上
海的夜生活处在一个不令人羡慕的位置上，那就是她不能辜负自己几十年的盛名。
Chad Ingraham for The Wall Street Journal
灯光幽暗的Constellation 2酒吧
如今，上海正渐渐地重新树立起其贸易和金融中心的地位，那里日渐高耸的空中轮廓线和黄浦江边殖民时期庞大的银行总部大楼展现了历史的对接。尽管中国共产党或许充当着堡垒的角色以防止这座样板城市里任何寻欢作乐之事的重新抬头，但是上海正渐渐地重现着昔日的浪漫光景。
位于黄浦江西岸的外滩(the Bund)这个老金融区是上海最好的酒吧、餐厅和风景的所在，任何一家酒店的礼宾员都能推荐一份外滩最佳去处的名单。不过在外滩的西面，上海的另外一片区域在被忽视了多年之后，正慢慢地成为上海真正的浪漫精髓所在。另外，由于外滩为准备今年5月开幕的世博会(World Expo)而变成了一片建筑工地，现在去探索这片曾经的法租界里面那些隐秘的所在实在是再合适不过了。
这片租界从19世纪中期开始处于法国的管辖之下。英国和美国在有些时候也拥有自己的租界，但是即便是在今天，法租界因为其绿树成荫的窄街、风景如画的别墅和引人注目的装饰艺术派建筑在所有的原租界地区显得独树一帜。这里称不上是巴黎的一角──许多最好的别墅隐匿在弄堂里，殖民时期的建筑被店铺门脸紧闭着的栅栏格子遮掩住了光芒，还有许多地方不断地提醒着人们，那三十年的建设缺少整体的规划布局──但其魅力经久不衰。
Newscom
上海的日落景色
“这是居住在上海的唯一理由，谁愿意生活在水泥丛林里？”克雷格•威利斯(Craig Willis)说，他是上海餐饮业新成员Mr Willis的老板。这家餐厅坐落在上海一条颇为古色古香的街道上，在一排老门脸房上面加盖的第三层上。
那里的食物被称为“现代澳大利亚菜”再合适不过了，因为其烹调受到了许多地方的影响。威利斯自己曾经是悉尼歌剧院(Sydney Opera House)一家名为Bennelong的高级餐厅的总厨师长。八年前，威利斯来到中国进入米氏西餐厅(M on the Bund)工作，现在那里仍然称得上是上海最好的餐厅之一。
不过Mr Willis餐厅──就像这个餐厅名字所显示的那样──是他自己的生意。“这就像是我家的一次晚餐聚会，只是现在有了更多的桌子，”威利斯表示。餐厅的装潢非常的温馨舒适，聚焦在每张桌子上的剧院式照明也在人群中营造出一种亲近感。尽管餐厅建筑本身并不古老，但那凹凸的木地板是从已经拆除的外滩一处老别墅里抢救出来的。
距离这里乘出租车不足五分钟的路程就到了Franck，这家法式餐厅位于弄堂深处一栋很大的别墅后面，现在别墅里仍然有许多户上海人家居住。店主弗兰克•佩科尔(Franck Pecol)是欧洲小餐馆老板的典型形像：秃顶、戴黑框眼镜，还穿着高领毛衣。尽管现在他已经不进厨房工作了，但他曾经在越南、迈阿密、哈瓦那以及地中海沿岸地区做主厨，大约六年前才定居在了上海。“我喜欢从家里骑自行车的感觉，”他说，“我喜欢这座城市的反差。”
Franck餐厅在2007年开业，佩科尔现在正向毗邻的店面扩张，他打算在那里建一个酒吧。
“法租界里有个法国餐厅对我来说非常合乎情理，”佩科尔说。菜单上的文字全部是法语，不过服务生很乐意帮忙翻译。这家餐厅里40%的菜肴每天都会有所变化（根据新鲜食材的不同）。还有大约400种葡萄酒可供选择。这里温暖而舒适──有黑色的木地板和深色的皮沙发──Franck是躲避上海湿冷冬天的完美栖息地。
在晚餐后想要静静地喝上一杯的话，这一地区也布满了日式的鸡尾酒吧。有些酒吧小得只能容纳不到20个人，但烈酒的种类却足以让任何一位威士忌爱好者啧啧称赞。如果你想要确定自己找得到座位，那么最好的选择就是去灯光幽暗的Constellation 2，这个有两层楼的酒吧毫不费力地营造出了一种旧上海的氛围。酒吧的整个 壁上严严实实地摆满了酒瓶，从 壁射出来的灯光打在了瓶子上面。客人们倚靠在时髦的皮制扶手椅和沙发里，而酒保们则用手工凿制冰块，让它们能够缓缓地融化在你的威士忌里。可能让第一次来的客人唯一感到不愉快的是，杜松子酒和奎宁水这样的无色饮品都散发出蓝色的光，这是头顶上幽幽的蓝色灯光带来的，不过一般说来，客人们很快就会根据发出的光芒而选择饮品。
Chad Ingraham for The Wall Street Journal
上海的艳舞俱乐部──Chinatown
“我喜欢上海是因为你能在这里交到朋友，”戈斯尼说，“你在派对上能遇到投资人！”这一点在金融危机吓走了这个俱乐部的美国投资人之后拯救了戈斯尼的梦想。现在，他和卡尔曼每周登台四天，和一名驻唱歌手、六个名为Chinatown Dolls的歌舞女郎和一名曾是威尔士卫队(Welsh Guards)成员的外形高大的主持人组成了一个综合性表演团队。卡尔曼说，表演者们每周都会增加两到三个新节目，因此即使是那些老顾客也能看到新东西。
