Northstar

FEATURE www.travelweeklyweb.com Shanghai's sweet sophistication The Shanghai World Expo held two years back provided the window for Shanghai's beauty and progress to shine through to the world. And besides that, it also unveils Shanghai's identity and sophistication, with an array of high-end accommodations exuding opulence and sheer grandeur, hot shopping spots along Xintiandi, and top dining establishments that give the city its own fl avour. And these are factors contributing to the makeup of the Chinese city that has progressed from a modest fi shing town to one that boasts a beautiful skyline; tall majestic buildings proudly adorn the sky wearing badges of the city's forward financial standing. Accommodation has also earned its fair share of reputation, for offering opulence, superb experience and unrivalled services of their own. Melissa Tizi unravels two hotels that hold some sweet surprises that Shanghai has to offer. Shanghai possesses a certain je ne sais quoi that brings us closer to the largest city in China. The former French concession certainly earns its accolades as the "Paris of the East", epitomising the very best in Chinese art and design that spans across all areas including the glittering fashion scene and cuisine culture eponymous to decadent and gastronomic dining experience. Shanghai to me has created itself into a unified blend of old and new, acquiring that certain characteristic of a good blend. Like whiskey. Longingly old, historically 4 | ■ TRAVELWEEKLY ASIA | 10 JULY 2012 rich and finely flavoured with a lingering aftertaste. I like how individuals like Yang Pei Ming, director of the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center believes in his cause, retaining a certain aspect of history that many would not have known, the newer generations especially, of their own country. Collecting controversial pieces of historical posters which were once denied (the Center has been granted license to operate, four months ago) by the government also means providing others of that alternative viewpoints, interpretations, freedom to think and decipher. And this is one aspect Shanghai has, as compared to other cities, in terms of its culture and arts. The city was born with a sense of a foreign vision – a port trading point for barters like tea and silk. And look at how it has transformed, a century and a half later – a manifestation of mighty strength, buildings of power front the river, what is now famously known as the Bund. Beautiful, strong, the Bund is an architecture evidence of a past that constantly reminds us of how it has fl ourished, and stronghold of a Shanghainese identity many so envy. It was after all, that meeting point where the French socialites once heeled the town, where scholars took on English to interact and fi nd that sense of higher learning, where British bankers settle in on investment dealings, and missionaries scored religious integration amongst www.travelweeklyweb.com The Cathay Room, Fairmont Peace Hotel

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