I
ended up waking in a familiar city. I saw the Huangpu River and the Bund and
realized that I came to Shanghai again. However, it seemed older and more
mysterious than I came here last time. So I checked the space pocket watch and
found that I returned to eighty years ago. The watch provided me with
background knowledge that Shanghai got its own colonial history
from 1850s and this particular historical background gave the metropolitan a
multi-culture basis under the mysterious Eastern veil. I calmed down and started
to appreciate this city from a different angle. I saw men wearing suits and
overcoats and women in high heels, walking hurriedly on the streets. I heard
bells ringing from the trolley buses, which were always full of people. I
smelled the fragrance of food and recognized that there were both traditional
Chinese food like pork buns and Western desserts like cream cake. After
observing the environment as well as the passers-by carefully and listening to
what people were talking about (of course translated by my pocket watch), I did
feel how the Opium War changed a city dramatically. Although people suffered
from the aftermath of the disastrous wars, the wars turned Shanghai into a
bustling metropolis with great opportunities to be discovered. Many banks
established their branches on the Bund, ships came and left day and night, and people’s
attitude towards new things became more inclusive and open as shown in their
clothes, language and many other daily routines. That’s why Shanghai was
described as ‘the Paris of the East’.
http://hznews.hangzhou.com.cn/wenti/content/2015-11/15/content_5981443.htm
I
decided to go to Yuyuan Garden first, which was a famous classical garden
located in Anren Jie. It was finished in 1577 by a government officer of the Ming
Dynasty named Pan Yunduan. Yu in Chinese meant pleasing and satisfying, and I
found that the atmosphere in this garden was tranquil and relaxing just like
its name. I wandered around the narrow streets paved with rocks and was attracted
by all kinds of things. I bought a delicate handmade umbrella in one of the
handicraft workshops. I tried delicious food, including Five-flavored Beans, Ligao
Candy and Roasted Chestnut. I enjoyed the old artists singing a piece of Hu
Opera, which was the traditional Shanghai opera sung in Shanghai dialect. There
was so much fun in Yuyuan Garden and I hoped that these skills
and art forms as well as the spirit behind them could still be passed down
within families and become more widely known and respected.
Then
I went to the Wang Residence because I heard people saying that it is one of
the biggest garden houses in Shanghai and there is a story about it. One of the
Chinese Republic dignitaries WangBoqun built this house for his newly married
wife at a huge cost and was later impeached for economic crimes. The house
looked Western from the outside and tons of marble and copper were used. I had
extraordinary eyesight and when I looked through some open windows, I found
that the living rooms and bedrooms were decorated with Eastern-style ornaments.
The house looked breathtaking under the blue sky and was surrounded by well-maintained
tress and flowers, making it second to none. Unfortunately, I knew that the
couple could only stay here for one more year because the war one year later would
force them to leave and the days in Shanghai would lodge in their memory and
haunt them in the rest of their life. What a pity!
http://www.shanghaitour.net/merchant/businessdetail_30076.html
I felt a little depressed and so at
night, I took a rickshaw to the Paramount on Bubbling Well Road to forget all
the sadness. It was a major entertainment venue and was designed in Art Deco
style. I had listened to many genres of music after I arrived on earth, but this was the first time
I really listened to old jazz, and it bowled me over. Wearing Chinese silk
dresses with impeccable makeup and hair, the singers and dancers were beautiful
and elegant. Customers drank, smoked, laughed and talked constantly as if the
night and happiness would never end. Being immersed in the music, alcohol and
stunning atmosphere, I thought of the Latin saying ‘carpe diem’. I knew that
Shanghai would be stricken again during World War Two, but I just wanted to
live for today and slept in old dreams…
http://tupian.baike.com/a1_84_23_01300542856671142050233793465_140_jpg.html
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