Eric's Beijing Diary

Saturday Morning. Shanghai. This is my first trip to Shanghai. I have been here many times in my reading, of course, because Shanghai figures so prominently in the turbulent history of the last century. I'm sitting here having breakfast in the old Peace Hotel on the Bund. I wasn't sure how to tell the taxi driver how to get here, 'cause I don't know how to say "Bund" in Chinese. Fortunately, I had a small map I could show him.

The term "Bund" comes from the days when Shanghai was essentially a European outpost. It was different then. Shanghai was an open city--no visa required. This city was quite literally the last refuge of scoundrels. And they were all here. It was not governed by the Chinese in those days. It was governed by the British, who were, by treaty, exempt from Chinese law. Not everyone was bad, of course. There were decent people too. But the unusual nature of the treaty port arrangement attracted a whole host of people who were running from their respective pasts, along with pimps, prostitutes, gamblers, and other unsavory characters of every variety. Child prostitutes walked the streets closely watched by their handlers. White Russian refugees took whatever work they could find, to the consternation of the British, who didn't think it was good for white people to be seen doing such menial labor. The nights were long, the opium trade was booming, although not legally, and the sign in park along the Bund said, "Chinese and Dogs Not Allowed."

Sitting here in 2004 so very many years later, it's hard to believe that so much of this Victorian architecture has survived the many wars and political upheavals that have rocked this city throughout the turbulent 20th Century. This building here was built in 1906, and is located right where the old Nanking Road (Nanjing) meets the Bund.

So where does Shanghai go from here? It is poised to become the economic epicenter of Asia. This is a tough challenge. Hong Kong and Singapore have a longer history. Actually, that's not true--Shanghai was at it before either of them, and Hong Kong was largely developed by refugees from the Shanghai banking community. What I mean is that right now, in 2004, Shanghai's position as a market oriented banking city dates from Deng Xiaoping's economic reforms, which began in 1992. Both Hong Kong and Singapore have been at it a generation longer. And another thing: Can a market economy thrive in a controlled society? It's an interesting experiment, and I, for one, hope it works, because it is more appropriate for whatever Shanghai becomes to be run by the Chinese. This is China, after all.

Labels: Summer 2004, Travel Shanghai