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Outdoor spaces taking a new role in Shanghai
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FOR many years, one of Shanghai’s defining summertime activities used to be the open-air film screenings in parks and plazas. When the sun went down, residents would settle down in their folding chairs and stools to enjoy a popular film, laughing, crying together, munching on pumpkin seeds and sipping tea. Toddlers would run around and get lost momentarily, no doubt causing an anguished grandma to cry out his or her name, before they were found.
In many ways, the city’s public parks still serve the same purpose. When Zhongshan Park recently declared it was to remain open through the night, it was only responding to a lingering desire for residents to enjoy the summer weather after sunset. But an increasing number of public spaces are being reshaped and used to create opportunities for personal, not public consumption. They are being motivated by a penchant for the spectacle, to be consumed and captured in selfies.
The proliferation of public art installations allows a city’s residents to experience and be inspired by creativity. 3D paintings in shopping malls encourage them to become part of the image — in fact, these artworks are bereft of meaning without the people who must pose strategically to complete them. Sculptures of endangered animal species in Xintiandi and IAPM Mall raise environmental consciousness.
But when we plonk an artwork outside the Natural History Museum in Jing’an district, or in Red Town on Huaihai Road, it renders the surrounding green lawns unsuitable for play. Even as people clamber over and around the structures trying to get interesting camera angles to pose, the opportunity to catch an impromptu game of football, badminton or Frisbee in the park is lost. “If you must play a game, go to a stadium,” is the unspoken message.
Meanwhile, at Hongqiao’s The Hub, another public space being engineered to inspire, face painting and body art guru Jing Jing is ready to transform you into a circus character, 19-year-old artist Yevhenii conducts oil painting classes, baker Uga Uga shows you how to bake a cake in twenty minutes, magician Kris plies his tricks while a Flea Market showcases the handiwork of local artisans. It’s a fascinating mix of activities to engage the senses and get your hands dirty.
If physical stimulation is what you are after, then a Parkour/skateboarding track at Kerry Parkside in Pudong awaits you. And for those seeking an adrenalin rush, Jinmao Tower just opened its doors on one of its highest floors, offering a death defying experience. Its sixty-meter long, 1.2-meter narrow outdoor skywalk, bereft of guardrails, allows one to walk amongst the clouds while being firmly strapped in for safety. There’s no longer a glass wall between you and the gorgeous Shanghai skyline. Helmets are mandatory.
This is the new urban outdoors, and the ways of experiencing it are undeniably unique. Often, it isn’t spontaneous — it is no longer just getting outside.
We’re likely to check weather conditions on our phones first; if it’s too sunny, better stay indoors. Then we’ll create a WeChat or WhatsApp group for like-minded friends: going alone is not fun.
A plan is made, folks sign up, tickets are bought on an app, reservations made. Photos are shared during and after the experience; if it’s not shareable then there is no point doing it or going there. And because everyone going through the experience is busier sharing their experience with folks who are not participating in the activity, there’s little interaction amongst the participants themselves. Even though you belong to a community with shared interest, you are on your own.
Kunal Sinha is the author of two books about creativity in business: China’s Creative Imperative, and Raw – Pervasive Creativity in Asia.
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