Propaganda Poster Art Centre

The Propaganda Poster Art Centre is well worth the effort to find.Tucked away as it is not only in a housing complex oddly named President Apartment but also in the basement of Building B of the aforementioned residential block.The guard at the front gate will give you a small business card with directions once you reach the main entrance.Follow your nose and descend down the elevator where the gallery awaits.


















There are according to the pamphlet at the gallery some 3000 odd posters from the 50's through to the 70's. There is also some Maoist memorabilia on display such as the collection of busts above .I liked the earlier posters that reminded me almost of Japanese woodblocks with their simplicity and spare use of colour rather than the later lurid almost psychedelic 60's anti US Vietnam era productions.I've included a couple that I liked-the one above and the last one in this entry below.

Not all the posters are political in nature.This being the year of the Expo some posters and photos of life in Shanghai in earlier
times are also on display.There was a lovely almost 2 metre long black and white photo of the Bund in the 1920' or 30's on sale for a not inconsiderable but reasonable sum given its size.Just how to get back home.Not exactly carry on luggage.
The poster below depicts 1930's Shanghai for some people at that time.


















The Art Centre is divided into the gallery/showroom where the posters,prints and varied collections of Mao busts are displayed.The posters are grouped historically and there are English language captions explaining each sections significance.
The other section is the shop where you can buy the posters and prints either as originals or copies.There are also a number of related items for sale such as arm bands and caps and other Mao era memorabilia.














The posters represent an important time in the development of China and hopefully they can be preserved as primary historical items that bear witness to those times and be seen by many more people.As I said above the later Korean/Vietnam posters didn't really inspire me as much as the earlier poster and the one below.
The Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre has a website www.shanghaipropagandaart.com.The entrance fee was 20rmb and it can be found at 868 Huashan Road near the intersection with Changle Road.It was a little hike from Changshu Road Metro Station but walking the leafy French Concession streets was an unexpected bonus.

Shanghai Railway Museum

Due mainly to work committments and the energy sapping heat and humidity I haven't done anything recently worthy of blogging about.My efforts have had to concentrate on preparing a presentation for my peers and this has eaten into most of my free time.The recent weather with its regular forays into the high 30s exarcerbated by short,frequent cloudbursts has also done little to get me out of the house and exploring Shanghai.Still with a lull in the workload and a need to stretch my legs I travelled a few subway stops to the Shanghai Railway Museum near Baoshan Station.It's virtually around the corner from the station.The fact that theres a 100 ton or so locomotive parked in the front courtyard also makes it difficult to miss.


















According to the nearby plaque the steam locomotive was a gift from the United Nations in 1947.While the train offers some photo oppurtunities as does the passenger coach behind it,once inside the museum there are notices advising that cameras can't be used.













The Museum is built on the original site of Shanghai Station and the building itself seems to be in the classical British architectural mode of public buildings.The Museum takes up the ground floor of the building and is divided into various sections.While the staff gave me an English language pamphlet there were few other labels or translations explaining what the exhibits were or their significance.
The Museum covers the 100 plus years of rail history since the 1860's.There is a model of the first locomotive and scale models of modern rolling stock and high speed trains as well as plans of existing stations and futuristic stations planned for the future.












There was a section devoted to the old picks and shovels and other manual tools used by the early construction crews which graphically showed what a backbreaking job it must have been.Other sections are given to uniforms,signalling equipment and the like.












The photo above shows a wheel assembly unit built in Sheffield,England.If you are'nt a railway buff you can probably get round the whole museum in less than twenty minutes.Having said that the place was teeming with kids who were taking turns on some of the interactive exhibits and seemed to be enjoying themselves looking at the scale models and other equipment on display.I happened to be at the Museum at the right time for a ride in their Simulation Locomotive.This was a computer simulation where you get to control and drive a modern high speed train just as a modern driver would with the aid of a computer program and screen.The children who piled into the driver's cab with me enjoyed their chance to drive 'the train' and sound its diesel horn under the supervision of the Museum staff.
The Museum entry was 10 yuan for adults.It is open on Tuesdays,Thursdays and Fridays.Check the Museum website for opening times(the morning opening hours are currently 9-11:30 am) and other details at www.museum.shrail.com.As I said it's not a must see and given the lack of English labels and translations even less appealing,but a pleasant diversion nonetheless.

