New Shanghai: The Rocky Rebirth of China's Legendary City

Rating:
Summary: An exquisite portrayal of Shanghai
Review: .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... An eye-wide-open look at modern Shanghai, its past roots, as well as present achievements, hang-ups and shortcomings. Balanced, detailed, and carefully researched by a perceptive and expert journalist. New Shanghai is essential background for any foreigner who needs to understand the challenges and opportunities of life and work in a China grappling with rapid change.

--- Nicholas Platt, President of Asian Society

Not really many books from the perspective of an American journalist tackle issues of Chinese business, political structure, people's life and cultural heritage in such a tremendously meticulous and positive way like what Pamela Yatsko has done in his book New Shanghai: the Rocky Rebirth of China's Legendary City. Yatsko discovers something common and uncommon in Shanghai, China's legendary City. As an Asian journalist, Yatsko places his profound insights gained through years of her experience covering that region in the micro context of political and economic perspective.

Yatsko obviously fell in love with her --- Shanghai. Not only the book's title is so catching and so touching ---with such descriptive words as "rocky", "rebirth" and "legendary," --- even a quick glimpse of the introduction of the book --- the Allure of Shanghai --- will let readers be impressed! See how Yatsko leads us into this book and this city: "What makes one fall in love with a particular city? It's understandable if the object of desire is scenically breathtaking, like Hong Kong, or overflowing with magnificent art works and architecture, like Paris. When the city is none of those things, the allure is more difficult to explain. Before I left the United Sates in 1994 to take up a position as Shanghais Bureau Chief for the Far Eastern Economic Review, I recall telling friends how I had long dreamed about living in Shanghai. Inevitably their chin would sink into their neck, their nose would crinkle up on one side, and they would ask: 'Why?' Although they might have some notion of Shanghai in its legendary 1920s heyday, their incredulity was based mostly on vague impressions of China as a poor country and of students being run over by government tanks in Beijing in 1989. They obviously thought I was a little crazy to leave the tree-lined streets and modern comforts of Cambridge, Massachusetts in exchange for that. Well, maybe I was, but all I could tell them was that ever since I had first visited Shanghai in February of 1986, the city had fascinated me."

Why Shanghai exerted such a fascinating power on her and why Shanghai should become an oriental Paris in her heart were the issues that she explored extensively in the whole book. Yatsko was the Far Eastern Economic Review's first Shanghai correspondent and bureau chief since the Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949. She lived in Shanghai with her husband from 1995 to 1998 and frequented their visit to that city from their Hong Kong base.

Yatsko's view is very valuable and convincing, if too haste to say "objective." However, As an American from Boston, Massachusetts, she certainly would consciously and unconsciously compared Shanghai with Boston, the city where she was born and educated. She received her Bachelor's Degree from Smith College in 1984 and her Master's Degree specializing in China Studies and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in 1988.

What surprised her most, however, which she could not help admiring, about Shanghai, in the first place, was the people: many Chinese youngsters could speak fluent English even without being abroad and know the business and the world very well. She expressed her amazement toward Chinese young students linguistic competence many a time in her book. The second deep impression that she had gained was about the place, the city: Shanghai, as a legendary city, an oriental Paris, now is reawakening, reshaping, and redefining itself.

When she was in Shanghai, Yatsko had done numerous interviews with Chinese young job seekers and people of business establishment. In her book, she depicted such formal and informal meetings with ordinary Chinese in great detail, and, with great enthusiasm and passion. This is one of her descriptions about her encounters:

"Kim's appearance was as radical as her behavior --- at least for Shanghai. Whereas in Beijing, young people on society's fringe sometimes adopt the skiked collars, green hair and other anti-establishment accoutrements of alienated Western youth; it is exceedingly rate in Shanghai. Kim, however, wore work boots and baggy clothes appealed to her most. She wore her hair cropped close to her Buddha-like face, occasionally shaving hr head all together."

"Although she had never been abroad, she spoke colloquial English with casual fluency rather that the stilted variety that Chinese learned at school. Unlike other applicants, she suggested thoughtful story ideas and understood what a foreign journalist's needs."

