Shanghai - More Around Town

In which we visit the 10th Shanghai Biennale, the so-called West Bund River Walk, and revisit the coconut man.

First hot day in Shanghai this year as we walk along the West Bund. Lots of boat traffic to keep the guys from getting bored. That's the Lupu Bridge at back.




And in this shot you can almost see the buildings of the 2010 Shanghai Expo on the far right bank.


And there's a skateboard park of sorts.


And the nearby Long Museum with sculpture park.


It's a short walk to Longhua Buddhist Temple for a vegetarian lunch at their onsite restaurant; noodle soup.










And it always breaks our hearts to see the horrible renovation of the nearby Longhua Airport Terminal, once a beautiful Art Deco building.


It's officially Spring when the cherry tree near Grandmother's apartment is in full bloom.


Beautiful day to be on the river. Maybe one day I'll hitch a ride on one of these work boats.


The kuai di, courier services, are moving tremendous numbers of packages these days as online shopping continues to grow in China. Three years ago on our last visit, most couriers drove electric motor-scooters, now they drive electric (I think) three-wheelers.


We see the coconut man again atop the bridge and stop to buy mangoes.


While we were delighted with the 6th Shanghai Biennale in 2006, we found the 10th Biennale to be ho-hum. My guess is that the art often seems lost in the new venue, Power Station of Art, the former power plant with it's huge spaces.

The giant smoke stack of the Power Station of Art is outfitted to be a giant thermometer - reading 29 C in this photo.






1999 (2014), a sound installation by Liu Ding. "The work 1999 reflects on the state of “contemporary art“ in China in the 1990s. The work consists of recorded quotes and pop music of the 1990s, which can be listened to on the telephones."


"Bouquet V (2010), meanwhile, consists of 95 different flowers, each occurring just once in the elaborate arrangement of various sizes, colors and textures." By Willem de Rooj.


Windows on the World (Part 2), 2014 by Ming Wong. "This work (in collaboration with Thomas Tsang of Dehow Projects) focuses on the concept of “future” in Chinese modernity, and particular, how it is manifested in the unlikely relationship between sci-fi and 20th century Cantonese opera.


There is a wide open deck off 3F with a coffee shop and great views to the Huangpu River and Lupu Bridge. Not to mention the west side gives a so-so view of the 2077 ft tall Shanghai Tower, the 2nd tallest building in the world (no worthy photo).