ATYPIQUE

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YOUNG CRAZY UNSTOPP ABLE

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Art director: Erica Donadello Graphic designer: Erica Donadello Based on an idea of Erica Donadello Created and published in MAY 2020

CON TENTS

SHANGHAI INTRODUCTION

FASHION WANBING HUANG ANGEL CHEN SHUTING QIU

LIFESTYLE PEACH BLOSSOMS FESTIVAL LONGHUA TEMPLE FAIR TEA CULTURE FESTIVAL

ART MOCA SHANGHAI TEAM LAB BORDERLESS ASIAN DOPE BOYS

NIGHTLIFE CLOUD 9 SHANGHAI SHANGHAI CLUBS

SHANGHAI MEANS “UPON THE SEA”.

IT IS THE SECOND MOST POPULOUS CITY IN THE WORLD S

hanghai is one of the four municipalities of the People’s Republic of China. It is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze, with the Huangpu River flowing through it.

With a population of 24.28 million as of 2019, it is the most populous urban area in China and the second most populous city proper in the world. Shanghai is a global center for finance, innovation and transportation and the Port of Shanghai is the world’s busiest container port. Originally a fishing village and market town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to trade and its favorable port location. The city was one of five treaty ports forced open to foreign trade after the First Opium War. In the 1990s, economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense redevelopment of the city, especially the Pudong district, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city. The city has since re-emerged as a hub for international trade and finance; it is the home of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, one of the largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalization and the Shanghai FreeTrade Zone, the first free-trade zone in China.

Shanghai has been described as the “showpiece” of the booming economy of China.

Featuring several architecture styles such as Art Deco and shikumen, the city is renowned for its Lujiazui skyline, museums and historic buildings—including the City God Temple, Yu Garden, the China Pavilion and buildings along the Bund. Shanghai is also known for its sugary cuisine, distinctive dialect and vibrant international flair. Every year, the city hosts numerous national and international events, including Shanghai Fashion Week, the Chinese Grand Prix and ChinaJoy.

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he name Shanghai in chinese literally means “upon the sea”. The earliest occurrence of this name dates from the 11th-century Song dynasty, when there was already a river confluence and a town with this name in the area. How the name should be understood has been disputed, but Chinese historians have concluded that during the Tang dynasty, the area of modern-day Shanghai was under the sea level, so the land appeared to be literally “on the sea”. Shanghai has a rich collection of buildings and structures of various architectural styles. The Bund, located by the bank of the Huangpu River, is home to a row of early 20th-century architecture, ranging in style from the neoclassical HSBC Building to the Art Deco Sassoon House (now part of the Peace Hotel). Many areas in the former foreign concessions are also well-preserved, the most notable being the French Concession. Shanghai is also home to many architecturally distinctive and even eccentric buildings, including the Shanghai Museum, the Shanghai Grand Theatre, the Shanghai Oriental Art Center, and the Oriental Pearl Tower. Despite rampant redevelopment, the Old City still retains some traditional architecture and designs, such as the Yu Garden, an elaborate Jiangnan style garden. Shanghai—Lujiazui in particular—has numerous skyscrapers, making it the fifth city in the world with the most skyscrapers. So, Shanghai is a modern and beautiful city that has a lot to offer. Infact here you can visit modern buildings but at the same time partecipate at some very special chinese traditions. In this number we will talk about some of the best emerging fashion stylists from Shanghai, the most spectacular festivals, some museums and at the end, of Shanghai’s nightlife.

SHANGHAI FASHION WEEK SS 2020

THE FIRST FASHION WEEK ONLINE EVER S

hanghai Fashion Week wrapped up from 24 to 30 March. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, organizers brought the entire autumn-winter 2020 edition online, making it the world’s first fashion-week event at this scale to go fully digital.

More than 150 designers and brands livestreamed their collections from March 24-30 via Tmall, Alibaba Group’s e-commerce platform. To enrich the viewing experience, some designers went on camera to share their inspirations with fans in real time, while others made use of the event’s “See Now, Buy Now” format, which allows the audience to purchase catwalk items with their phones. Consumers were able to buy products from the current season or pre-order new looks from brands’ fall collections.

Opening showcases on the first day attracted 2.5 million views. By the end of the fashion week, the event’s streams had totaled over 11 million views and helped generate more than RMB20 million ($2.82 million) in gross merchandise volume. The most popular livestreams drew in 1.5 million views and sales of over RMB3 million in a single session, per Tmall. The showcase content will integrate AR technology to offer immersive experience and it will include established fashion labels with considerable brand effects, as well as emerging designer brands. The event’s “See Now, Buy Now” format will allow viewers to purchase current season’s items and pre-order part of the new looks or special looks.This fashion week completely online was revolutionary and it attracted a lot of people, creating a unique and different event and probably it will be copied in the future.