Yatsko portrayed her meeting with Jimmy Zou, a clerk of Shanghai trust and investment bank on another occasion. What Yatsko tried to unveil about her meeting with Zou was not just an interaction with an ordinary Chinese, but she attempted to expose a picture that Shanghai was en route to becoming a center of stock exchange, a new New York or London. See how she recounted her interviews with Jimmy:

"Watching Shanghai's capital markets in the 1990s was like riding a roller coaster whose brakes had failed because the ride operator had neglected to install and service them properly. Whenever the car threatened to careen out of control, the operator --- read authorities --- used a sledgehammer to stop it in its tracks. During a period of particular volatility in 1996 and 1997, Chinese traders like Jimmy Zou gave me a good idea of what makes Shanghai's markets tick. To me, his story suggests how far Shanghai has come since China's Communist policy makers in Beijing reopened the Shanghai Stock Exchange in December 1990 and designated the city to reemerge as an international financial hub. It also shows how far China's largest city has to go."

"In January 1997, I asked Zou to meet me for lunch at Pasta Fresta, one of Shanghai's new Italian eateries. Wearing a long wool overcoat against the winter chill, the 30-year-old had the look of a prosperous man. A diamond-studded gold band circled his ring finger and his pocket bulged with a new mobile phone --- most Shanghainese at the time sill relied on pagers. After we found seats and placed our orders, I asked Zou how he started trading A-shares. Exuding confidence, he happily explained: " 'I fist got the bug in 1991 while working at the Shanghai tourist bureau; I had a friend at the Shanghai Stock Exchange who helped me make a lot of money.'"

"What do you mean you had a friend at the stock exchange who helped you make a lot of money?"

"Oh, she would give me good news."

"What do you mean by 'good news.'"

"She told me inside information early. She would tell me which A-share to buy, and, never fear, within two days it would go up."

"Good news, indeed. 'How much money did you make that year?'"

"'Oh, about 200,000 Yuan,' he chuckled." What Yatsko attempted to demonstrate was, ostensibly, not just a transcript of a dialog between a Western journalist and a Chinese A-share trader, instead, she tried to showcase how Chinese "capitalism" machine was running. As she wrote: "Clearly, Shanghai has come a long way from the days when even mentioning the words "stocking market" in a favorable light could land a dunce cap on your head. In terms of building the hardware of a financial center --- setting up sock markets, promulgating laws, establishing brokerages, listing companies, etc. --- it is quickly catching up with its more advanced rivals in the region."

Yes, Shanghai re-emerged as a modern city with glittering skyline, new skyscrapers, prosperous villas and malls, busy department stores, glimmering neon, miles of elevated highways and modern way of living. Stock exchange, nightlife and business suggest a rhyme that may compare with New York, Tokyo, Singapore or London. Yatsko, with a profound admiration toward this fast-growing city, exclaimed that Shanghai entered into a new epoch of renaissance.

New Shanghai: the Rocky Rebirth of China's Legendary City provides a detailed description about, and a penetrating insight to, Shanghai, an old city that is in the process of rebirth. Privileged with her journalist experience, Yatsko, the writer of the book, captured the essential aspects of this changing city: "the wild building spree-trend-glut of the 1990s, Shanghai's drive to reestablish itself as a financial juggernaut; its cultural reawakening; the growing divide between 'haves' and 'have-nots'; the return of fortune-hunting foreign business; efforts to reform state enterprises; and the revival of Old Shanghai's vices

Rating:
Summary: Truly Shanghai
Review: As a Shanghainese who is sick of the feverish optimism about China nowadays, I was deeply skeptical when I first opened this book. It turned out to be the best book on China I have seen so far. The book, especially its second chapter on the financial market, is full of coolheaded analysis and down-to-the-ground reliable facts. Sometimes, it even shames me for not knowing Shanghai as well as this foreigner does. I recommend the book as a very reliable source of information for those interested in Shanghai and as a book to keep some authentic memory of Shanghai for those overseas Shanghaineses.