Chinatown不仅仅是场综艺演出秀──它是这个能容纳200人的俱乐部开的一个大派对，而且在表演者午夜两点谢幕后很可能还会继续下去。“演出结束的时候，人们已经玩了四、五个小时了。谁会在一个地方呆上四、五个小时？”对开办俱乐部毫不陌生的戈斯尼显然很开心。他的事业从上世纪60年代的伦敦开始，然后搬到了纽约，在那里他打造的表演场所包括Slipper Room，这家艳舞俱乐部已经经营了十年之久。而且，他也知道自己想要什么，那就是让客人们穿著有品位──至少也要与众不同的衣服光临。在这座拥有着许多大型俱乐部的城市里──这些俱乐部也播放着你可以在地球上其它地方找到的让人忘记烦恼的音乐，Chinatown是纯粹的海派风格，也是那些不想在午夜看到运动鞋的人们的最佳选择。
对于来到上海的游客来说，最大的遗憾就是这里没有一处可供参观的胜景──这里没有紫禁城(Forbidden City)、没有颐和园(Imperial Palace)、也没有海港大桥(Harbour Bridge)。上海是个需要整体欣赏的城市，为的是去享受新与旧的铺陈和不断的变化。夜晚出去走上一圈将让你体会到比任何有导游的旅程更美妙的滋味。尽管去外滩观景会让你体味到上海的格调和富丽，但只有在那些窄窄的弄堂里你才会找到十里洋场尘封已久的魅力。
Dinny McMahon
Shanghai's nightlife is in the unenviable position of having to live up to its own decades-old reputation.
One of a handful of Chinese ports taken over by Western powers in the wake of the 19th-century Opium Wars, by the 1920s the city was riding high on a great wave of global trade, secure in the knowledge that China was too poor and fractured to evict its foreign squatters, and reveling in the post-World War I joie de vivre. Home to a melting pot of financiers, entrepreneurs and refugees from around the world, Shanghai became a byword for high living, decadence and debauchery.
Today the city is gradually reclaiming its status as a trading and financial hub, its spiraling skyline in historical continuity with the hulking colonial-era bank headquarters across the Huangpu River. And while the Chinese Communist Party may stand as a bulwark against the re-emergence of anything-goes revelry in its showcase city, Shanghai is also gradually reclaiming some of its old romance.
The Bund, the old financial district that lines the river's west bank, is home to some of the city's best bars, restaurants and views, and any hotel concierge can provide a list of top locations. But to the west, another area of the city is slowly staking a claim as the true romantic soul of Shanghai after years of neglect. And with the Bund converted into a construction site in preparation for the World Expo, scheduled to start in May, there's no better time to explore the hidden delights of the former French Concession.