“China’s fashion industry and market have matured through the years and entered into a new age of creative energy and boundless opportunities,” said Vice Secretary-General of Shanghai Fashion Week Xiaolei Lv in a statement. “It would be a great regret if the coronavirus outbreak posed a challenge for these aspiring brands and talents, limiting what they could accomplish. As a platform long dedicated to supporting Chinese creative talents, we must take action.”

With industries around the world coming to a standstill due to the virus, the increasingly influential fashion week is hoping to turn the crisis into opportunity by offering a digital platform for fashion brands and designers to showcase their work and vocalise their creative visions while, at the same time, engaging with consumers and generating immediate sales in a first-of-itskind experience. “For this special edition of Shanghai Fashion Week, we have integrated some of Alibaba’s most-advanced technologies to bring a new and elevated experience to consumers,” explained Mike Hu, head of Tmall Fashion, Luxury and FMCG.

“This partnership allows us to leverage our experience in digitizing brick-and-mortar retail stores and explore a new format for brand and product launches, which brings together technologies like livestreaming, short-form videos, DingTalk and Tmall Flagship 2.0 in a full-chain solution,” he added. The schedule features China’s influential fashion brands such as Lili, Icicle, Juzui, Imm, Zuczug, Le fame, Lulualways, Immi, Akclub, MeandCity, Urban Revivo, Initial, Ochirly and Dazzle. Whilst the lineup by well acclaimed and emerging designers labels include BAN XIAOXUE, BABYGHOST, JICHENG, YES BY YESIR, Ms MIN, SHORT SENTENCE, DAMOWANG, REINEREN and SAMUEL Gui YANG, to name a few. Additionally, domestic and global names of multiband retails are also participating to the initiative, with a list including: Lane Crawford, it, NET-A-PORTER, XINTIANDI and Thebalancing. At the Shanghai fashion week 200 partecipated also a lot of emerging brands like WANBING HUANG, ANGEL CHEN anfd SHUTING QIU that presented stunning and colorful collections that have been admired by the costumers.

AS A PLATFORM LONG

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FASHION IS THE EXPERIENCE OF THE HUMAN MIND AND BODY

Calling Wanbing Huang a fashion designer feels insufficient.

The 27-year-old Chinese creative aims to merge fashion and art, creating stories that explore intimate human emotions.

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ressed in all black, Wanbing sits in her studio in London’s East End, immersed in creating her latest collection. Small midnight blue flowery fabric sculptures lie strewn on the desk in front of her, constructed with a stiff net fabric frayed on the edges. These embellishments form the backbone of Wanbing’s kinetic textile, swaying like delicate dandelions when connected to battery-charged memory wires. Alexander Kendall White, a multimedia installation artist that Wanbing is collaborating with for her textiles, says “The idea was to create wearable tech that was mechanically simple and looked elegant at the same time.”

She launched her eponymous label in October 2016 at emerging designers showcase platform Labelhood during Shanghai Fashion Week and soon gained traction from both the Chinese and international fashion audience. Wanbing’s idea of fashion is an exploration of the human mind and body represented through meticulous garment construction, expressive textiles and dramatic silhouettes. Her most cherished collection remains the first one ‒ “Chaotic Order” ‒ for SS17. Inspired by Belgian film director Oliver Smolders’ short film “Seuls”, the collection studied the emotional upheavals and intimate sufferings of an autistic child. Using fine horsetail hair, detailed 3D embroidery, ancient weaving techniques and innovative ring lacing Wanbing communicated existing issues regarding autism. “ People started to know me through this collection,” reveals Wanbing. “There are no proper schools for autistic children in Shanghai. I met these kids and used their drawings to develop the fabrics. It’s special for me because I feel this collection had a lot more meaning to it than just being about fashion.”

HE LAUNCHED ER LABEL N 2016

Wanbing Huang is a London based womenswear fashion designer H

er 2017 Spring/Summer debut collection “Chaotic Order” was heavily influenced by the Belgian film director Oliver Smolders’ short film “Seuls”. She used horsetail hair, 3D embroidery, ancient weaving technique and innovative ring lacing to mimic the subtle emotional upheaval of a suffering autistic child. While her 2017 Fall/Winter collection “Beyond the Body” was a study the circle of live and the idea of death, in honor of her deceased beloved grandmother. Often seeing fashion design as a form of storytelling, Wanbing utilizes special textiles to showcase her observation and opinions on social issues, intimate feelings, while simultaneously amplifying the beauty of a woman’s body. In her latest 2018 Spring/Summer collection “Memory Shards”, Wanbing explores the relationship between light and the ocean. “I took inspiration from my very first memory of the world, the light.” says the designer: “In particular, I focused on the reflection of the light on the surface of the water and rays of light penetrating the sea. ”For her 2019 collection Huang was inspired by the French avant-garde film ‘La Cicatrice Interieure’ a story about a women who confronts personal loneliness and finds life’s deep meaning through her emotional struggle. The collection named “The light within” was strongly femine with boots embroidered with soft ostrich feathers in icy pink worn with a matching cotton shirt-waisted off-the-shoulder dress. A large sun-hat covering one models face worn with perforated shear white dress with an extra pair of sleeves attached as its belt. And yet there was nothing girly about this collection.

