Shanghai Today
Experience the vibes of a city with verve - October 13, 2025
感受活力之城的氛围
The World Conference on China Studies starting from today will help build consensus on world China studies, by facilitating exchanges and mutual learning between different civilizations.
Having this event take place in Shanghai is significant in itself, for this modern metropolis has always prided itself on its openness and inclusiveness.
In his post-modern novel "Invisible Cities," framed as a conversation between Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) Emperor Kublai Khan and legendary traveler Marco Polo, Italian writer Italo Calvino writes, "The city does not tell its past, but contains it like the lines of a hand, written in the corners of the streets, the gratings of the windows, the banisters of the steps, the antennae of the lightning rods, the poles of the flags, every segment marked in turn with scratches, indentations, scrolls." (in William Weaver's translation)
Participants can check out for themselves, on the sidelines of the conference themed "Historical and Contemporary China: A Global Perspective," where they can have in-depth exchanges on the legacy and innovation of Chinese civilization, from both modern and historical perspectives, with a view to explicating the global relevance of the Chinese path. Check the past and present coalescing in this city, with its unique genes embedded in its daily life fabric, and constantly expressed, if subtly, in the highrises that have come to dominate its skyline.
An exhibition on urban civilization and an inspection of the city of Shanghai from cultural and historical perspectives, as side events of the conference, would also help participants embark on a journey of discovery.
Additionally, a new documentary series, themed "Shanghai Vibe, Shanghai's Palm Lines," will shed light on the city from multiple perspectives: urban space, time, sound, stage and culinary delights, by featuring, among others, a dressage coach, a deaf DJ, an Italian lad who has become enamored of local life, and locals who celebrate the joys of life in their different ways.
A space that connects
Frenchman Benoît Vermander currently teaches comparative philosophy at Fudan University's School of Philosophy. He has been living in Shanghai for decades, and whenever he has guests from abroad, he takes them to the Bibliotheca Zi-Ka-Wei.
Founded in 1847 by French Jesuit missionary Claude Gotteland as part of a Jesuit seminary, it is the earliest surviving modern library in the city, with its rich collection of books in nearly 20 languages, including Greek, Latin, French, English and German.
As Vermander explains, it continues to be a favored destinations for Chinese and Western researchers, affording a platform for communication between China and the West, as a place where books, ideas and human beings are in a constant flux, without any impediments.
The Bibliotheca Zi-Ka-Wei, founded in 1847, the earliest surviving modern library in Shanghai, continues to be a favored destination for Chinese and Western researchers.
Even the buildings housing this trove of documents is a gem in their own right, as a combination of Western architectural features and Chinese elements.
If the library affords researchers a place to explore, for tourists it is an urban space to admire.
Similarly, designer Zhang Dou is redefining the very concept of "public space" in the newly fashioned riverside space in Xuhui District, in light of the principle that urban public space is a stage, to be used by the people in need of it. Her terraced lawn has been an Internet sensation, drawing a host of residents to come and relax, read, or have a picnic.
The lawn in a space designed by Zhang Dou has been an Internet sensation.
Preserving time
Also symbolizing the nexus between old and new is Zhang Qiang, who operates a second-hand bookstore on Daxue Road, near the campus of Fudan University, in Yangpu District.
He says "there is new knowledge in old books," as each book contains something new for those who haven't read it yet. Hence he hopes that more people would be inspired by his collection of old books.
Chinese sages, ancient and modern, all place a high premium on "seize the day," and in their attempt to try to retain what is left of the ravages of time, they are also creating time.
In one sense, Zhang is such a collector of time, in his capacity as an owner of a bookstore: As an old book bids farewell to its previous owner, it stays in the bookstore for a while, waiting to be claimed by its next owner. Hopefully, the knowledge will be passed on to the next beneficiary.
Zhang Qiang in his second-hand bookstore on Daxue Road
Zhang Qiang is not alone in this effort. At the Shanghai Museum East in Pudong, Zhang Peichen, who specializes in the restoration of bronze artifacts, is actually embarking on a journey traversing millennia, for each successful restoration represents a meaningful dialogue with the past, and through the consummate arts of restoration, the originally fragmentized piece becomes holistic, thanks to the restorative effort, and is now capable of meaningful interpretation.
Sustained by this sense of mission, Zhang Peichen is pressing on with his career.
City rich in sound
In Shanghai, the sound of the city is chiefly about people, and it's a city rich in sound.
On a lovely day, soft piano melodies drift out from No. 1389 Yuyuan Road – home to Artist La Pie, a charming bakery. The 125-year-old building used to be the site of China's first chocolate factory.
The bakery owner Philippe likes to move the piano, a Steinway from the 1930s, to the outside, for pedestrians to play on, and to enjoy, so that it becomes a part of public life.
Electrifying the city air is also Deaf Rave, a two-man musical group founded by DJ Troi Lee, along with Taylor Matthew, a deaf rapper also known as MC Geezer. This is their first visit to China.
As deaf performers, they are working on a collaboration project from the British Council called "Connections Through Culture."
They have come all the way from London in the belief that "We deaf people gonna show the world what the Deaf Rave is about," in all its vibration and bass.
Music does not have to be seen, though tunes can move.
"We can't let Shanghai down." Sure enough, their sounds are invigorating the cityscape, in tunes and cadences they can't hear themselves.
DJ Troi Lee and MC Geezer perform on the Bund.
A stage for passion
If anything, Shanghai is certainly not picky about its residents. All who come are welcome to find a stage for themselves, like Jose Luis Muñoz, a Grand Prix dressage rider and founder of Jose Dressage, a club that offers equestrian training and helps promote the sport.
The dressage coach from Spain has been in China for 13 years, and six or seven years ago dressage was still little known in China, when audience tended to know more about show jumping.
Thanks partly to his perseverance and passion, dressage is better known now. Since his club is close to a school, it is convenient for kids to be there and to be coached, with some aspiring to attend competitions.
Jose Luis Muñoz (left) is now promoting dressage in China.
Of course, passion is all that justifies a stage here. Kong Xiangjie is a junior student from the School of Stomatology, Tongji University. He is also known as "Zha Zha" for his passion for street dancing. Kong had heard about the Cypher, an improvisational and community-focused dance, in the fancy riverside area in Xuhui, but had not been there.
After living in the city for nearly three years, he was able to give it a try himself, on the waterfront. Here the passion of the dancers, the applause from the viewers, and the breathtaking riverside view conspire to conjure a scene at once authentic and ethereal.
Kong Xiangjie (right), a junior student from Tongji University, enjoys street dancing on the Xuhui District waterfront.
Taste of diversity
Alex, who grew up in Sicily, southern Italy, now runs a shop on Yongjia Road. The Sicilian now speaks fluent Shanghai dialect, which many Chinese not brought up here may find esoteric. Therefore Alex considers himself "basically a Shanghainese" now.
He runs a gelato shop. The traditional Italian frozen dessert is often mistaken for ice cream – but it has distinct characteristics that are rooted in centuries of Italian culinary tradition.
Specifically for Alex, it's about the flavor he indulged in in his childhood, in food prepared by his mother, something close to his roots or, and his heart.
As he said, "It's like bringing a little Sicily to Shanghai."
He remembers fondly how his mother used to scoop creamy pistachio gelato into hot, rich espresso, creating pistachio affogato.
Alex has been to many places, but he said Shanghai feels right for him, "because things just happen here."
True enough, Shanghai beckons with unlimited potential, to those hailing from every corner of the world, with open arms, allowing everyone to work out their unique taste of the city, at their own pace.
Alex interacts with robots on a street in Shanghai.
Source: Shanghai Daily
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