If you don’t like Shanghai…

Look at those videos first…

 

 

If you still don’t like Shanghai, tell me the reasons please…

I know it is not perfect, but it has its reason to captivate you! =)

Burberry VS Shanghai… Good things in life never change!

It is interesting to see Burberry chose Shanghai as the story line for this ad, emphasizing its identity that “the good things in life never change”. Classy as Burberry is, it finds the similarities between Shanghai and itself. I see those as “transitional” and “traditional but modern”, which are exactly the new image Burberry is trying to establish. 

Few would forget the reform Rose Marie Bravo brought to Burberry. “she initiated a radical reform of the British classic brand and improvements of the company structure. Her strategy included signing top model Kate Moss and recruiting the young designer Christopher Bailey in 2001, who was working for Gucci at that time.^[3] The Burberry line of products was greatly increased and especially the newly added perfumes contributed to the company’s raising profits.” (Wikipedia… According to APA, we are not allowed to cite Wikipedia. But this rule doesn’t apply to Blogosphere, according to me!! LOL.) Bravo gave Burberry a refreshment and appeal the brand to more younger target. So, how does this link to Shanghai?

Burberry VS Shanghai

1. Shanghai has a long history! It opened itself to the whole world long before the foundation of the People of Republic of China. Back in the early 20s’, it was already the concession of more than 10 countries. 

Shanghai women have always been chic

2. Shanghai has undergone a reform, too! It is the second city to adopt the Reform and Opening-up Policy by Deng Xiaoping. Now, it is undoubtedly a metropolitan full of skylines and Bankers. (I think the number of bankers is an important criteria for metropolitan.)

3. Shanghai is classy and chic. It is so vivid and energetic. It fits the new Burberry. 

4. There is no better city like Shanghai that can bring the transitional aesthetic. 

5. See… Burberry understand the Shanghai Spell and see the potential growth of this city. “The good things in life never change”. It has never and will ever change. =) 

More luxury brands are competing for Shanghai's market

Now, tell me!
1. Do you think Burberry picked the right city?
2. Talking of Shanghai, what jumps into your mind?

LOL. Nelly who is trying to finish her corporate PR’s case. =)

10 Random Things Of Me and My Shanghai

People say that a blog without gossip or some self-revelation is not a good blog. So started with my own secrets and Shanghai’s for those stalkers!

1. My best friend is my MOM <3. Although I sometimes get impatient with her, I just can’t think of the life without her. I love my parents so much and want to be like them all my life!

2. I am enthusiastic for FooD and actually have talents in cooking.

3. I love Scarlet O’Hara and see plenty similarities between myself and her. I will be as bold and strong as her one day, I believe.

4. I have an elephant memory EXCEPT for names. I almost can’t remember anyone’s name before we meet for at least three times, both in English and in Chinese.

5. I work really hard for things I want. It is hard to intrigue me. However, whenever it does, I will try my very best to fight for it. I am a tough FiGhteR.

6. I can be really Artistic. I love museums and theaters. Musical is always my favorite but I sometimes fall asleep when watching it. I attribute my passion for arts to my dad, a professional photographer who doodles poetries, sips brandy and listens to symphony.

7. Grass Green is my favorite color. I want everything in Green except my clothes. Ironically, it never fits me. I like anything that is vibrant, lively and energetic, like green which reminds me the beauty and sparkle of life. After all, life is so beautiful.

8. I am a great Adventurer and always always love to try new stuff. All my Exchange Buddies know that. =)

9. For some reason, I DaNcE really well. And I love dancing. Same applies to singing. Both make me “feel alive.” LOL

10. I love the saying that ” I want to fill the ground with windows so that I can light up all the eyes that have been long used to darkness”. This is my motto. I want to be a person who brings HOPE and HAPPINESS to people surround me.

________NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT SHANGHAI____

1. Shanghai people assume there are only two types of people in this world, Shanghainese and NON-Shanghainese.

2. Shanghai is famous for both its Women and its Men. Shanghai women are the most willful and unpredictable in the world. They are the boys in Shanghai while Shanghai men share the other role for being a sweet girl who is good at housework.