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igure hugging denim colored perferated skirts were not about attracting the opposite sex nor repelling it.

Born and raised in the affluent costal city Guangzhou in China, Wanbing is no stranger to water and its reflection. She uses custom transparent weaving to create a unique shining aquatic quality that perfectly encapsulates the mood of a ghastly mid-day boat trip, haunted by the otherworldly silhouette.

Expert in textile innovation, the Wanbing Huang studio spends months on developing the perfect composition to achieve the desired alienated underwater feeling. Wanbing Huang’s singular vision has undoubtedly caught the industry’s attention. After just her first collection, Nike invited her to collaborate on the launch of the highly anticipated new shoe model Vapormax earlier this year. Her design was featured in the brand global promotion short film “Experiments In Style” and the “The Vision-Airs” exhibition at Art Basel Hong Kong.

“The first idea came to life as an ode to all things airborne, with the lightness and flexibility of the Nike Vapormax providing a direct reference. The transparent air cushioning unit that acts as a standalone outsole inspired me to create a flawless outfit that creates harmony between body and environment. A sense of movement is evoked using a structural fishbone piece that floats around the body an idea reinforced with a headpiece that was carefully woven, allowing a variety of shapes presented through emotions to slowly build a picture of texture and motion”.

“My personal collections are very arty because i always follow my feelings”

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eing emotionally invested in her work is what keeps Wanbing motivated.

That’s why, in addition to designing two commercial collections each year, she also dedicates time to personal projects, sharing her deepest sentiments through fashion. “For my personal collections I can do anything,” says Wanbing. “They are very arty because I always follow my feelings. But, for my commercial projects I need to realise whether my garments look good and feel comfortable, and also think about my market.” Thanks to her creations performing well commercially, Wanbing has the luxury of funding her work on her own. She also received the China Xintiandi Scholarship for her graduate collection, thus helping her break even bigger boundaries in design. “I think the individuality of a designer is the crucial element that make his/her work distinctive, and the designer’s way of presentation and skills are his or her communicate method with the audiences”. She is inspired by her feelings and emotions at the moment she is designing and then she blends them with film or books in order to create a story. “My creative process started with sketching and writing prose.

I visualise the elements in those sketching and prose by researching the vintage garment. A woman image that is continuously learning and moving forward is always in my mind during my creative process.”

RIGHT: Mixed media on paper. Live illustration at SHFW. Illustration by Yvan Deng.

My goal is not to make money but to experiment and create an experience.

Since rolling out her eponymous label in 2016, Wanbing Huang has caught the eye of the fashion industry in China and all over the world

You grew up in Guangzhou, studied in Tokyo, and are now based in London. In what ways have these cities influenced your designs?

Guangzhou is my hometown and ‘spiritual comfort zone,’ I love the cosy environment, delicious food and all my friends. In Tokyo, besides worldclass pattern cutting skills, I learned a lot about the rigorous and professional attitude and traditional Japanese artisan spirit. London is a melting pot of different cultures and a world-class art capital. I really enjoy immersing myself in this environment as it keeps me calm and creative.

How would you describe someone who wears your clothes?

I want to create clothes for those sophisticated yet emotional women. They are strong and fragile, and are seeking artistic design that allows them to express themselves. My clothes capture their subtle but dynamic consciousness and highlights their beauty by creating a feminine image with elegance and spiritual connotation to help them to find the true self. My clothes can be a form of protection in a feminine way, but not an armor.

Can you tell us about the new SS19 collection?

The theme of my SS19 collection is called ‘La Lumiere Interieure,’ which is inspired by the French avant-garde movie La Cicatrice Interieure. I want to use clothes to show the experience of a woman defeating her inner loneliness and pain through self-resistance to find the light of their soul and the meaning of life. The silhouettes are more fluid and romantic, and all the sharp edges are hidden to express a sense of elegance. The use of my signature fabric with peony-patterned jacquard conveys a romantic charm, and through the overlapping of lace and organza, I want to create some subtle yet polarizing hues.

You recently renamed your label as AT-ONE-MENT. Why did you make this decision?

AT-ONE-MENT is also the name of my graduation collection at Central Saint Martins, and I think it is a good name for my new chapter – to scale up and share my vision and creation with more women. I still follow my heart when I design, so the artistic and experimental parts are still in the new label.

I’m starting to think about sophisticated female as a wider group, and to further consider their emotional and physical needs.

