Focus: A Flaneur's Peek at Shanghai

Focus: A Flaneur's Peek at Shanghai

The term flâneur comes from the french verb flâner, which ever since Baudelaire appropriated the word and gave it the extended meaning as a way of truly experiencing, appreciating the city as one walks. Indeed when we have a bit of time to explore the world we are all flâneurs, and not least of all the eRenlai team are certainly flâneurs...

Read more: A Flâneur's peek at Shanghai

Focus: A Flaneur's Peek at Shanghai

Wondering the streets of Shanghai is sentimental, whoever you are. If you are a tourist or passenger who has visited Shanghai several times, you might sigh that this attractive city is developing too fast, and every time you visit, you can’t recognize what it used to be. If you are a resident, you might be proud of this modern city, but also...

Read more: Nostalgia of a 21st Century Flâneuse

Focus: A Flaneur's Peek at Shanghai

Six years ago by sheer luck I encountered Arcade, a work of mixed media by Ethiopian-American artist Julie Mehretu, when it passed through my hometown of St. Louis. Layer upon layer of densely packed ink drawings, each separated by a layer of clear acrylic which gave a “floating” appearance to the ink in 3D space, I was struck by the...

Read more: The Flâneur as Listener and Composer

Focus: A Flaneur's Peek at Shanghai

I recently moved from Chengdu to Shanghai, and I am still trying to adapt to this giant city, full of contrasts. One morning, I took the day off... In the heart of downtown Shanghai, Nanjing Avenue, there was this alley: Lane 1025. I had never crossed the gate at its entrance ... It was standing opposite the metro station that, day after day...

Read more: Lane 1025

Focus: A Flaneur's Peek at Shanghai

If gardens are the hidden paradises of China, Suzhou is the paradise of gardens...Among those she hides within her walls, eight are now included into the world heritage sites. The "Humble Administrator Garden", the "Garden of the Master of Nets", the " Blue Waves Pavilion ’, the “Lingering Garden" are among the most famous of them. Often...

Read more: As small and immense as a soul: gardens of Suzhou

Focus: A Flaneur's Peek at Shanghai

The Traditional Chinese Music Orchestra is possibly Shanghai’s most exciting musical formation. While firmly rooted in tradition and relying on impressive scholarship, its musicians are also keen to introduce their public to new repertories, to mix up styles, times and places, and thus to display the diversity of China’s cultures. This is...

Read more: Chinese music goes to the sea

Focus: A Flaneur's Peek at Shanghai

In early September I spent a day at the Shanghai Expo.  Bracing myself for crowds of up to 300,000 jostling queue-jumpers, I was relieved that the venue was not too packed. Most pavilions (especially later in the day) did not require any considerable time lining up.  The vast number of unused crowd barriers snaking around entrances that I...

Read more: An Expo-lent Australian Adventure

Focus: A Flaneur's Peek at Shanghai

Read more: A Taiwanese Glance at Shanghai

Focus: A Flaneur's Peek at Shanghai

As Shanghai World Fair is nearing, media and publishers are narrowing their focus on the capital of Southeast China – and rightly so: Shanghai has become one of the most powerful global cities, if not the most powerful. The accumulation of capital, headquarters, communication centers and technical know-how reminds one of post-war New York. If...

Read more: Paris of the Orient