Communism and Cartier

Communism and Cartier
This morning we arrived at Old Shanghai for a visit to the Yuyuan Gardens and Bazaar. We had been warned ahead of time that it would be very crowded, but the crowds weren’t too bad considering we’re in a city of 25 million people. The Yuyuan Gardens were especially serene and featured traditional Chinese architecture from the Qing era ,including dragon-topped walls, rock sculptures, and ponds full of bright orange fish. The shopping streets of the bazaar were crowded and chaotic, as they were filled with both Chinese and foreign tourists who were looking for deals (and Starbucks….and Dairy Queen…both of which are prominently featured in Old Shanghai).
After a lunch of steamed buns and the famous Shanghai soup dumplings, we took the subway to the French Concession, which was the only foreign territory to remain separate during the period of 19th Century imperialism (the other countries combined their territories into the International Concession.) The French Concession is still essentially the playground and neighborhood of the wealthy, and foreign influence is still strong in the form of high-end European boutiques, sidewalk cafes, and art galleries.
It is ironic then, that our next stop was the site of the first National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) which was founded in 1921 in a girls school in the Concession, where the party members met to avoid being arrested by Chinese police who did not have jurisdiction there. In this exhibit, the narrative of the Communist movement culminates in a portrayal of the adoption of the Party’s founding documents with wax figures of the key players. Interestingly, Mao is prominently featured here although he was not a major player in the CCP until a decade later when his fellow members elected him Chairman.
Our final official stop was the Shikumen Open House Museum, which depicted the traditional Shanghai home. The interiors were restored to the 1930s. Since most of these traditional structures were in disrepair by the 1980s, investors began to redevelop the area in the 1990s and a section was turned into the swanky Xintiandi neighborhood ten years ago. Today this neighborhood is home to an international and Chinese nouveaux riche community.
The juxtaposition of communism and Cartier in this newly developed enclave fueled a rich conversation about what exactly “communism” in the 21st Century is and how we can bring this learning back to our classrooms. We discussed our implementation plans over a delicious Thai dinner, sad to end our second-to-last day in China.
-- Jackie, Stephanie, and Katie