AT ONE MENT ANBING HUANG

fashion is an attitude

時 尚

outrageously styled silhouettes, energy luxuriant energy is spread through a traditional approach of tailoring. It’s an expression of the p resent revolt age, s o to say global,non violent and funky to expression of the present revolt age

Angel Chen is a Chinese designer whose colourful approach to fashion and fusion of Eastern and Western aesthetics has made her one of the country’s brightest young talents.

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graduate of Central Saint Martins, Chen moved from her native Shenzhen to study in London at the age of 17.

During her placement year, the designer interned for Marchesa, Vera Wang and Alexander Wang in New York. Following her graduate collection, Chen was chosen by i-D as one of five designers-to-watch, going on to launch her eponymous label the following year.Stocked internationally at 30 retailers including Selfridges, Lane Crawford ,Luisa Via Roma, H. Lorenzo and Dong Liang, Chen is part of a new wave of young Chinese designers making an impact locally and globally. In 2017, Chen’s window display in London’s Urban Outfitters Oxford Street store was a first-of-its-kind collaboration between a Chinese designer and the high street retailer. She was also the first Chinese designer to collaborate with H&M, producing a 45-piece capsule collection for release in September 2019.

Making the 2016 Forbes China “30 Under 30” shortlist, Chen has a growing international fanbase, having shown at London, Milan and Shanghai Fashion Weeks.

As a part of the 2017 International Designer Exchange Programme, Mercedes-Benz invited Chen to present her Autumn/Winter 2017 collection at Milan Fashion Week.

Previously, she showed at London Fashion Week with Fashion Scout, before basing herself in Shanghai.

Chen has worked with celebrities like Chris Lee, Kris Wu Fan Bingbing, Bella Hadid and Charli XCX, making custom garments for the influential pop culture figures.

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ngel Chen aptly adjudicates on the fashion big question: is it about wearable art, or rather industrial products? “I design clothes that are commercial, but with my own textiles and in my own creativeness” – whatever, so to say, as long as the collection displays a very own feeling. Fed up with bold, hypnotising colours and savoir-faire, Chen’s pieces are actually telling the story of a changing attitude; that of young people reinventing the tradition, freer and wiser.

Even so Chen’s characters are fond of outrageously styled silhouettes, this luxuriant energy is spread through a traditional approach of tailoring.

She even received a great deal of attention by international medias such as The Times UK, Vogue UK and Evening standard.

Sponsored by well-known electronics brand SONY, Angel Chen presented her first Ready to Wear collection SS2015 “The Rite of Spring” in Shanghai Fashion week. Inspired by the energy of the new live in spring, her collection was a continuing story of her wedding collection. Chen used bright colors and mix materials to create a childish, free-spirited, and quirky character for young people.

CHEN’S PIECES ARE ACTUALLY TELLING THE STORY OF A CHANGING ATTITUDE

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ngel Chen Spring/Summer 2020 expands on the label’s bold experimentation through color, embroidery, and innovative textiles. Unlike the saturated hues of past seasons, this collection combines soft fluorescents with prints and embellishments to create a sense of lightness and grace. In terms of craftsmanship, Chen uses her especially fine needlework to embroider creatures belonging to Chinese folklore, such as the rosefinch, white tiger, and dragon. The metallic gradients shimmer with movement evoking a vivid, lifelike rainforest scene. This season Chen is using Dyneema Composite Fabric, a lightweight, waterproof, and wear-resistant material from Sweden, for the first time with a windbreaker piece. Exotic python patterns and Hawaiian prints are paired with jacquard fabrics from France’s Malhia Kent and Italy’s Bonotto, executed through slim-fit jackets and other items.

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hen’s signature airy cuts are strengthened with multi-panel stitching and matched with hand-printed pleated fabrics to create a unique psychedelic vibe.

Expanding on the brand’s playful style, dragon tooth designs adorn lightweight sneaker-mule hybrids. The stitching and hollow design of the shoe upper combines practicality with contemporary style. As for accessories, Chen has collaborated with Taiwanese designer HAN KAO on several modular bags with distinctive gradient patterns, synonymous with CHEN’s daring style. The collaboration with French mechanical watch brand FOB PARIS also continues with a watch strap printed with this season’s most distinctive psychedelic design, coordinated perfectly with a mechanical dial. Splashes of paint in softened neon colors gave an arty look to street-savvy bleached denim pieces but also to more unexpected designs.

ANGEL CHEN Spring/Summer 2020 is inspired by the 1937 comic Sheena, Queen of The Jungle, drawing on the courage and perseverance of its heroine and the vivid colors of the tropical rainforest setting to present a stunning rendering of wild beauty as filtered through Angel’s unique vision.

If I had to frame my universe in three words they would be...

BEAUTY, CURIOSITY, LIBERATION

Why did you choose to become a fashion designer?