3. Shanghai tastes SwEEt and HOT. For sweet, people add sugar even in stir-fried vegetables. For hot see Shanghai women.

4. Shanghai has a reputation for ShReWDnESS. But as far as I see, they are only shrewd for unimportant things. They sometimes neglect what is truly going on.

5. Shanghai is truly a NIGHT city. The best hours of clubs start from 1:00 a.m.

6. Shanghainese is a hard Language. Even the same word have various pronunciations when forming different phrases. E.G. “Bun” sounds different in “meat bun” and “vegetable bun”.

7. Shanghai is really alike NYC. It never bores you cause two neighborhood five blocks away totally bring you different feelings.

8. The best two colleges in Shanghai are Fudan University and Jiaotong University. Both of each thinks it the best. Asking me? HAHA.. You can tell from the colors!

9. Shanghai is all about TRansiTionAL. The mix of East and West… Modern and Traditional…  I am the same, too.

10. Shanghai has its own SPELL. You could choose not to be entranced by it at all. But if you are falling for it, you will never be able to fall out again… Never Again…

Homework, stalkers!!!
Compare me this Shanghai girl with my hometown. Found any similarities? =)

Gay in Shanghai

If you search Shanghai at Technorati, Gay Shanghai is one of the videos first jump out. It features local gay hangout places and also unveils the surge in homosexuality and change of culture in Shanghai and China.

As a country that has been advocating Doctrine of the Mean for 5000 years, China doesn’t tolerate exception or even diversity, despite the fact that emperors started to have boy catamite back in Liang Dynasty (502). It is not hard to imagine that homosexuality was regarded as a humiliation and abnormality in such conditions. But, things have changed greatly in the last 60 years when gay finally becomes accepted, and even in some cases cool. (The picture shows an Emperor and his Catamite)

Weirdly, people treat homosexual people differently in Shanghai based on gender and even appearance. Back in my college, boys with good faces were never shy to expose their special sexual orientation because it doesn’t turn students away. On the contrary, they gather more girl fans and admirers. Charlotte in Sex And The City once said, “Every woman needs a gay friend.”  For college girls, it is not only necessary but also “chilly” to have a gay friend, especially when they are hot. A best male “girlfriend”? Who doesn’t want that? I remember listening to girls boasting about their gay friends like “All chilled boys are gays. Sigh. Like Chris, isn’t he hot?” or “Chris is so sweet. He bought me chocolate and listened to me complaining about my boyfriend the whole night. What a wonderful gay friend!” That is how gays are treated in college. (Charlotte and her Gay BFF Anthony in Sex and the City)

But, lesbians are not that lucky. Girls are usually more shy and reserved on such private questions. It is both hard to find out whether they are lesbians and usually harder to get social approval. Why, “women are more harsh on women” might be the best explanation. And men? When the majority of college boys still care whether they are marrying a virgin, what else are you expecting?

I spent both my junior high school and high school at one of the most renowned girls’ school in China and lesbians were prevalent in our school. The reason? Lack of boys. In Shanghai, the reason some parents send their daughters to girls’ school is to prevent them from heterosexual puberty love. (Traditional Chinese value regards any relationship before maturity unethical and even evil. That might also explain why so many well-educated college boys care about girls’ virginity so much. Well, they don’t care about theirs though.) Ironically, it might have never occurred to them that unsatisfied need finds itself another way out. Teenage girls need dates, relationships and love. So when no boys are available, boyish girls naturally become their choices. Some super hot ones had more than a hundred followers. But, most of the girls turned to straight after they went to college, while some exceptions turned out to be real homosexuals.

These girls are just a few examples of the trend while sometimes you can find people not taking their sexual orientation seriously, especially for our generation. Obviously, things are better today than the old days when gay people had to have a family facing the norm and pressure from the society. But our generation just wants to be ourselves and it somehow exaggerates people’s desire for uniqueness.

Well, back to the video. Amazed to see the development of gay hangout places in Shanghai from the host Adam and Shanghai gay “expert” Yutian, I am happy to see a more open Shanghai and China. Human nature cannot be changed. What can be is how we treat each other. I love Shanghai and nothing else could be better than seeing diversity back in my own country again. I do look forward to seeing more rights respected and more people being themselves.