New Paradise

Xintiandi is a new land mark on Shanghai. It is said the greatest (also the most expensive I think) place for entertainment.

Xintiandi is different from other entertainment places because it is set in an old “Linong”. The old houses in Shanghai were called Shikumen and Xintiandi is exactly in such a Shikumen community. As I mentioned before, those old buildings are all beautiful and have an aroma of old Europe and Japan. Though those buildings are old, people fixed and redecorated it to make it new and more beautiful. They named this area “Xintiandi”. The Chinese word “Xintiandi” means “New Paradise” in English, which shows the deep meaning of this new area: a new place for modern life based on an old styled life environment. A lot of elegant restaurants, designers’ studios, designers’ shops and pubs opened in Xintiandi and then made it an upper-class place.

As a land mark of Shanghai, Xintiandi attracts a lot of foreigners. When you go to Xintiandi during the daytime, you will see tourists from different countries; you will also hear a lot of different languages here. If you go to Xintiandi during the night, you will find most of the people clubbing here have blond hair and white skin. I mean, it’s in Shanghai, you won’t have many chances to see so many Europeans and Americans in a same place.

Xintiandi is also a popular place among young people. You will see most fashionable youngsters and even local stars here. They eat at the upper-class restaurants and then go to the pubs; they speak English here in Shanghai. The cost in Xintiandi is not so affordable but they like it. This is Shanghai, you know, people spend more and more money on fashion, luxury and entertainment; more and more places appear as a “place for English”-there are much more foreigners than locals there.