I'm asking that because I feel a lot of emotions coming from your pieces. What are you trying to communicate thanks to your garments?

I became a fashion designer because I wanted people to feel as creatively free as I do. I wanted people to get excited when they see something beautiful – but to do that, you have to pour everything into it. My collections are a complete expression of me at that point in time.

How much the synergy of London has had an influence on your silhouette?

I would say that studying here made me aware of how much of a melting pot London is – anything goes, and that is incredibly liberating as a designer. Your collections are built to be worn either by a man or a woman, a boy or a girl; your pieces can be worn dozens of different ways. I am a huge advocator for the LGBT community, and I think my work should reflect my views – but more than that, I simply think it is a sign of our times.

You seem to not really mind about trends. What challenges have you faced as a designer since you’ve been graduated?

We have been incredibly lucky with our success – I would say the main challenge we face is having time to fit everything in! We have numerous collaborations, our Chinese New Year collection with Lane Crawford being our most recent, as well as showrooms and shows internationally. It can be hectic.

Could you tell me more about your technique? What it is made of?

Embroideryery is something that has become increasingly important for us. Last season we developed a technique of resolving fillings, which meant we had the volume we wanted, but not the weight.

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RE WITHOUT UA

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STYLE

SHUTING QIU

SHUTING QIU

graduated with a BA in Fashion from the acclaimed Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp. Her eponymous brand SHUTING QIU was established in 2017, putting forward a signature sense of femininity that features a “modern romantic� woman: a woman who is indipendent, powerful and strong while maintaining her soft and delicate side.

SHUTING QIU is a chinese emerging fashiong designer, you have to know!

Founded in 2017, eponymous brand SHUTING QIU fuses effortless femininity with a more ‘modern romantic’ touch.

Shuting’s clothes are designed and built for the strong and powerful woman with a soft and romantic identity.

Asymmetric and experimental silhouettes lead the way each season, with rich contrasting hues and superior fabrics cementing the designs’ wishlist-worthy status.

AT THE AGE OF 24 SHE’S ALREADY REALISED HER LONGLIFE DREAM! E

ver since she was a child, Hangzhou native Shuting Qiu had always wanted to become a fashion designer. Now, at the age of 24, she’s already realized her lifelong dream. Shuting Qiu graduated with a BA in Fashion from the acclaimed Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp.

Her eponymous brand SHUTING QIU was established in 2017, putting forward a signature sense of femininity that features a “modern romantic” woman: a woman who is powerful and independent while maintaining her soft, and romantic identity.

The SHUTING QIU woman dares to express herself with asymmetry and experimentation in silhouette, often rendered in rich contrasting colors of silk jacquards, intricate embroidery, and floral prints. Shuting Qiu is recognized by her use of bright and “happy” colors. She can juxtapose these colours in an unfamiliar beautiful way.

She has a unique creative vision that goes beyond trends, something we can invest in regardless of current commercial trends.

That’s because she was able to turn her passion into her career.

The Antwerp Royal Academy of Fine Arts graduate works with asymmetric and experimental silhouettes, using silk jacquards, embroideries and strong prints that we feel would work well with our customers. Her looks suggest femininity in a very powerful and strong but at the same time romantic way, and the shirt dress we chose is a commercial shape that conveys this message. Coats are a strong category for her, and we thought this sleeveless option was particularly striking. The dress is a combination of only two prints, so it can be an easier option for a customer who wants to approach her designs more gradually.

She always express herself with fashion.

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nspired by Baroque-era silhouettes, 90’s Wong Kar-Wai films, and dance performances by Pina Bausch, Shuting’s 2nd year collection is an exploration of her identity. Shuting sees herself as one belonging to the world of Wong Kar-Wai’s films, composing herself with grace as would Pina, living out an elegant Baroque spirit. Reflecting upon her Chinese upbringing and European education, she wanted to create an aesthetic she terms, “Asian Baroque.” The result is a strong womenswear collection that features big-volume outerwear and sweet dresses, garments rendered in stark-contrast jacquards and hand-embellished with painted chiffon flowers.

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er BA collection, titled “She Lives in a Wonderland”, was inspired by a trip on the road from Marrakesh to the Sahara Desert. She was touched by the striking scenery of nature and was immediately reminded of the landscape depicted under the lens of Wim Wenders, in the film, The Desert Flower. The female protagonist, Waris Dirie, is portrayed as a powerful woman who struggles and strives against all odds—a persona of womanhood that Shuting wanted to capture in her collections.

Reflecting upon her experience of traveling and The Desert Flower, Shuting illustrates a confident and strong woman with a gentle and romantic side.

OOK OVER IL

Shuting Qiu talks about her new 2020 collection.