The Concession was an area under French administration starting in the mid-19th century. The British and Americans at times had their own zones as well, but even today the French Concession stands out among the formerly foreign-run areas for its narrow tree-lined main streets, picturesque villas and striking Art Deco facades. It's not exactly a slice of Paris -- many of the best villas are hidden down alleyways, colonial-era buildings are obscured by bolted-on shop-front veneers, and there are frequent reminders of 30 years of haphazard development -- but its charms hang on.
And the prospect of the Expo is helping spur improvements. The city government is kicking in with features such as new sidewalks, and private investors are doing the rest. Buildings that I've walked past for years without a second thought are being renovated to their 1930s glory.
'This is the only reason to live in Shanghai. Who wants to live in skyscraper land?' says Craig Willis, owner of Mr Willis, a fairly recent addition to Shanghai's restaurant scene. Nestled in one of the city's quaintest streets, it sits in a newly created third floor above a strip of old shop fronts.
The food is best described as 'modern Australian,' a cuisine that takes its influences from everywhere. Mr. Willis himself was once head chef at Bennelong, a fine-dining restaurant in the Sydney Opera House, before moving to China eight years ago to work at M on the Bund, a Shanghai institution and still one of the city's best restaurants.
But the restaurant Mr Willis -- as the name would suggest -- is his own project. 'It's like a dinner party at Craig's house, but there are just more tables now,' Mr. Willis says. The d[eacute]cor feels very homey as well, and theatrical lighting, focused on each table, provides an intimate feeling despite the crowd. And while the building itself may not be old, the rough wooden floor boards have been salvaged from an old villa on the Bund that was being demolished.
Less than five minutes away by cab is Franck, a French restaurant tucked down an alleyway behind a massive villa that still houses multiple Shanghai families. Owner Franck Pecol is the very model of a bistro owner: bald head, black-rimmed glasses and a turtleneck. Although he no longer works in the kitchen, he was a chef in Vietnam, Miami, Havana and around the Mediterranean before settling in Shanghai almost six years ago. 'I love the feeling of riding my bike from home,' he says. 'I love the contrasts of this city.'
Franck opened here in 2007 and Mr. Pecol is now expanding into the shop front next door where he is building a bar.
'A French restaurant in the French Concession makes a lot of sense to me,' Mr. Pecol says. The menu, 40% of whose dishes may change from day to day (depending on the fresh produce available), is completely in French, but the waiters are happy to help with translations. There's also a selection of some 400 wines. Warm and cozy -- with black wood floors and dark leather couches -- Franck makes a perfect escape from Shanghai's cold, wet winter.
For a quiet drink after dinner, the area is dotted with Japanese cocktail bars. Some are so small they sit no more than 20 people, but have a range of spirits to keep any whiskey aficionado cooing. If you want to be sure of a seat, your best bet is the low-light, two-story Constellation 2, which evokes an older Shanghai without trying too hard. The bar runs the length of the room with densely packed spirit bottles illuminated on the wall behind it. Patrons lounge in stylish leather armchairs and sofas, and the barmen chisel the ice by hand, carving ice balls that slowly melt into your whiskey. The only thing first timers may find a little off-putting is the blue glow given off by clear drinks like gin and tonics, brought on by the subtle blue lights overhead -- but as a rule they're soon choosing drinks specifically for their luminescence.
The best way to end an evening in Shanghai is with a trip to Chinatown. About 15 minutes by taxi from the French Concession and a little north of the Bund, it's a burlesque club -- or at least as burlesque as the Ministry of Culture will allow -- and a little slice of an older Shanghai brought back to life. The venue is a drawing card in itself. Built in 1931 by the Japanese as a Buddhist-Shinto temple, it most recently housed an Egyptian-themed karaoke parlor. Co-proprietor Norman Gosney chose the spot after scouting all over town by bicycle. He and partner Amelia Kallman then turned the place into an homage to Hollywood's version of 1930s Shanghai.
