opened today to a packed house at the Shanghai Exhibition Center, complete with ticket scalpers outside and crowds of selfie takers on the inside. The second edition of the annual event is billed as Shanghai's biggest product, interior, furniture and lifestyle design fair, but rather than a showcase of distinctive, exemplary design, it felt more like the Dongtai Lu Antiques Market -- the European brands version. We saw a lot of companies trying to push tired, ancient furniture and home goods to Shanghai's nouveau riche. It's a bit like if the furniture store DaVinci threw a party and invited an entire district. Or two. Lots of carpets, interestingly enough. But people were loving it at the opening today, rushing in for photo opportunities with lamps and beautiful, expensive cookware. Nike is there with a huge booth, too, though its association with product design is a bit lost on us. Not all was lost, though. The AD forum of talks given by top designers like Marcel Wanders and Neri&Hu, at no additional cost to attendees, is an excellent component of the event. The central hall where HAY (outfitted as a massive Chinese bamboo bird cage), Fritz Hansen and Vitra are located contains some really nice eye candy. Design Shanghai runs until Monday evening. The cost of tickets is up this year -- 200rmb per person at the door, versus last year's 50rmb. Our photo gallery might be a good way to gauge whether or not it's worth patronizing. For more details, see our Wire rundown here, and the event page here. Click here for the photos...