, while cultural interaction is an important mission of the World Expositions. In the new era, Expo 2010 Shanghai China will contribute to human-centred development, scientific and technological innovation, cultural diversity and win-win cooperation for a better future, thus composing a melody with the key notes of highlighting innovation and interaction in the new century.
Expo 2010 Shanghai China will also be a grand international gathering. On the one hand, we shall endeavour to attract about 200 nations and international organisations to take part in the exhibition as well as 70 million visitors from home and abroad, ensuring the widest possible participation in the history of the World Expositions. On the other hand, we will put Expo 2010 Shanghai China in a global perspective and do our best to encourage the participation and gain the understanding and support of various countries and peoples, in order to turn Expo 2010 Shanghai China into a happy reunion of people from all over the world.
In addition, Expo 2010 Shanghai China will offer a wonderful opportunity for cross-culture dialogues. Before the conclusion of the Exposition, a "Shanghai Declaration" will be issued. This declaration, hopefully a milestone in the history of the World Expositions, will epitomise the insights to be offered by the participants and embody people's ideas for future cooperation and development and extensive common aspirations, thereby leaving a rich spiritual legacy of urban development to people throughout the world.
The Chinese Government will go to great lengths to make Expo 2010 Shanghai China a special event that carries on traditions and opens a new vista into the future. Our motto is: "Keeping in mind the next 60 years' development while preparing for the six months' Exposition." We count on the continuing attention, support and participation of all the peace-loving countries
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Shanghai Magelv Time able
Time:
Long Yang Road -> Pudong Airport 7:00 - 21:00
Pudong Airport -> Long Yang Road 7:02 - 21:02
It runs at interval of 20 minutes sharp.
It means the train from Long Yang Road to Pudong Airport starts at 7:00, 7:20, 7:40, 8:00 ..... 20:40, 21:00
Please note that the top speed of Maglev is 430 km/h, which you will experience at day time. In early morning and late night, the speed will be reduced to 300 km/h for safty reasons.
Long Yang Road -> Pudong Airport 7:00 - 21:00
Pudong Airport -> Long Yang Road 7:02 - 21:02
It runs at interval of 20 minutes sharp.
It means the train from Long Yang Road to Pudong Airport starts at 7:00, 7:20, 7:40, 8:00 ..... 20:40, 21:00
Please note that the top speed of Maglev is 430 km/h, which you will experience at day time. In early morning and late night, the speed will be reduced to 300 km/h for safty reasons.
Xin Tian Di
COFFEE ISN'T THE ONLY THING BREWING in the chic cafes of Xin Tian Di, the hottest new entertainment district in Shanghai. A revolutionary spirit reverberates through the two-square block development that saved scores of historic brick buildings from the wrecking ball, by transforming them into some of the city's finest clubs, restaurants and boutiques.
Revolution is practically a tradition in this charming neighborhood of old Shikumen, a type of early 1900s tenement unique to Shanghai.
Eighty-two years ago, meetings held inside one of the old Shikumen at Xin Tian Di (pronounced Shin tea-en dee) were chaired by the original Chairman, Mao Zedong. Attending were the first comrades. Together,The formed Communist party which transformed all of China.
Despite its lofty name, Xin Tian Di - literally, New, Heaven, Earth - has more modest hopes, merely intending to revolutionize entertainment, shopping and dining in Shanghai.
Already, it's set a new benchmark for style that is fast being replicated around China. And the success of the project could have even greater impact as a role model for historical redevelopment not just in China, but across Asia.
Credit goes to Benjamin Wood, an American architect who oversaw the $170 million restoration of the neighborhood of old apartment blocks with traditional courtyard-style of construction.
His relationship with Xin Tian Di was a case of love at first sight. "I flew into Shanghai," he recalls, "and was given 24 hours to decide whether I wanted to do it. I was blown away.
"I saw the magic of the place. It was amazing. There was laundry hanging everywhere, all these people, parents with kids, flying kites, the whole litany of human experience."
Yet Wood - a protégé of famed architect Benjamin Thompson, who turned Boston's 150-year-old Faneuil Hall market into a world-renowned tourist attraction - is more realist than romantic when it comes to restoration.
"I disdain preservation," he explains. "I don't believe you should proclaim things dead and turn them into museums. I believe you should breath life into places. That's my goal. I want to make living areas, where people can eat, drink and enjoy themselves."
A stroll through Xin Tian Di shows he has achieved his aim. The place has been packed day and night since a second phase added more outlets along with cinemas, ice cream parlors and craft booths last year.
"Xin Tian Di has transformed nightlife and entertainment in Shanghai," says Bob Boyce, owner of several restaurants and pubs in town, including KABB, one of Xin Tian Di's first openings.
"Sometimes I just sit here and watch all the people go by. That's the real beauty of Xin Tian Di. You see people, all kinds of people, from all over the world, all enjoying themselves."