“I wanted the woman of this collection to be very confident, strong and indipendent but at the same time with a softer and romantic soul. When i was travellling in Morocco, I drove for nine hours in the desert and there I really found my inspiration. I was amazed by the landscape, by people’s dresses, by the plants and the mountains.

It was a very incredible and unique experience that changed me. At the end of this trip I tried to bring together all the elements that I saw, in order to create this new collection. That’s why it is very colourful, bright and different. For the head pieces I used the 3D print. All these accessories seem to be made of metal beacuse they are big and shiny, but actually they’re in plastic. I’m very interest in the Chinese culture and traditions.

That’s why I often used the jacquar fabric and a lot of embroideries in this collection.

2020 But I tried to use them in a very contemporary and stylish way. The inspiration for my favourite piece of the collection came from the south part of India. In fact, I tried to reproduce the typical costume of a kathakali dancer. I created a very voluminous skirt and a huge blue headpiece.

Then I added a very big red mouth and a dramatic makeup. I’m really happy with this collection beacuse I really expressed myself and who I am.

It was a great opportunity to show my work at the New York Fashion week. With this collection I wanted to share my energy, my positive vibes and my happiness. I wanted the sunshine to be the first thing that come to the mind of the people seeing this collection. I wanted to fully represent and show the coolest part of life.

I wanted it to be bold and extravagant.

I’ve always been very PERSISTENT about my

DREAM

Ever since she was a child, Hangzhou native Shuting Qiu had always wanted to become a fashion designer. Shortly after graduating from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Qiu established her eponymous womenswear label in 2017, and later made her runway debut at the New York Fashion Week last fall. Speaking from her current home in Antwerp, Qiu shares with us her humble beginnings and the philosophy behind her bold and colorful designs.

When did you start developing an interest in fashion?

Ever since I was young, I always knew I wanted to become a fashion designer.

Drawing and reading fashion magazines have been my favorite hobbies for as long as I can remember. I’ve always been very persistent about my dream. I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t become a fashion designer. Fashion is a good medium in which I can express myself. Being able to turn my passion into a career is something that I’d always wanted to do.

How has your birthplace (Hangzhou) and your current home base (Antwerp) inspired your work?

Why did you choose Antwerp?

Hangzhou is a really beautiful place and it definitely had an effect on developing my artistic fundamentals. Silk is one of my favorite materials and I use that a lot in my collections, I think that has to do with where I’m from as well.

As for Antwerp, I’ve always been a huge fan of the ‘Antwerp Six,’ so I wanted to study here. I’ve been living here for about four years. Since completing my studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, I’ve been learning more about European culture and the region’s modern art in order to find inspirations for my work.

What’s more important is that living in Antwerp has made me a more confident person, which also allowed my design to have a better-defined personality and style.

There are many ethnic elements and bold colors in your design. Why is that? Are there any cultures that you find particularly inspirational?

What are some of your favorite colors?

I use a lot of ethnic elements, bold colors and silhouettes and eccentric headpieces, combined with the use of silk, jacquard, hand embroidery and feminine cuts for a sense of elegance. I am particularly drawn to Indian culture. The headpieces from my previous collection, for instance, are inspired by the Kathakali dancers from southern India. I generally like bright, eye-catching and ‘happy’ colors that go well together, but I don’t have a favorite.

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hanghai-style Culture is also called Hai Pai Culture by Chinese people. It reference to the culture of Shanghai, including the food, clothing, buildings, custom, and language. A city is alive when it is full of culture and Shanghai (mainly referring to Hai Pai) culture is at the root of Shanghai's energy and charm. The unique culture of Shanghai is the result of being affected by a lot of different cultures, including cultures of different areas of China, cultures of other Asian countries, and western cultures.

Hai Pai culture means "The Ocean absorbs the flows of hundreds of rivers", because it characterizes the culture of Shanghai so well.

Shanghai is open to diversity from foreign cultures to traditional Chinese cultures, and from elite cultures to folk cultures. The rise of modern Shanghai in just one hundred years is a miracle in the history of Chinese development.

It is the first place to get to from the sea, and from Shanghai can easily go along the Yangtze River to go deeper into China. Before 1843, Shanghai culture mainly came from the ancient kingdoms of Wu and Yue, from Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces. After 1843, when western civilization came to China through Shanghai for the first time, Shanghai developed rapidly into the national commercial and economic centre.

For about 100 years between 1840 and 1949, numerous foreigners from Europe, America, Japan, India had lived in Shanghai. They affected and changed the culture of Shanghai in a lot of ways. The buildings on the Bund is quite an evidence how much the changes were. Thus hai pai culture, the combination of Chinese and Western cultures, gradually formed. The term Hai Pai (literally 'Shanghai style') was coined by a group of Beijing writers in 1920 to criticize some Shanghai scholars and styles of writing for their admiration of money and western cultures.

