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Stuck in Shangers Again

Some holiday suggestions if you're trapped in town - By Morgan, Sep 28, 08

Spending the holiday in Shanghai? Here's some stuff to do, see, eat, drink, listen to, and shoot over the holidays.

SmartShanghai is taking a little break -- off to Beijing to see the terracotta warriors or whatever it is they have up there -- so we'll be back in a week or so, with more reviews, articles, pictures, and the usual crap we throw up on here.

SmartTicket will still be accepting ticket orders, however, so click here and check out if there's something you want to go to. We'll also try to upload the events from time to time. But no promises on that, buddy.

You have yourself a good holiday wherever you spend it, okay?

Activities

The Shanghai World Financial Center

If you haven't had the chance to head down yet to meander on the world's highest elevated observation deck, you could do worse than checking this one off your list sometime during the holiday. There's a really long-winded article about the ins and outs of this thing right here, so we won't go too much further into detail about it. But why not take the Bund Tourist Tunnel over there if you haven't had the pleasure yet? It's like the future as envisioned by someone living in New Jersey in the 1970s. Fantastic.

Modern Military Sports Club

This is a shooting range beside Windows Scoreboard and they let you shoot real guns at targets whilst toasted and I'm pretty sure its open until like 4am or something. So it's either the start or the finish to your standard night out at Scoreboard.

It's run by these surprisingly affable ex-military types and they've also got some Chinese army memorabilia and stuff, and you can take pictures with the weaponry to impress your friends and relatives.

Your choices are three guns, including a massive Dirty Harry hand cannon, which is definitely no joke. Ten bullets cost 80rmb. So, yeah. It's definitely something to do. Read on older article on the Modern Military Sports Club here.

Lupu Bridge Climb

We suggest this one every time a holiday crops up, but I still haven't had the guts to do it. But maybe you do. The Lupu Bridge spans the districts of Luwan and Pudong (You see what they did there for the name? Nice.), and reaches a hight of 110 meters over the Huangpu River. And basically you can take the 367 steps ascending the arch of the thing, enjoying "one of the finest views of Shanghai." I think by "finest" they mean "most horrifying." But it only costs 68rmb. Read an older article on the Shanghai Climb experience here.

So many places around town to sample "one of the finest views of Shanghai," eh? I wonder which venues offer "the worst view of Shanghai."

I know. The Black Café. Hands down, worst view of Shanghai.

Art

Although the big art season is winding down in Shanghai, the big shows and exhibitions are still ongoing, so the holidays is a real good time to head out to a gallery or two without having those pesky celebrities or billionaire art speculators getting in the way. The Shanghai Biennale is on until Nov 17, and is quite good, but there's also shows of interest at m97, 140sqm Gallery, White Factory (article on that one here), and the Bund 18 Creative Center. Full art listings are here. They're not quite complete, but you don't know what a pain in the ass it is to put those on there so it'll have to do.

Dining

There's a few new restaurants in town and there's always the option of checking out the latest, most hyped eateries in Shanghai, if only just to trash them to you friends afterwards and come across like Mr. Serious Food Critic.

Stiller's

Stiller's, the newest restaurant from chef-of-distinction Stephan Stiller, hosted their grand opening last weekend, and it sounds like it's worth the trip down to The Cool Docks. Fine, upscale German cuisine. It's a little on the expensive side (well, I guess that's relative) with mains over 200rmb, but early reports suggest that it is indeed worth the money. Could be good for a ritzy dinner. Check out the fantastic roof-terrace. Stiller's cooking classes are scheduled to begin around mid-October.

Maya

Maya is the newest Mexican restaurant put together by Chef Brad Turley. I gather they do Mexican and Tex-Mex standards -- tacos, churros, and stuff -- along with Californian dishes. There's some Hawaiian and Japanese influences to look for too, so they tell me. Apparently it's very good -- quite a hit with the Americans in town. Turley himself is on holidays until Oct 5 and they're still fine tuning it, but the word on the street is that it's going to be quite a success. Head on down over the holidays and beat the crowd.

