The very next morning, our first destination in Shanghai was the Pearl of the Orient.
The Interesting Signboard
D Famous Pearl of D Orient. This TV tower is 468 m in height and is the highest towers in Asia.
View from the Pearl of the Orient (Along the Shanghai Bund)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Malaysia, all buildings look the same. If there's a temple, all the temples will have the same shape, same colour and well... almost the same height. If there's a Wisma XXX, the building will be about 3 to 4 stories high, with grossly bright colours like yellow, green or orange. If there's a tower, the tower will be so tall with a lightning rod at its peak.
In China, however, buildings are totally different. I learned that there are many kinds of buildings: ancient buildings, modern buildings, buildings made solely from glass (which were apparently not practical as it caused heat pollution), wooden buildings and of course.. forte whose bricks were cemented with glutinous rice, water, limestone powder and a few other secret ingredients.
The shape of the buildings matter a lot in China. It has never occured to me to ask "why" until I visited Shanghai.
In China, however, buildings are totally different. I learned that there are many kinds of buildings: ancient buildings, modern buildings, buildings made solely from glass (which were apparently not practical as it caused heat pollution), wooden buildings and of course.. forte whose bricks were cemented with glutinous rice, water, limestone powder and a few other secret ingredients.
The shape of the buildings matter a lot in China. It has never occured to me to ask "why" until I visited Shanghai.
Why are the roofs of temples / palaces always shaped like this?
Why is this building shaped like a rocket shooting into the sky?
Why do these residential blocks have rounded sides?
Why does this building have bronze, reflective glasses?
Why does a bottom of d bridge has to be in d shape of a hemisphere? Why didn't they design it to be flat all the way?
I never knew the answer until I came to the land of my ancestors. In China, there is a reason for every single thing. The answer is all due to "feng shui". Temples have curved up roofs to chase away the evil spirits. Some buildings are shaped like a crown to signify wealth and prosperity. Some have sword like structures around them to burst the bubbles of good fortune of neighbouring businessmen. Some are shaped like a lotus to bring peace and harmony to the local community.
According to the feng shui master, even the planning of Shanghai city was according to feng shui law. In the 60's, Shanghai was a quiet fishing village. None of the entrepeneurs wanted to invest in this city because they could not see the future for this village. However, when one of the Chinese Presidents visited it in the '90s, he saw that it had great potential to be developed. He ordered all the fishing villages to be demolished, relocated the villagers and gave them a new livelihood for survival, and thus, began transforming the village into a modern city.
The law of Feng Shui specifies that to be in the direction of good fortune all the time, a conducive environment is necessary. This includes having mountains, hills, rivers and cooling weather. Shanghai is a city which experiences 4 seasons. Thus, it is always cool. No problem there. As for rivers, they already existed a long time ago, and villagers earned their livelihood from it. The only problem was mountains. Because Shanghai was in the plains, land was flat everywhere. The lands were as vast as the ocean and you could not even see a single mountain in sight even if you turned 360 degrees from where you stood. So, to create 'mountains', the town planners decided to build sky rise buildings to substitute the mountains. From one building, it became two. Soon, business improved and they multiplied to four, 16 , .. and as the mountains grew exponentially, so did the population. Today, all over the city, new buildings are mushrooming all over the corners of Shanghai. Bigger, better, more modern and more sophisticated. Each claiming to be the best!
So, as you can see, Feng Shui is a very serious matter in China. Before construction, Feng Shui Masters are paid a generous sum to derive the best direction for the main door, the materials, the shape and the interior designing of the building. That is part of the reason why there are so many lions in front of the shops and half-hollow crystals at the entrance of the shops. It is all to welcome wealth and prosperity.
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According to the feng shui master, even the planning of Shanghai city was according to feng shui law. In the 60's, Shanghai was a quiet fishing village. None of the entrepeneurs wanted to invest in this city because they could not see the future for this village. However, when one of the Chinese Presidents visited it in the '90s, he saw that it had great potential to be developed. He ordered all the fishing villages to be demolished, relocated the villagers and gave them a new livelihood for survival, and thus, began transforming the village into a modern city.
The law of Feng Shui specifies that to be in the direction of good fortune all the time, a conducive environment is necessary. This includes having mountains, hills, rivers and cooling weather. Shanghai is a city which experiences 4 seasons. Thus, it is always cool. No problem there. As for rivers, they already existed a long time ago, and villagers earned their livelihood from it. The only problem was mountains. Because Shanghai was in the plains, land was flat everywhere. The lands were as vast as the ocean and you could not even see a single mountain in sight even if you turned 360 degrees from where you stood. So, to create 'mountains', the town planners decided to build sky rise buildings to substitute the mountains. From one building, it became two. Soon, business improved and they multiplied to four, 16 , .. and as the mountains grew exponentially, so did the population. Today, all over the city, new buildings are mushrooming all over the corners of Shanghai. Bigger, better, more modern and more sophisticated. Each claiming to be the best!
So, as you can see, Feng Shui is a very serious matter in China. Before construction, Feng Shui Masters are paid a generous sum to derive the best direction for the main door, the materials, the shape and the interior designing of the building. That is part of the reason why there are so many lions in front of the shops and half-hollow crystals at the entrance of the shops. It is all to welcome wealth and prosperity.
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