Behind the bright lights and flashy skyscrapers of new Shanghai, MARK ANDREWS discovers the quirky charm of the old city on a sidecar tour.
Andaz Hotel is in the Xintiandi area of Shanghai, now a fashionable art and entertainment precinct behind the facades of traditional shikumen buildings, and the meeting place where I wait for my ride – a sidecar which can trace its vintage to the 1930s era BMW R71. My guide, 26-year-old Abi Li from Shanghai Insiders, pulls up on a China Post green Changjiang 750 sidecar and seems at home on the motorcycle.
“I grew up in a sidecar as my godfather was a policeman and had a police sidecar. I remember from when I was about 5 until age 12 spending time in the sidecar going here and there,” she explains before we set off. It’s an exhilarating ride low down on the road, zipping through busy Shanghai traffic – well, the actual speed is only about 25kmh but it feels faster with the engine barking loudly as we go and the wind whistling around my head – helmets are available but not compulsory to wear, adding to the thrill of the ride for anyone used to stricter western road rules.
Our first stop is the 1933 Old Millfun building which hides a gruesome past behind its Art Deco façade. Today its five levels are a labyrinthine web of concrete bridges, stairways, cloisters and massive halls that house galleries, creative spaces and contemporary art that
have erased any sign that this once was the city’s main abattoir.
Back in the sidecar we continue on through southern Hongkou and the area where Jewish refugees found sanctuary during WWII in Shanghai then across the iconic Garden Bridge to the Yu Gardens old town. Instead of going to the tourist-swamped centre we dive down a back street of traditional houses where locals are busy going about their lives. That’s the trademark of Shanghai Insiders tours, guides aim to take visitors off the beaten path.
“I enjoy showing foreigners the big contrast of modern and traditional which can easily be found in Hongkou and the old town for the traditional part and among all the skyscrapers and office buildings for the new. They can feel that this city is full of energy, creativity and productivity. Plus there are the former concessions [French, American, British communities] and all the Laszlo Hudec [a prolific Hungarian architect in pre-war Shanghai] buildings. I think these are what Shanghai is made of and where its charm lies,” says Li.
Tours are tailored to what visitors are interested in and can last from one to four hours. Often there’s no set route and an emphasis on local knowledge shows visitors a side of Shanghai they otherwise might not see.
Read the rest of Mark Andrews story in Brisbane Airport’s BNE magazine. View online at
www.bne.com.au/files/bne/BNE_Magazine_Issue_17/#16
China Eastern Airlines operates direct flights between Brisbane and Shanghai four times a week and services a broad network of destinations across China, Europe, North America and Asia from its base at Shanghai’s Pudong Airport. See www.oa.ceair.com.
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