The project has proven a critical as well as commercial hit. Local historian Tess Johnston, author of "A Last Look: Western Architecture in Old Shanghai" concedes concerns at the outset that the gentrification of the old district would ruin its charm.
"But I've come around. I've seen the alternative and realize the future of Shanghai is more Xin Tian Di's."
Johnston bemoans the wholesale destruction of so much of Shanghai's architectural heritage. Around the city's evocative old French Quarter, the old brick blocks are being razed, replaced by modern high-rises and shopping malls.
That, too, seemed the fate awaiting Xin Tian Di's stone-gate Shikumen. But, in an ironic turn of events, Mao helped save the district, which has now become a celebration of fine food, nightlife and flashy consumer goods - practically everything he and his party opposed.
When Hong Kong developers Shui On Group were given the rights to a massive 128 acres of prime downtown land, one stipulation was that the old party hall had to be preserved.
First Communist Party Hall is now a museum, but cloistered around it on a delightful maze of cobbled streets are scores of trendy outlets reminiscent of San Francisco's Ghirardelli Square or Faneuil Hall.
The outlets range from a Vidal Sassoon salon to the requisite Starbucks. There are flashy French and Italian restaurants, La Maison and Va Bene, plus nightclubs like Star East, a sort of Planet Hong Kong theme club launched by Jacky Chan and other Cantonese stars.
Design is what makes Xin Tian Di so attractive, inside and out. Each of the two to three-story Shikumen looks unique, reflecting the exquisitely-preserved twists and turns of an evolving neighborhood, over the decades.
Interiors are equally eye-catching; some of Shanghai's best artists and designers worked overtime on each shop and restaurant, determined to dazzle each other. Take TMSK, which has been turning heads with a bar handspun of exotic glass, from the walls to bar-top and stools.
Xin Tian Di is bolstered by the competitive spirit of one-upmanship: zesty tapas are served along with spicy salsa music at Cuban club and restaurant Che; big wall murals set a funky mood at La Bene (peak inside the playful bathrooms with stone basins and walls filled with butterfly displays); Ye Shanghai uses red lanterns and classy antique settings to evoke the spirit of Shanghai's swinging 1930s heyday.
The result is a magical cornucopia recalling this city's former reputation for fusion, of East and West, old and new. And it satisfies at every level with surprises at every turn: an old door hinge or stunning balcony view of surrounding skyscrapers soaring over rounded doorways and century-old roof tiles.
As a result, Shui On has been besieged by offers to replicate Xin Tian Di around China. Already, work has started on a similar project in Hangzhou, a lakeside city southwest of Shanghai.
Nor are locals any less enthusiastic. "It's beautiful," says one old man in his late 70s on a visit to Xin Tian Di. "It's not like Shanghai was; nothing can be like that again. This is new, but it keeps the flavor of old Shanghai."
Ironically, everybody's favorite restoration almost never happened, at least not quite this way. The original development plan, according to Wood, involved knocking down most Shikumen, then rebuilding a new version of Old Shanghai in a tiny area around the Party Hall.
Wood, a latecomer to the project, appealed to Shui On Chairman Vincent Lo to take a different tact. "I cannot say this strongly enough," he wrote Lo. "Look past the obvious, the dirt, the decay, the crowded, unsanitary conditions and see (the area) as what it is...a cultural artifact that could for generations to come symbolize the meeting of East and West.
"Every one who visits Shanghai is looking to find a trace, a piece of the history of one of the most famous cities of the early Twentieth Century."
The crowds at Xin Tian Di provide vindication; likewise the flood of offers from other Chinese cities to do similar projects. Not that Wood intends to replicate Xin Tian Di.
"The danger, I guess is that it becomes a cliché, like some sort of Disney," he says. "Over time, though, I believe Xin Tian Di will be recognized as a classic. It will age very well."
Wood isn't merely paying lip service to his creation that has quickly become Shanghai's favorite leisure zone. He's also enthusiastically involved, and has opened his own bar in Xin Tian Di, the ultra-minimalist DR.
The name means Design Resource, and it's become a favored hang-out for local architects and designers. Almost entirely black, DR sports huge slabs of polished inkstone and a bar topped with woven strands of silver so tight liquids reportedly cannot penetrate. Hence, despite a peaking career in America, the architect has all but relocated to Shanghai.
"It's the only place in the world I know where you can watch pop culture created in front of you. There is so much energy. It's like Paris in the 1930s," he says. "There is so much artistic freedom. That might sound funny, but it's amazing. Things happen fast here."
Of course, it took decades for the rebirth of Xin Tian Di, an old classic that has clearly come of age. In the process, China has finally had a chance to taste the kind of style and diversity of entertainment unknown until now.
