Taikang Love
I am sitting outside Maui Coffee opposite Vervia in the Taikang Lu district of Shanghai. I have always liked Taikang Lu ever since Jenny took me here nearly three years ago. It has always been good, but in those days there wasn’t very much of it. It was a just courtyard, a converted factory and an alleyway, but even then it had its characteristic mix of independent craft shops, fashion boutiques and cafes.
I have noticed new places opening every time I have walked along the main alleyway connecting Jianguo Lu and Taikang Lu, but I feel ashamed to say that I did not realise all the activity taking place in the back lanes twisting back and forth on each other like a maze.
It’s good for Shanghai that artistically minded independent businesses can spring up in old rooms of lane houses that have just been refurbished. Give it a year or two and the landlords will start to exploit this district as a Bohemian Xintiandi with exorbitant ground rents. I fear that it is only a matter of time before big chains and Starbucks start to muscle their way in. Zhaojiabang Lu will soon be on the Metro and there is a big complex of shops being built in the plot across the road, right by the DVD shops. Shanghai needs niches like Taikang Lu 2007. I hope it doesn’t get spoiled as it gets gentrified.
A colleague of mine recently complained that he has not yet found Shanghai’s soul. I would urge him to pay a visit to Taikang Lu, Shaoxing Lu and Sinan Lu. He should walk around in the Autumn sunshine aimlessly, occasionally stopping to peruse shops, drink coffee and read magazines.