May-May's Diary
Entry for December 14, 1998
Boys and girls, I wish today to start today by turning away from my usual subject of nightlife. There I was, tripping out of a nightclub somewhere in the darkness of Shanghai when suddenly out of nowhere came a cyclist along the sidewalk and missed me by nothing more than a hair's breadth. I was shocked. I was for a moment even fightened. Where did the cyclist come? What was he doing riding on the sidwealk? And what is the point, in the end, of having a dictatorship of the proletariat if even the proletariat won't behave??!!
These were the questions which swirled around as I recovered my poise and flagged down a cab to make my way to my next nightlife appointment.
In the past few weeks, I have noticed a growing social problem here in Shanghai, a problem that affects us all. That is, people riding bicycles, mopeds and motorcycles on the sidwalk instead of on the road. I wonder why this had suddenly become such an obvious issue? God knows, Shanghai has always had enough bicycles, but up to now they seem to have limited themselves to the roads. Perhaps, I thought, it has something to do with the rapid expansion of the one-way traffic system. So I asked my friends the taxi drivers what was going on, and suddenly all became clear.
Starting from December 1, there is a new ruling in force which is that bicycles are not allowed on one-way streets to travel in the same direction as the four-wheeled traffic, only against the traffic. In other words, there are now two one-way traffic systems in this city, one for bikes and the others for cars, and they are in exactly opposite arrangements.
Just think of how cunning that is!!! Maybe it will work. But in the short term it means more bikes and motorcycles on the sidewalks as they fight against this ruling. So when you trip, or your case perhaps, stagger out of nightspots, be careful, beware, be very very afraid of the cyclist careering towards you out of the darkness.
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Also new in the disco scene of Shanghai is JBL in Xujiahui. This disco is very cool, and could easily become one of my favorite nightspots. It was designed by Jackson, the man behind the Buff disco in Hongkou, one of the most successful discos in design terms in town. This time, the location should be right too, and business is good. Xujiahui is close enough to the heart of the beast to be acceptable to the disco hoardes as they drift from venue to venue. Why is it called JBL? I guess in honor of the speakers that blare out the beat.
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There is a new nightspot in the Fuxing Park, in the Cashbox mausoleum next to the Yandang Building, and across from Park 97. It's called Shanghai Bar, or Shanghai 98 (jiu ba, its a pun!). Now there's a derivitive name if ever I heard one!! It looks like it's aiming to be an upscale MGM, the current late night home for the soft boys and hard girls of Shanghai. But it will be interesting to see how long it can maintain the upscale element. It being in the park will perhaps make it a bit easier, but MGM is MGM no matter where you put it.
Byeeeee!!!
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