Revolution is practically a tradition in this charming neighborhood of old Shikumen, a type of early 1900s tenement unique to Shanghai.
Eighty-two years ago, meetings held inside one of the old Shikumen at Xin Tian Di (pronounced Shin tea-en dee) were chaired by the original Chairman, Mao Zedong. Attending were the first comrades. Together,The formed Communist party which transformed all of China.
Despite its lofty name, Xin Tian Di - literally, New, Heaven, Earth - has more modest hopes, merely intending to revolutionize entertainment, shopping and dining in Shanghai.
Already, it's set a new benchmark for style that is fast being replicated around China. And the success of the project could have even greater impact as a role model for historical redevelopment not just in China, but across Asia.
Credit goes to Benjamin Wood, an American architect who oversaw the $170 million restoration of the neighborhood of old apartment blocks with traditional courtyard-style of construction.
His relationship with Xin Tian Di was a case of love at first sight. "I flew into Shanghai," he recalls, "and was given 24 hours to decide whether I wanted to do it. I was blown away.
"I saw the magic of the place. It was amazing. There was laundry hanging everywhere, all these people, parents with kids, flying kites, the whole litany of human experience."
Yet Wood - a protégé of famed architect Benjamin Thompson, who turned Boston's 150-year-old Faneuil Hall market into a world-renowned tourist attraction - is more realist than romantic when it comes to restoration.
"I disdain preservation," he explains. "I don't believe you should proclaim things dead and turn them into museums. I believe you should breath life into places. That's my goal. I want to make living areas, where people can eat, drink and enjoy themselves."
A stroll through Xin Tian Di shows he has achieved his aim. The place has been packed day and night since a second phase added more outlets along with cinemas, ice cream parlors and craft booths last year.
"Xin Tian Di has transformed nightlife and entertainment in Shanghai," says Bob Boyce, owner of several restaurants and pubs in town, including KABB, one of Xin Tian Di's first openings.
"Sometimes I just sit here and watch all the people go by. That's the real beauty of Xin Tian Di. You see people, all kinds of people, from all over the world, all enjoying themselves."
The project has proven a critical as well as commercial hit. Local historian Tess Johnston, author of "A Last Look: Western Architecture in Old Shanghai" concedes concerns at the outset that the gentrification of the old district would ruin its charm.
"But I've come around. I've seen the alternative and realize the future of Shanghai is more Xin Tian Di's."
Johnston bemoans the wholesale destruction of so much of Shanghai's architectural heritage. Around the city's evocative old French Quarter, the old brick blocks are being razed, replaced by modern high-rises and shopping malls.
That, too, seemed the fate awaiting Xin Tian Di's stone-gate Shikumen. But, in an ironic turn of events, Mao helped save the district, which has now become a celebration of fine food, nightlife and flashy consumer goods - practically everything he and his party opposed.
When Hong Kong developers Shui On Group were given the rights to a massive 128 acres of prime downtown land, one stipulation was that the old party hall had to be preserved.
First Communist Party Hall is now a museum, but cloistered around it on a delightful maze of cobbled streets are scores of trendy outlets reminiscent of San Francisco's Ghirardelli Square or Faneuil Hall.
The outlets range from a Vidal Sassoon salon to the requisite Starbucks. There are flashy French and Italian restaurants, La Maison and Va Bene, plus nightclubs like Star East, a sort of Planet Hong Kong theme club launched by Jacky Chan and other Cantonese stars.
Design is what makes Xin Tian Di so attractive, inside and out. Each of the two to three-story Shikumen looks unique, reflecting the exquisitely-preserved twists and turns of an evolving neighborhood, over the decades.
Interiors are equally eye-catching; some of Shanghai's best artists and designers worked overtime on each shop and restaurant, determined to dazzle each other. Take TMSK, which has been turning heads with a bar handspun of exotic glass, from the walls to bar-top and stools.
Xin Tian Di is bolstered by the competitive spirit of one-upmanship: zesty tapas are served along with spicy salsa music at Cuban club and restaurant Che; big wall murals set a funky mood at La Bene (peak inside the playful bathrooms with stone basins and walls filled with butterfly displays); Ye Shanghai uses red lanterns and classy antique settings to evoke the spirit of Shanghai's swinging 1930s heyday.
The result is a magical cornucopia recalling this city's former reputation for fusion, of East and West, old and new. And it satisfies at every level with surprises at every turn: an old door hinge or stunning balcony view of surrounding skyscrapers soaring over rounded doorways and century-old roof tiles.
As a result, Shui On has been besieged by offers to replicate Xin Tian Di around China. Already, work has started on a similar project in Hangzhou, a lakeside city southwest of Shanghai.
Nor are locals any less enthusiastic. "It's beautiful," says one old man in his late 70s on a visit to Xin Tian Di. "It's not like Shanghai was; nothing can be like that again. This is new, but it keeps the flavor of old Shanghai."
