Never have I been anywhere that feels more modern. I stayed on the 65th floor of the Hyatt hotel at the top of the 88 storey Jinmao Tower, currently China’s tallest building (though the new 101-storey Hyatt next door will soon supersede it). I arrived on an internal flight from the incredibly modern new airport terminal at Guangzhou. There were more than 20 flights between the city’s today alone. I landed at Shanghai’s old airport (minus bag, though the Hyatt concierge soon rustled that). My one hour journey into central Shanghai was a spectacular introduction to the incredible growth, dynamism and energy powering this nation to 21st century dominance. The 12-lane highway passed ever high-rises until it swept under the Bund and deposited me in Pudong, 20 years ago swamp land, now home to epic skyscrapers.
Minus bag I strolled to the nearest mall to buy some underwear. Inside were H&M, Uniqlo, Levis, Quicksilver etc. Next day on the Bund I found malls packed with Prada, Armani, Fendi and Louis Vuitton. Everywhere I looked the Shock of the New was crowding out the Romance of the Old. China is the most dynamic capitalist marketplace on Earth. And because of this naked aspiration, Shanghai feels the most empty, soulless city I’ve ever been. I travelled to the new, international airport at 301 km/per hour aboard the world’s fastest train. The future has arrived…