'The thing I love about this town is that you go out and meet people,' says Mr. Gosney. 'You meet your investors at parties!' That's what saved the dream after the financial crisis sent the club's U.S. backers running. Now, he and Ms. Kallman -- 'Ms. Amelia' -- are on stage four nights a week as part of an eclectic mix that includes a lounge singer, a troupe of six showgirls called the Chinatown Dolls and a towering MC who was formerly of the Welsh Guards. According to Ms. Kallman, the performers add two or three numbers a week, so even repeat visitors are likely to see something new.
Chinatown is more than the variety show -- it's a party that involves the whole 200-capacity club and is more than likely to continue after the performers take their final bow at 2 a.m., the official closing time. 'Come the end of the show, people have already been there four or five hours. Who stays anywhere four or five hours?' says a clearly delighted Mr. Gosney, no stranger to building clubs. He started in 1960s London and then moved on to New York, where the spots he built include the Slipper Room, a burlesque club that has been running for 10 years. And he knows what he wants, which is for his patrons to come dressed with a touch of class -- or at least eccentricity. In a city that has its fair share of megaclubs pumping out the same anodyne music you can find anywhere on Earth, Chinatown is pure Shanghai and the best option for those looking to avoid the sneaker-set in the wee hours.
The greatest disappointment for visitors to Shanghai is that there's no single great sight to see -- no Forbidden City, no Imperial Palace, no Harbour Bridge. It's a city that needs to be taken as a whole, to enjoy the juxtaposition of new and old and of constant change. A night out will give you a taste of that better than any guided tour. And while a visit to the Bund will give you a sense of Shanghai's style and grandeur, it's in the narrow back streets that you'll find some of the long-hidden charms of a decadent city.
Dinny McMahon
One of a handful of Chinese ports taken over by Western powers in the wake of the 19th-century Opium Wars, by the 1920s the city was riding high on a great wave of global trade, secure in the knowledge that China was too poor and fractured to evict its foreign squatters, and reveling in the post-World War I joie de vivre. Home to a melting pot of financiers, entrepreneurs and refugees from around the world, Shanghai became a byword for high living, decadence and debauchery.
Today the city is gradually reclaiming its status as a trading and financial hub, its spiraling skyline in historical continuity with the hulking colonial-era bank headquarters across the Huangpu River. And while the Chinese Communist Party may stand as a bulwark against the re-emergence of anything-goes revelry in its showcase city, Shanghai is also gradually reclaiming some of its old romance.
The Bund, the old financial district that lines the river's west bank, is home to some of the city's best bars, restaurants and views, and any hotel concierge can provide a list of top locations. But to the west, another area of the city is slowly staking a claim as the true romantic soul of Shanghai after years of neglect. And with the Bund converted into a construction site in preparation for the World Expo, scheduled to start in May, there's no better time to explore the hidden delights of the former French Concession.
The Concession was an area under French administration starting in the mid-19th century. The British and Americans at times had their own zones as well, but even today the French Concession stands out among the formerly foreign-run areas for its narrow tree-lined main streets, picturesque villas and striking Art Deco facades. It's not exactly a slice of Paris -- many of the best villas are hidden down alleyways, colonial-era buildings are obscured by bolted-on shop-front veneers, and there are frequent reminders of 30 years of haphazard development -- but its charms hang on.
And the prospect of the Expo is helping spur improvements. The city government is kicking in with features such as new sidewalks, and private investors are doing the rest. Buildings that I've walked past for years without a second thought are being renovated to their 1930s glory.
'This is the only reason to live in Shanghai. Who wants to live in skyscraper land?' says Craig Willis, owner of Mr Willis, a fairly recent addition to Shanghai's restaurant scene. Nestled in one of the city's quaintest streets, it sits in a newly created third floor above a strip of old shop fronts.
The food is best described as 'modern Australian,' a cuisine that takes its influences from everywhere. Mr. Willis himself was once head chef at Bennelong, a fine-dining restaurant in the Sydney Opera House, before moving to China eight years ago to work at M on the Bund, a Shanghai institution and still one of the city's best restaurants.
But the restaurant Mr Willis -- as the name would suggest -- is his own project. 'It's like a dinner party at Craig's house, but there are just more tables now,' Mr. Willis says. The d[eacute]cor feels very homey as well, and theatrical lighting, focused on each table, provides an intimate feeling despite the crowd. And while the building itself may not be old, the rough wooden floor boards have been salvaged from an old villa on the Bund that was being demolished.