Closed Door

Closed Door is a new restaurant from Eduardo Vargas and it operates on by-reservation-only, which is something of a novelty. Apparently, it's to ensure an exclusive, private, and mature dining experience. So maybe you want to try that out, if that's what you've been looking for. Food is Italian and Mediterranean and it's actually not all that expensive considering the booking policy. Starters are priced around 50rmb and mains are hovering at the 100rmb mark.

Clubbing

As of this writing, the clubbing events seem a little underwhelming for the holidays. Maybe all your favorite promoters and events agencies are themselves on vacation. I would think the clubs that draw tourists would be packed -- Bar Rouge and Barbarossa spring to mind. SmartShanghai also has about seven emails from Guandii in the inbox that I'm just too scared to open. Suffice to say though, its some variation of hip hop honeys every night. But here's a few others to look out for:

Tuesday, Sept 30: Hi-Tec @ Anar

Some of your favorite local DJs will be playing at the backroom at Anar -- Chewie, Afro-J, Patrick-Zhou, and Nicolas -- and that should be pretty alright. They're looking to get together the last Tuesday of every month for Hi-Tec and this is the first of that series. Music is techno. Cover is nil.

Friday, Oct 3: I Love Shanghai Garage Sale @ ILS

I Love Shanghai is picking up digs and moving into Puxi, but this Friday their selling off bar detritus from three years of parties and wanton tomfoolery. Wigs perhaps? Actually according to manager Jeff they're selling "artwork," DJ equipment, random tools, accessories, and I Love Shanghai T-shirts.

Will the "Big Book of Chinese Office Party Ideas" be up for grabs? Head on down to find out, and place your bids on items that will surely be seen by future generations as priceless collectibles from Shanghai's proudest and finest era. No cover.

Friday, Oct 3: Sticky Ibiza – Gay Party of the Year @ Candy

This event submission was sent in using all caps lock so you know it's serious stuff. Candy, a new club on Huaihai is teaming up with defunct gay club Pink Home, to put on "Sticky Ibiza," the "Gay Party of the Year." They've got DJs from Ibiza's gay clubbing circuit, ten dancers, and loads of other loveliness. Looks intense. And "Sticky Ibiza" is probably the best name I've heard in a while. Cover for this thing is as follows: 10pm-11pm free; 11pm-12am: 50rmb including a drink; after 12am 100rmb including a drink.

Saturday, Oct 4: Antidote feat. Hatchmatik and ENZO @ The Shelter

Antidote returns to The Shelter capping off the holidays, hosting Montrealer Hatchmatik and ENSO from San Francisco, for the official "un-official after party of the Avril Lavigne concert." Music is "ghetto, electro" and you can check out the MySpaces of these two here and here. Support from B6, Blaise, Fish, Ozone. Starts 10pm. Cover: 30rmb

Live Music

Live music is a little scarce in Shanghai over the holidays, as just about every band ever in China is in Beijing for the Modern Sky Festival. There's also a few other things going on outside of town -- Quingdao Beer Festival for one -- which are drawing bands away from the city.

Tonight, Yuyintang hosts Useless ID a pop punk band from Israel, and then nothing until MiSanDao on October 4, which is the next Saturday. MiSanDao are an oi/skinhead band from Beijing, which should be awesome. Here's their MySpace.

The main music event in Shanghai over the holidays is the NOTCH festival, which pairs experimental jazz/rock/electronica acts from Scandinavia with experimental jazz/rock/electronica acts from Shanghai. NOTCH takes place from October 2 to October 4, and should be good if you like your shit esoteric. The location this year is the 6699 Greenhouse at 669 Guiguo Lu, near Qinjiang Lu. Each day runs from 8pm until midnight and costs 80rmbs a day. The Shanghai acts on the bill are Hard Queen (Oct 2), B6 (Oct 3), and Cold Fairyland (Oct 4). The Scandinavian acts are a bunch of dudes I've never heard of. But you can check them out here.

***

Have a good holiday!

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