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ai pai is rebellious while its opposite jing pai, or ‘Beijing style’, is traditional. They represent two kinds of different Chinese cultures. The famous author Cao Juren wrote in the article Jing Pai and Hai Pai in the 1920s that, “jing pai is like a fair lady, while hai pai is like a modern babe”. A group of scholars in the Shanghai art and literary circles spontaneously organized ‘yuanyang hudie pai’, the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly genre of popular romance in the early 1900s. This style of writer, such as Zhang Henshui and Qin Shou’ou, entertained the audience with amusing and light literature. So this is the unique ocean style culture of Shanghai, the result of merging and evolving of a lot of diverse cultures. Shanghai culture is rooted in traditional Chinese culture, based on the fusion of the essence of Wu and Yue culture and culture in other regions of China, and also absorbs to a lot of foreign culture, mainly western culture. Then it creates new characteristic of its own unique Shanghai culture. Cosmopolitism and compatibility become the core spirits of Shanghai-style culture.

The features of Shanghai-style Culture include diversification, the pursuit of excellence and innovation. The basic characteristics of Shanghai culture is open, creative, discarded and diversities. People from most countries in the world should be able to find something common and familiar to where they are from, but none of them would think Shanghai is very much silimar to another place. Shanghai is developing its own style of customs, by bringing the new elements into the culture. Shanghai is not only preserving and innovating the traditional cultures in celebrations, folk arts and crafts, customs, antique collections, and martial arts sports, but also absorbing and developing cultures from foreign countries in entertainments, etiquettes, sports, foods, and costumes.

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hina is one of the Four Ancient Civilizations (alongside Babylon, India and Egypt), according to Chinese scholar Liang Qichao (1900). It boasts a vast and varied geographic expanse, 3,600 years of written history, as well as a rich and profound culture. Chinese culture is diverse and unique, yet harmoniously blended — an invaluable asset to the world.

Chinese culture (pinyin: Zhōnghuá wénhuà) is one of the world’s oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago.The area over which the culture prevails covers a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying greatly between provinces, cities, and even towns as well. Chinese civilization is historically considered the dominant culture of East Asia.

With China being one of the earliest ancient civilizations, Chinese culture exerts profound influence on the philosophy, virtue, etiquette, and traditions of Asia to date.

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hinese language, ceramics, architecture, music, dance, literature, martial arts, cuisine, visual arts, philosophy, business etiquette, religion, politics, and history have global influence, while its traditions and festivals are also celebrated, instilled, and practiced by people around the world. China is an extremely large country — first in population and fifth in area, according to the CIA — and the customs and traditions of its people vary by geography and ethnicity. When we think about China we immediately remember the lanterns, the zodiac, the temples and the peach flowers, the festivals with dragons, the calligraphy, the hand fans and so on. Chinese culture is rich of so many beautiful aspects and it is impossible to describe in a very specific way every single tradition and part of the chinese life.

Shanghai, as the biggest city in China, is a place where a lot of beautiful festivals take place and it is interesting to discover them, their history, when and for what reason they are celebrated.

CHINESE LANGUAGE, CERAMICS, ARCHITECTURE, MUSIC, DANCE, LITERATURE, MARTIAL ARTS, CUISINE, VISUAL ARTS, PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION, POLITICS AND HISTORY HAVE GLOBAL INFLUENCE, WHILE ITS TRADITIONS AND FESTIVALS ARE ALSO CELEBRATED.

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he Chinese culture is rich with flower symbolism permeating both cultural practices and artistic expression. Peach blossoms have been the muses of Chinese literati for a long time.

The ancient Chinese believed that peach wood could protect people from spectral evils. In traditional Chinese medicine, peach is the king of the Five Fruits (the other four are red dates, plums, apricots and chestnuts). Peach kernels are a common ingredient used in traditional Chinese medicine and the raw material of jewelry. The Chinese endow this plant with their feelings and experiences, creating an object of rich cultural significance.The peach tree and all it’s components– the wood, fruit, blossoms and petals all carry different symbolic meanings in Chinese culture.

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he peach tree symbolizes longevity. The wood from the tree is said to ward off evil, and ancient warriors crafted weapons from it. The petals of peach blossoms have a history of use by Taoist magicians, and are known to put men into an intense trance of love. The peach tree blossoms during spring and is considered the ideal season for young couples to marry. The peach fruit, similar to the tree as a whole, symbolizes a long and healthy life. The fruit also bears associations of perpetual vitality. It is said that the Peach plant of immortality, located in the Kun Lun mountains, would produce fruit only once every 3,000 years.

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hen this happened, the Eight Immortals (a legendary group of enlightened ancient beings) would gather and eat of the magic fruit, assuring their immortality. During the Chinese New Year, young singles often decorate their house with peach blossoms in the hope of finding love in the coming year. The peach is often depicted in Chinese paintings, sculpture, pottery, clothing and food. An example of peaches playing a significant role in Chinese literature is the story “The Peach Blossom Land,” written by Tao Yuanming in 421 AD. The story tells the tale of a fisherman who stumbles over a forest of blossoming peach trees.