Rating:
Summary: Great for Ex-pats!
Review: I congratulate Pamela Yatsko on a fine piece of work and a great tool for business managers like myself. I am an international marketing manager for Agilent Technologies, which recently split off of Hewlett-Packard, responsible for growing the business in Asia. Clearly, I am very interested in the growth opportunities in China, and, clearly, Shanghai presents substantial growth opportunity within China. Although I have lived and worked in Latin America and Europe, I am very new to Asia and China. It takes years to get the feel for a region, but I feel that New Shanghai has given me a little shortcut. In fact, I have already recommended this book to a few new ex-pats in Shanghai. My one question to our ex-pats and locals in Shanghai has been, "C'mon, what's the downside to all this growth?" "Will it ever end?" "If so, how and why will it end?" "Is all this growth real?" "How can we take advantage of it, while it's here?" New Shanghai has helped put a good perspective on all of these questions for me. I also got a kick out of the tongue and cheek humor throughout the book, especially in Return of the Vices.
Pamela Yatsko must have gone through a plethora of interviewees to complete the book. I do not know her, but I have already met two Chinese interviewees and have friends in Shanghai who know several other interviewees. Obviously, she has made her presence known in Shanghai. Vincent Paez,Asia Programs Manager,Agilent Technologies, Inc., Delaware, USA

Rating:
Summary: New Shanghai
Review: I found "New Shanghai" not long ago as I was preparing to visit Shanghai after six years in the states, and was attracted to it immediately. Having lived in Shanghai most of my life, I have to say that the author knows about Shanghai better than I do. I'm only familiar with the life of my like, but the book has a broad coverage, from the upper class to the cultural underdogs. In particular, I liked to read Yatsko's interviews with various people, which added a sense of reality.

Yatsko has captured Shanghai's fastest socio-economic changes since it lost the luster as the most prosperous city in the Far East early last century. With her solid knowledge of economics and first-hand experience, the stories are credible and the analysis is insightful. Whereas "old Shanghai" has aroused most scholarly interest due to its relation to modernity, Yatsko's depiction of Shanghai's rebirth in the 1990s also offers a unique hindsight on its past.

Although I wish I could have read this wonderful book earlier, it's not so late in the sense that I now know more interesting places

Rating:
Summary: A must read if you are thiniking of China
Review: I had noticed the name of Pamela Yatsko long before she published this book, since the Chinese authorities had translated and published her China-related reviews on the Reference News-a local media circulated among China's officials-from time to time. (I wish the writer had been paid for those translated reviews.)
Reading this book is a really enjoyable experience.Actually I was very surprised of her deep understanding of the city and China's culture. For example, the story of two old gentlemen and the Shanghai Museum: they took the blame first, then, the city take the pride of their success. It's just a typical way of making things happen!-under this government. And, frankly speaking, she just know much more of the night life here than I, a local Shanghaiese.
If you are thinking of China, whatever which aspect you are thinking of, I would recommend this book to you. You will know the place, know what's happening here, know how it has happen.

Shanghai Reader Zhonghua Yu

Rating:
Summary: The Best Book on China's Urban Revolution
Review: I view "New Shanghai" through the prism of someone who worked in business in Shanghai during 1995-97 and has travelled there frequently from a base in Hong Kong during the last few years. Simply put, I can think of no more useful and interesting book for anyone who does any kind of business in Shanghai or just wants to understand the recent historic transformation of the city. Frankly, I can think of no more interesting or useful book about the metamorphosis of urban China. Among the things that makes this book great is the way Yatsko lets the city speak through the voice if its own people -- some chapters read like a more analytical version of one of Studds Terkel's great oral histories.

As a businessman, I found especially interesting the chapters on the quirks of the local economy, on the experience of foreign investors, and on the city's sputtering efforts to build its financial markets. In each case, her analysis is right on as she makes clear what is going both right and wrong. She observes, for example, that while the local economy has grown respectably in recent years, overly interventionist bureacrats have trampled Shanghai's efforts to build its own brands and to nurture technical innovation. On foreign investment, she offers us the condensed wisdom of most of the smartest people operating in Shanghai today. And on the capital markets, she recounts great tales of scandal and unfulfilled dreams.

