Shanghai 1. Rubbing Shoulders

As a child, the Time/Life Science books entranced me. They were picture books with a decent number of words, covering almost every subject under the sun, and some beyond it. My favourite pages had captions which ended "...where the old rubs shoulders with the new." There always seemed to be endless depths of story in those pictures.

China is a country where the old rubs shoulders with the new so often that those shoulders are bruised black.

Shanghai's perma-haze, referred to on the day of one's arrival as a sea fog that's blown in, but ever after accepted as smog, gives the immensely high buildings the quality of Dan Dare drawings. Mythologies are developing about the structures. Taken from within a completely preserved affluent merchants house, we see the affluent financiers building at 100 Century Avenue, which houses the highest hotel lobby in the world on the 87th floor and is currently the tallest building in Shanghai. Allegedly, it was built by Japanese developers whose original plan sneaked through with a circular hole at the top. The Authorities realised this would mean the Japanese rising sun appearing over Shanghai every day. The circle became a square.

The building next to it was the tallest until two years ago. Forming an equilateral triangle with these two, a third building will trump them both within the next two years. It is already an impressive structure. More on these buildings and their place in Pudong later.