Cheryl Marie Cordeiro

Lujiazui by night. In the background, lit blue, the Oriental Pearl Tower.
Text and Photo © K Meeks and CM Cordeiro 2011

When in Shanghai, the last place I expected to find myself exploring come sundown is Lujiazui, the city’s financial district, as the more popular of nightspots would include Xintiandi or even the quieter street of Hengshanlu lined with all sorts of eateries from Turkish and Thai to Hunan cuisine.

Shanghai Word Financial Center (SWFC).

Still, walking down the pristinely clean streets of Lujiazui lit blue and orange from the surrounding buildings, called to mind the quiet of Raffles Place and Singapore’s very own Central Business District by night, where all at once, despite the glittering globes of the Oriental Pearl Tower in festive blue ahead, I couldn’t help but feel at home, thinking – this is Asia! – and how much I miss its vibes when living and working in Scandinavia. Continue reading “Lujiazui by night, Shanghai” →

Along Victoria Harbour, Tsim Sha Tsui’s Avenue of Stars (Chinese: 星光大道).
Photo © Cheryl Marie Cordeiro-Nilsson for CMC 2010

As you walk around Hong Kong, you realize that there are those who visit and who even do business in the country, but who never get involved, like a bystander that avoids the puddles when it rains, and then there are those who are living the very heartbeat of Hong Kong because they must.

Hong Kong Museum of Art, flanks one end of Avenue of Stars along Victoria Harbour, Tsim Sha Tsui, providing visitors a perfect starting point for walking down the waterfront.

These two sides of the same coin is most poignantly illustrated at Tsim Sha Tsui, along Victoria Harbour that shows the two facets of Hong Kong still meeting in this day and age, one of old China and one of what is modern China demonstrated literally by two vessels of different times passing each other. It is at this waterfront that western savvy gathering in The Peninsula, Intercontinental and Shangri-La meet eastern traditional that is just a stone’s throw from the harbour, down from Nathan Road at Mong Kok’s street stalls and wet markets.

Continue reading “Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong.” →

Photo © Kevin Dominic Cordeiro for Cheryl Marie Cordeiro 2010

The Shanghai Expo 2010 will open in just 3 days, running for 184 days (from 1 May to 31 October, 2010). When it comes to China, nothing is on a small scale these days if they can help it, just browsing the Events section of the Expo gives something to look forward to, from parades to song, dance, insights into the local food and culture.

The theme for this expo is “Better City, Better Life” and aims to bring awareness to and perhaps tackle the challenging issues that face global cities in the near future.

In this post, some pictures of Shanghai today, from food that includes century eggs to braised pork and chicken, to the clean modern lines of a hotel, a room on the 27th floor with a view over Shanghai.
Continue reading “A view of Shanghai” →