Shanghai's Deco Shangri-La
Michael Leech on Eastern Art Deco
Is this going to be the new Shanghai? The Portman Shangri-La hotel is the newest and tallest building in the city at fifty storeys, but it may not be the only one for long. Another bridge across the Yangtze is planned to connect with a recently announced new city. When the Red Guards cut a hole in China's history they did untold damage to ancient monuments. In a decade they destroyed much: who knows if new construction will not cause similar devastation?
The ghosts of China are not all from a long imperial past – in Shanghai, port and one time pleasure dome, other more recent treasures can be found. For Shanghai has a wealth of Art Deco buildings planted in its commercial heart.
The buildings along the Bund are classics of the 192Os. Here, seventy years ago, a huge resident European population of 50,000 made money and marked it with monuments to their success. From stately homes to hotels, from cinemas to shipping offices, the centre of Shanghai is rich in the styles.
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