Less than five minutes away by cab is Franck, a French restaurant tucked down an alleyway behind a massive villa that still houses multiple Shanghai families. Owner Franck Pecol is the very model of a bistro owner: bald head, black-rimmed glasses and a turtleneck. Although he no longer works in the kitchen, he was a chef in Vietnam, Miami, Havana and around the Mediterranean before settling in Shanghai almost six years ago. 'I love the feeling of riding my bike from home,' he says. 'I love the contrasts of this city.'
Franck opened here in 2007 and Mr. Pecol is now expanding into the shop front next door where he is building a bar.
'A French restaurant in the French Concession makes a lot of sense to me,' Mr. Pecol says. The menu, 40% of whose dishes may change from day to day (depending on the fresh produce available), is completely in French, but the waiters are happy to help with translations. There's also a selection of some 400 wines. Warm and cozy -- with black wood floors and dark leather couches -- Franck makes a perfect escape from Shanghai's cold, wet winter.
For a quiet drink after dinner, the area is dotted with Japanese cocktail bars. Some are so small they sit no more than 20 people, but have a range of spirits to keep any whiskey aficionado cooing. If you want to be sure of a seat, your best bet is the low-light, two-story Constellation 2, which evokes an older Shanghai without trying too hard. The bar runs the length of the room with densely packed spirit bottles illuminated on the wall behind it. Patrons lounge in stylish leather armchairs and sofas, and the barmen chisel the ice by hand, carving ice balls that slowly melt into your whiskey. The only thing first timers may find a little off-putting is the blue glow given off by clear drinks like gin and tonics, brought on by the subtle blue lights overhead -- but as a rule they're soon choosing drinks specifically for their luminescence.
The best way to end an evening in Shanghai is with a trip to Chinatown. About 15 minutes by taxi from the French Concession and a little north of the Bund, it's a burlesque club -- or at least as burlesque as the Ministry of Culture will allow -- and a little slice of an older Shanghai brought back to life. The venue is a drawing card in itself. Built in 1931 by the Japanese as a Buddhist-Shinto temple, it most recently housed an Egyptian-themed karaoke parlor. Co-proprietor Norman Gosney chose the spot after scouting all over town by bicycle. He and partner Amelia Kallman then turned the place into an homage to Hollywood's version of 1930s Shanghai.
'The thing I love about this town is that you go out and meet people,' says Mr. Gosney. 'You meet your investors at parties!' That's what saved the dream after the financial crisis sent the club's U.S. backers running. Now, he and Ms. Kallman -- 'Ms. Amelia' -- are on stage four nights a week as part of an eclectic mix that includes a lounge singer, a troupe of six showgirls called the Chinatown Dolls and a towering MC who was formerly of the Welsh Guards. According to Ms. Kallman, the performers add two or three numbers a week, so even repeat visitors are likely to see something new.
Chinatown is more than the variety show -- it's a party that involves the whole 200-capacity club and is more than likely to continue after the performers take their final bow at 2 a.m., the official closing time. 'Come the end of the show, people have already been there four or five hours. Who stays anywhere four or five hours?' says a clearly delighted Mr. Gosney, no stranger to building clubs. He started in 1960s London and then moved on to New York, where the spots he built include the Slipper Room, a burlesque club that has been running for 10 years. And he knows what he wants, which is for his patrons to come dressed with a touch of class -- or at least eccentricity. In a city that has its fair share of megaclubs pumping out the same anodyne music you can find anywhere on Earth, Chinatown is pure Shanghai and the best option for those looking to avoid the sneaker-set in the wee hours.
The greatest disappointment for visitors to Shanghai is that there's no single great sight to see -- no Forbidden City, no Imperial Palace, no Harbour Bridge. It's a city that needs to be taken as a whole, to enjoy the juxtaposition of new and old and of constant change. A night out will give you a taste of that better than any guided tour. And while a visit to the Bund will give you a sense of Shanghai's style and grandeur, it's in the narrow back streets that you'll find some of the long-hidden charms of a decadent city.
Dinny McMahon
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