Here and elsewhere this is a book filled with fun and revealing stories that show the real fabric of a city in the midst of revolutionary change. Some of my favorite tales come in the chapter on the return of the vices, where Yatsko tells all about her nocturnal explorations. We learn, for example, how kept women in China, known as "caged golden birds", keep themselves amused while the master is away by renting "little wolf dogs", or younger pretty boys with slick hair and cute suits.

Shanghai's re-emergence is a great tale, rich in heroes and villains and a bizarre mix of the city's spectacular visible, physical progress and its profound failures. I so wish this book would be read by all overeager urban and national leaders so that they could realize both what they should do to build their cities as well as the tragic consequences of trying to do too much.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Story, Great Window into Emerging China
Review: I worked in business in Shanghai during 1995-98 and continue to travel there often. I have yet to come across a more interesting or useful book about Shanghai's metamorphosis and the changes taking place in urban China in general. Although Shanghai and China are fast moving targets, the book provides a spot-on snapshot of the issues facing Shanghai at the millennium and has helped me make sense of this fascinating yet perplexing city. The author really captures the successes and failures of fin de siecle Shanghai well. Also, there's lots of anecdote to make the book a lively read-the chapter on vice is particularly fun. I recommend it for anyone who is interested in understanding what's beneath Shanghai's glittering surface.



Rating:
Summary: Excellent read!
Review: Pam Yatsko's book is a terrific contribution to the understanding of modern Shanghai - and China by extension. The reader is treated to a wealth of personal stories that Ms. Yatsko collected over her several years of living in Shanghai. While many writers tend to focus on the sensational, Ms. Yatsko examines what is really happening in people's lives and why. She has taken the Chinese economic policies that appear to most people as nothing more than news blips in the Wall Street Journal or New York Times, and shown how they have dramatically changed lives in modern China - bringing enormous rewards for some, significant hardship for others.

I have been visiting Shanghai since 1982 and have had an office in the city since 1995, so it is a particular pleasure for me to find an author who not only obviously shares my great love for the city, but who also chronicles the remarkable changes and array of paradoxes that define the city in such a compelling and engaging manner. So whether you are a business person looking to understand the business environment in Shanghai or an armchair traveler looking for insights into the rapidly changing culture of one of the world's largest cities, New Shanghai is a wonderful passport to the real world of Shanghai today.

Bryan Batson, President, The China Business Group, Inc., Boston, MA

Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Primer on China and China Trade
Review: Pamela Yatsko's book on Shanghai is much more level-headed, business-like and less reliant on personal anecdotes compared to books written by other journalists on Asia (such as China Wakes by N.Y. Times reporters Kristof and WuDunn). Although "New Shanghai" does contain some interesting "field work" and interviews made easier through Yatsko' s personal connections in Shanghai.

I especially appreciate the way the information was given with an appropriate mixture of open-source/public information, empirical data and personal experiences - a balanced view of both the social and political aspects of the life of the city of Shanghai through a detailed description of the bureaucratic mechanisms that influence events; not to mention the discrepancies that often arise between the public perceptions and private experiences of people who had to deal with myriad regulations and changing societal norms that are an integral part of their work.

It's important that Yatsko states unambiguous opinions about Shanghai, and by extension China, and then backs them up with facts on the ground. Because these opinions do not always conform with the prevailing wisdom on a potentially powerful China and the China trade, they help to instill a somewhat contrary, but much needed, dose of skepticism in the current state and direction of socio-economic development in China.

Rating:
Summary: Not the obvious
Review: Yatko's book far exceeded my expectations. Well argued, carefully thought out and with an excellent thesis. It is easy for old Shanghai residents (such as myself) to revel in an Old Shanghai nostalgia that has long ceased to exist. Yatsko highlights and illustrates many points that we overlooked, ignored or never knew in the first place. Valuable reading for anyone planning to do business in China or simply interested in this great city.