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Culture on Demand: Meet and Greet Shanghai's New Face
A first look at this marvelous city makes one hunger for more
By STAN STALNAKER
October 1, 1999
Web posted at 9 p.m. Hong Kong time, 9 p.m. EDT
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ASIAWEEK
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When was the last time you took a good look at someone's face? When we meet people for the first time, face to face, we often go through a cognitive overview that shades our initial view of them. Psychologists and other individuals with letters like "Ph.D." and "Dr." surrounding their names say we then spend the rest of our time in that first meeting looking for ways to reinforce our initial perceptions.
If that's so, we wonder if the same is true when you meet a place for the first time. Do your initial experiences upon arriving in a city color your perception of it to a dramatic degree? If so, that means the arrival is pretty important (which must be why Singapore, Osaka, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong have spent zillions on creating amazing airports to greet international visitors).
It's hard to describe a person's face with precision, partly because people look different depending on the time and angle. We think the same is true with Shanghai. All the fireworks -- both literal and verbal -- surrounding last week's Fortune Global Forum (500 totally guanxi CEOs, VIPs, etc.) put Shanghai at the center of the world's attention. Everyone's talking about the new Shanghai, the flourishing Shanghai, the sexy Shanghai, and so forth.
But trying to fit Shanghai into a catchall definition is like trying to eat air. That is to say, pointless. The place defies categorization. The government wants everyone to think Pudong is a great place for investment. The street vendors want you to think their porcelain is Ming. (Or at least Qing.) The staff at the Jin Mao Grand Hyatt wants you to think you're happy. (They, by the way, are gorgeous! Every last one of 'em).
Shanghai is definitely trying hard. Everyone raves about the nightlife.
The people are relatively friendly. The kids waving Chinese flags for China's 50th birthday celebrations seemed happy. The sun shines. You still overpay at the street markets. And, as in all big cities, people drive like maniacs. There are lots of faces to Shanghai--it's not a city that sends a consistent message, unlike Singapore (efficient), Rio de Janeiro (passionate) or Toronto (asleep).
That's great. It makes Shanghai one of the most interesting places to be in the whole world. There's a place called the Face that opened five months ago in Shanghai's center. It's so nousian (our word to describe nouveau Asia organic): it features great super spicy Thai food, "frontier" North Indian food, antiques to drool over and a very progressive attitude. The head chef is Indian. The manager is Romanian. The investors are Brazilian, Italian and Thai, and it's full of friendly Chinese. If that's the new face of Shanghai -- cosmopolitan, organic, a bit sexy and quietly confident -- all we can say is: Shanghai, great to meet you, you're on the right track, baby.
Write to us at mail@web.timeasia.com
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