Shanghai may be the crown jewel of the New China, but the Pearl of the Orient gleamed just as brightly during the late 1930s, when this infamous port city was synonymous with pleasure, power and money.
The Merchant Ivory film The White Countess, which opened yesterday in theatres nationwide, takes moviegoers back to those decadent days of mansions and mobsters, "singsong clubs" (brothels) and stylish qipaos.
Director James Ivory confessed during filming that it was extremely difficult to recreate old Shanghai amid the futuristic skyscrapers going up at record speed in this city of 16 million people. But the old Shanghai, or at least the spirit of it, still exists - if you know where to look for it.
"Reminders of Shanghai's ‘Golden Age' are everywhere in contemporary Shanghai," says Patrick Cranley, president of the Shanghai Historic House Association. "But recognizing them takes a considerable amount of familiarity with the history of this fascinating city."
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