The 'Hood

Stinking hot day.Literally and figuratively.We appear literally to be in the middle of a heatwave with temperatures soaring into the mid 30s(celsius) and humidity to match or surpass that of a Japanese rainy season.Paper curling humidity.Humidity that continually jams an ancient dinosaur of a photocopier that should have been retired years ago.Humidity that causes arguments and wailing Chinese women cursing all and sundry at 2 am at the top of their lungs.Humidity that drives cockroaches to find new cooler pastures.Their crushed bodies slowly merging into the concrete dust that stirs underfoot on the unswept stairs.
Figuratively stinking because although I live several floors above ground,the nauseating stench from the inadequate blocked drains below still manages to drift upwards as the heat of the day rises.












This is the view from one of my windows.The square building in the middle of the frame is the local stock exchange building.Its an interesting design as it has a hollow centre which may be symbolic of that whole industry but I'm only speculating.(Yes that was a pun).Behind that edifice one can see a bevelled building which is the Shanghai World Financial Centre currently the fourth tallest building though for how much longer is anyones guess.The Jinmao Tower is towards the right of the World Financial Centre building and can't really be seen in this shot.At night I can make out its lit pointed top from my windows.












Another view looking in the opposite direction overlooking some of the other apartment buildings in this complex.The building I'm in was built in the early 1970's.There's no elevator although the building has six floors.There is virtually no insulation and my white plaster walls have a scruffy black tinge about them.The bathroom is an all tiled affair.Cold as a witches tit in winter and the ideal breeding ground for mould in humid summers.It lacks both a handbasin and tap.The toilet is prone to blocking so a rubber plunger is an essential piece of household kit.The shower seems to have a mind of its own switching between scorching hot and arctic ball breaking temperatures quicker than a Formula One pit crew.

The shot below shows a typical building in my compound..Entry to the buildings is gained by a key or number entered into a keypadded metal gate.Once inside the building,individual occupants then use their own keys to enter their apartments- so its a fairly safe and secure procedure.Theres also a watchman at each entrance to the complex.Apart from playing mah jong and clearing his throat audibly twenty four hours a day their main function seems to be barking at people entering and attempting to park their cars in the grounds.

A couple of Shanghai food photos

A trio of Shanghai's most famous snack,the xiaolongbao or steamed dumpling.These had a meaty interior awash with a hot broth or gravy.Other varieties contain crab and seafood and there are also vegetarian dumplings.The trick is eating them without scalding your mouth or dripping the gravy/broth over your clothes.These ones cost 1 yuan each and are available all over the city.














Local bakeries and stalls sell different kinds of bread and snacks.These are made of flaky pastry.A little oily and pleasantly but not overwhelmingly sweet.Again like the steamed dumplings above they cost a mere 1 yuan each.

Sheepless in Shanghai.

Back.Finally.I arrived in Shanghai at the end of February.I'd returned home to New Zealand after leaving Japan in late August 2009.After a fruitless search for full-time employment I accepted a position in Shanghai,China.













I'm still finding my feet culturally and workwise.The energy of 22 odd million locals is sometimes overpowering compared to the sombre post Toyota gloom I left in Nagoya,Japan.Geographically I live in an area of Shanghai called Pudong.Its an interesting area undergoing rapid expansion.Theres an uneasy mixture of old style residential gated compounds cheek by jowl with modern skyscrapers.The photo above comes from a local park in central Pudong.The flying saucer sculptures echo the architecture of nearby high rise buildings.












The park has a number of features including a lake that abounds in carp and huge expanses of grass though there are signs that prohibit you from sitting on the verdant green stuff.Instead you have the option of sitting on pile-inducing granite stone like benches dotted around the park.As it seems to be the only green space with trees for miles there are always wedding couples getting their photos taken there.Park staff obligingly turn on the fountain in the centre of the lake so that the happy couples can be snapped with water spouts and sprays gushing in the background.













The wedding cars are always festooned with flowers and toys such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse.The sight of this car brandishing a Hello Kitty wedding decoration produced a wry smile.I could have been back in Japan.











The last three months here in Shanghai have been frantic and at times difficult.Trying to find an apartment knowing there is a deadline to meet with immigration and visa papers to be completed,at the same time still learning a new job and trying to get to grips with a foreign culture meant there has been little time to explore Shanghai.As I recall it was the same in Nagoya.It took time for things to shakedown and establish a routine.A balance between work and recreation.Now that Ive finally got an internet connection and getting to grips with my job I will be able to see something of this city and blog about it.Hopefully.









The stretched limo you see above was ferrying a large wedding party to the park for their wedding photos.As it was rather warm and humid today the car was having a hard time of it.Although you cant see in either photo there was a cloud of steam coming from the engine.If you look carefully you may note the puddle of water in the first photo around the feet of the man wearing a black tshirt and gingerly using a cloth to look at the radiator cap.Seeing that things were getting heated in more ways than one I beat a hasty retreat.Hopefully the car and its occupants had a safe journey without incident.