TIME WARP
Time Warp - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Time Warp | |||||
| By: Merry Kirkwood, Issue 36 – Spring 2008 | |||||
| (Mansion Hotel – Shanghai, China) | |||||
| SHANGHAI’S FRENCH CONCESSION DISTRICT’S MANSION HOTEL TAKES GUESTS ON A DELIGHTFUL JOURNEY BACK IN TIME. | |||||
| Linger on any major city corner and take sixty seconds to drink in the colour and cacophony of whatever passes you by: experience what I like to think of as ‘destination speed-dating’. Right now, Shanghai and I are on track for a beautiful relationship. Nanjing Road West. The setting is an intriguing blend of five star hotels, tall office towers, designer malls, and brand name stores that mix freely with down-at-heel stalls and junk shops. Across my path an elderly cyclist glides past with close to 100 rubber tires balancing precariously beside and behind him. Simply dressed, in the near-uniform of his generation – long pants and long-sleeved shirt – his lined, tanned face tells the tale of a different life to that of the youthful, helmeted office worker riding beside him. Aboard his modern scooter, he is dressed like any young professional the world over. Tucked tightly beside me on the recently repaved, flower-lined sidewalk a mix of smartly dressed shoppers, office workers and tourists await the change of lights. A florist dangles two thoroughly chic botanical displays on either end of that ancient Asian carryall – the bamboo pole – that stretches across his shoulders. A mix of cheap taxis and surprisingly modern (even expensive) vehicles clog the road, where only a few years ago the pushbike was king. The air hums with the energy of all this contrast. Not far away, there is the repetitive sound of on-going construction: a rat-a tat-tat that punctuates the morning as older buildings give way in the new-for-old replacement that sweeps the city. From the west of the 17 million strong city, to the iconic core of the riverbank Bund on the Huangpu River, and its modern Pudong district to the east, the Shanghai personality is all about change. Everywhere, there is a pervasive smog, or fog, or whatever you choose to call it – a veil of summer-thick soupiness that never seems to leave. For the Shanghai ‘first timer’ this can be disappointing: a layer of grime that makes every day a grey day, and stops you fully appreciating the skyline – or even the end of the next block. Very quickly visitors tend to look past this flaw to see a city of purpose, operating at speed. People on the sidewalk move as quickly as the crowds allow. Shanghai is a city morphing into its future before your very eyes, and everyone wants to be part of it. The energy feels beguiling, and sweeps you up in its wake. Only a few blocks and a short cab ride away, hotel guests can step from the heat, and the beating heart of the city’s French Concession district, awash with tree-lined avenues, and pockets of traditional architecture juxtaposed against neon signs and over-crowded shopfronts hawking their wares, into the oasis of calm afforded by The Mansion Hotel. Behind the imposing walls and tall front gates, a densely leafed garden guides guests into the thoroughly striking intimate foyer – a visual feast for art deco lovers and a break from the largess of the walls of skyscrapers and tenement towers outside. With corners filled with antiques, grand lounges, swaying green ferns, and still-life compositions including box brownie cameras and trinkets from another time, it is a restful relief. Lovingly restored, this heritage–listed five storey villa has recently opened as a 30-room, seven suite property that harks back to its 1930s glory, each suite featuring a Jacuzzi bath, sauna, lounge and dining room, and terrace. Touches of ‘Asia meets France’ tell the tale of a grand residence originally built for a Chinese syndicate member. Today, guests can enjoy Han Lin Gold Palace Seafood Restaurant, an intimate Cantonese dining room that has already won international accolades. But for me, the place to be is Skyline, a fifth floor indoor-outdoor terrace area with views over the district and greater city, perfect for an early breakfast or late-night supper. From here, the hectic Shanghai pace seems a million miles away, and a new reflective phase of the love-fest begins. | |||||
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| Mansion Hotel | |||||
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