Ironically, everybody's favorite restoration almost never happened, at least not quite this way. The original development plan, according to Wood, involved knocking down most Shikumen, then rebuilding a new version of Old Shanghai in a tiny area around the Party Hall.
Wood, a latecomer to the project, appealed to Shui On Chairman Vincent Lo to take a different tact. "I cannot say this strongly enough," he wrote Lo. "Look past the obvious, the dirt, the decay, the crowded, unsanitary conditions and see (the area) as what it is...a cultural artifact that could for generations to come symbolize the meeting of East and West.
"Every one who visits Shanghai is looking to find a trace, a piece of the history of one of the most famous cities of the early Twentieth Century."
The crowds at Xin Tian Di provide vindication; likewise the flood of offers from other Chinese cities to do similar projects. Not that Wood intends to replicate Xin Tian Di.
"The danger, I guess is that it becomes a cliché, like some sort of Disney," he says. "Over time, though, I believe Xin Tian Di will be recognized as a classic. It will age very well."
Wood isn't merely paying lip service to his creation that has quickly become Shanghai's favorite leisure zone. He's also enthusiastically involved, and has opened his own bar in Xin Tian Di, the ultra-minimalist DR.
The name means Design Resource, and it's become a favored hang-out for local architects and designers. Almost entirely black, DR sports huge slabs of polished inkstone and a bar topped with woven strands of silver so tight liquids reportedly cannot penetrate. Hence, despite a peaking career in America, the architect has all but relocated to Shanghai.
"It's the only place in the world I know where you can watch pop culture created in front of you. There is so much energy. It's like Paris in the 1930s," he says. "There is so much artistic freedom. That might sound funny, but it's amazing. Things happen fast here."
Of course, it took decades for the rebirth of Xin Tian Di, an old classic that has clearly come of age. In the process, China has finally had a chance to taste the kind of style and diversity of entertainment unknown until now.
The Bund ( Waitan ) In Shanghai
The Bund (Wai Tan) is one of the symbols of Shanghai.
Located along the Huangpu River, the Bund shows off Shanghai’s outstanding foreign buildings, most of which were erected before 1937. To the Europeans, the Bund was Shanghai’s answer to Wall Street. In the 1930s, the string of buildings hosted the city's financial and commercial centers, and the world's greatest banks and trading empires established a base here.
“The Bund” was derived from the Anglo-Indian term that literally means “a muddy embankment.” At the beginning of the 19th century, the area was a mere shallow waterfront covered with reeds.
At the northwestern end of the Bund was Huangpu Park (once called British Public Gardens). More of a pedestrian walkway than a conventional park, this area was also under the control of the Brits. It was forbidden territory to Chinese people for years, unless they were accompanying employers. Today, the park is free and open to everyone; it is a well-maintained walkway providing excellent views over the river to Pudong and down the river to the old Customs House and other colonial relics.
On the west side of the Bund are various towering buildings of different architectural styles, including Gothic, Baroque and Romanesque. The combination of these structures creates a unique boulevard that resembles the Liverpool Docks and 1920s New York City.
Today, the Bund is in the process of another transformation. The building, identified by a crowing dome, is the old Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, which was completed in 1921. For many years it has housed the Shanghai People’s Municipal Government. The statues that once lined the Bund no longer exist. The pair of bronze lions that once stood outside the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank are now housed at the Bund History Museum.
Located along the Huangpu River, the Bund shows off Shanghai’s outstanding foreign buildings, most of which were erected before 1937. To the Europeans, the Bund was Shanghai’s answer to Wall Street. In the 1930s, the string of buildings hosted the city's financial and commercial centers, and the world's greatest banks and trading empires established a base here.
“The Bund” was derived from the Anglo-Indian term that literally means “a muddy embankment.” At the beginning of the 19th century, the area was a mere shallow waterfront covered with reeds.
At the northwestern end of the Bund was Huangpu Park (once called British Public Gardens). More of a pedestrian walkway than a conventional park, this area was also under the control of the Brits. It was forbidden territory to Chinese people for years, unless they were accompanying employers. Today, the park is free and open to everyone; it is a well-maintained walkway providing excellent views over the river to Pudong and down the river to the old Customs House and other colonial relics.
On the west side of the Bund are various towering buildings of different architectural styles, including Gothic, Baroque and Romanesque. The combination of these structures creates a unique boulevard that resembles the Liverpool Docks and 1920s New York City.
Today, the Bund is in the process of another transformation. The building, identified by a crowing dome, is the old Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank, which was completed in 1921. For many years it has housed the Shanghai People’s Municipal Government. The statues that once lined the Bund no longer exist. The pair of bronze lions that once stood outside the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank are now housed at the Bund History Museum.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
