Run Faster

I was in Shanghai last month on business. I have been visiting Shanghai at least once a year over the past two decades. Yet, I continue to be amazed by the pace at which the municipality is growing.

- William Ng

Two decades ago, the Pudong airport has just opened, and I remember the delight of taking the maglev train for the first time. There’s something magical about traveling at over 400 kilometres per hour in a train that’s literally floating on air. The focus on the Pudong side of the city was the sparkling new Oriental Pearl Tower and the Super Brand Mall opposite it – then the city’s largest shopping mall. Today, these two landmarks are overshadowed by the 128-storey Shanghai Tower and the equally majestic 101-storey World Financial Center.

Over on Puxi, the ‘older’ parts of Shanghai have also undergone their own renaissance. Pre-republic buildings that housed banks and government offices now host Michelin-starred restaurants and private clubs with shows that would put a blush on even the most seasoned of 1920s Shanghainese madames. The famed Xintiandi – heralded as a showcase of Shanghainese creativity has now matured into a cultural icon in the league of New York’s Greenwich Village and London’s Soho.

Whether you are on the older Puxi side of the famous Shanghai bund, or on the vast Pudong side – the energy and dynamism cannot be missed.