Liang Hongfu

Can we give this city a proper image

By Hong Liang (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-01-15 06:42
Large Medium Small

A banker friend of mine in Hong Kong has visited Shanghai many times, mostly for business. But she still couldn't see what's there to like about the city, which, to her, is just like any other cosmopolitan sprawl that is distinguished only by the number of luxury hotels, fancy restaurants and Starbuck's cafes.

She e-mailed me last week to say she was coming to Shanghai for yet another business meeting which crosses a weekend, and asked me how best could she spend the two-day free time in the city by herself. That should be easy, except that her condition was to have an experience that would make her fall in love with the city.

I am not sure if this is possible. Decades of unbridled development with scant respect to aesthetics has erased much of the original charm of Shanghai. As my friend has observed, Shanghai is no more than an upstart among such global metropolises as New York, London and Paris.

That, of course, is not entirely true. Like most business travelers to Shanghai, my friend seldom has the time to venture out to explore the city. They are not necessarily aware of the municipal government's efforts in recent years to create new landmarks to recapture the romance of old Shanghai and salvage some historical sites and buildings associated with people and events that are locked in the fond memories of many older generation Shanghai natives.

Last month, I saw on local TV a multi-part documentary on the rehabilitation of Suzhou Creek, a tributary that runs through the city into the Huangpu River at the Bund. In terms of cinematic technique, the documentary failed to excite. But I found the content most fascinating.

In the colonial days of the early 20th century, when Shanghai played host to some of Asia's largest industrial enterprises, banks and trading houses, hundreds of thousands of migrant workers from around the country worked at the many docks and warehouses along Suzhou Creek. There is no shortage of fabled stories of these penniless laborers rising to the ranks of merchant princes and property barons. But, of course, many more were destined to lead an ordinary life, raise their families and pass onto future generations the tradition of hard work and propriety.

In one segment of the documentary, the reporter interviews a woman who has been living in an old home near the creek. Although all her children and grandchildren have moved out, she says she prefers to stay there because all her friends are in the neighborhood. She loves Shanghai, although it is not the same city we see today.

There is not much to like about Shanghai as it is now. But the municipal government has taken what is seen to be a rather laid-back attitude in promoting the city overseas. In contrast, the Hong Kong government has done what is widely considered a highly professional job in projecting the city's dynamic image around the world.

While in Shanghai, I often come across television advertisements by other cities, including Seoul and Singapore, showing off their multi-faceted attractions to impress and entice potential Shanghai tourists. In other cities, I don't recall seeing anything like that from Shanghai.

I don't know Shanghai well enough to be of much help to my banker friend in her quest. But I am sure that many Shanghai people have the answer. Perhaps the government should collect the ideas of its people to devise a promotional scheme that will do justice to this city.

E-mail: jamesleung@chinadaily.com.cn

主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产精品久久香蕉免费播放| 成人狠狠色综合| 欧美黑人巨大xxxxx视频| 玖玖爱zh综合伊人久久| 久久九九AV免费精品| 乱人伦人妻中文字幕在线入口| 亚洲人色大成年网站在线观看| 午夜dj免费在线观看| 午夜无码国产理论在线| 再深点灬舒服灬太大了添动视频 | 国产精品久久久久久久久久久搜索| 国产精品天干天干| 国产精品宅男在线观看| 国产91精品一区二区麻豆亚洲| 又粗又猛又黄又爽无遮挡| 动漫美女被吸乳羞羞网站动漫| 亚洲成a人片在线观看播放| 国产卡一卡二卡三卡四| 国产成A人亚洲精V品无码性色| 国产在线视频区| 国产AV国片精品有毛| 亚洲精品成人网久久久久久| 亚洲校园春色另类激情| 亚洲av无码成人精品区狼人影院| 久别的草原电视剧免费观看| 中文字幕精品一区| √天堂资源中文官网bt| 91色国产在线| 91精品视频免费| 美女视频黄视大全视频免费的| 看欧美黄色大片| 色婷婷.com| 精品国产A∨无码一区二区三区| 狠狠色婷婷久久一区二区| 欧美人与动人物xxxx| 精品无人区无码乱码毛片国产| 福利一区二区三区视频在线观看 | 国产不卡在线视频| 伊人色综合网一区二区三区| 亚洲欧美日韩中文字幕在线| 久久婷婷是五月综合色狠狠|