In the forest, he finds a hidden utopian community. He spends a week in this perfect place, but after he leaves, he is unable to ever find his way back.The story inspired the Chinese expression shiwai taoyuan, often used to describe a place of extraordinary beauty. To honor such a lucky symbol, they created the Lucky Peach truffle. A soft flavor of chocolate blended with white peach puree. But the best part of our truffle is that is it available year round.

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PEACHES VITALITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH LOVE AND MARRIAGE

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n ancient literature, peach blossoms were also used to express complex emotions, positive or negative.The famous saying “Tao li bu yan, xia zi cheng xi,” or “The peach and the plum do not speak, yet a path is born beneath them,” is often used to describe that a man of virtue attracts admiration. The saying originated from the story of General Li Guang (?–119 BCE) of the Western Han Dynasty. Though being a well-respected general who fought primarily in the campaigns against the nomadic Xiongnu tribes, Li was very modest and hardly able to get a word out. When he died, people all mourned deeply for him. The Records of the Historian comments on him with this observation: Peach and plum trees grow quietly and never show off, yet people still are attracted by them because of their sweet fruits and charming blossoms, and a path is trodden out to them. Here peach trees represent a person of sincerity and honesty, whom others will follow without being told.However, peach blossoms or trees do not always signify a good personality. In an ironic poem, the great poet Li Bai (701–762) compared toadies in the court to peach blossoms, showy but short-lived, rotting in mud when spring passed. Peach blossoms also signified disapproval of personality when compared with the other plants or flowers by literati. For instance, they were regarded not as courageous as plum blossoms who stood against the harsh winter, not as long-lived as pine trees and less pure than orchids.

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PEACHES ARE A SYMBOL OF FERTILITY

each trees were originally known by their vitality and rich fruits. Hence, they were considered a symbol of fertility. In a poem by the Tang poet Wang Jian, the palace maids experience deep sorrow upon seeing peach blossoms, because they feel trapped in the palace. There is no way for them to get married and have children like common people. Since peach blossoms bloom for spring only, just as a person’s youth and beauty fades, some believed that these vulnerable flowers represented beautiful, yet short-lived young women. It is said that Lady Xi, or Duke Xi’s wife during the Spring and Autumn Period, was taken away from her husband and was forced to marry the king of Chu. She felt ashamed and committed suicide. People who felt sorry for her experience honored her as the Lady Peach Blossom.

SPRING FESTIVAL S

ince 1991, Shanghai has had a peach blossom festival during March and April in the big Nanhui District. Pudong has over 65 square kilometers (25 square miles) of peach trees. The trees usually start to blossom at the end of March, reaching full glory in the beginning of April. Datuan Peach Garden, Nanhui Peach Blossom Village, and Binhai Peach Garden are good places to admire these beautiful blossoms, whereas North City Folk Custom Village provides folk music and performances.

This festival combines enjoying the peach trees with appreciating Chinese culture.

So along with enjoying the hundreds of peach trees in the area, you can also listen to traditional Chinese music played by ethnic folk musicians and watch dancers.

There is a recently developed park you can see there that is called the Chengbei Folk Peach Orchard. You can enjoy some Chinese cuisine in the restaurants and buy peach products in the shops.Â

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funny part of the festival is watching the pigs. There are pig events such as pig races, pigs diving, and etc. The pig events are one of the entertainments at the festival. Acrobats entertain as well. You can also have picnics and go to the fish ponds. During the festival time, many local farmers and residents open up their homes so that visitors can enjoy playing with fish nets or agricultural implements and have a meal. So, they can live a day as farmers or fishermon: fishing from boats or plowing fields. The Nanhui District is a coastal district that was traditionally agricultural, but now also hosts the peach blossom festival every year. China Highlights can help you customize a trip to see the best of Shanghai. This is an amazing festival where a lot of visitors can admire the beauty of the nature and of the flowers but at the same time discover and learn something special about the chinese culture. In the following page there are all the best places to visit.

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he biggest blossom festival is held at Nanhui Peach Blossom Village which is a bit far from central Shanghai but definitely worth a trip to. Nanhui Peach Blossom Village is located in Shanghai’s Pudong District near the Shanghai Wild Animal Park.

The village features nearly 300 acres of peach blossoms, which create a visual spectacle during the spring bloom occurring typically in March. In addition to peach blossom viewing, visitors can boat on the lake located within the park. Nanhui Peach Blossom Village is traditionally an important location during Shanghai’s annual Peach Blossom Festival. Many activities center on the area, making it an extremely popular springtime destination. The main venue of Nanhui Peach Blossom Festival integrates the local folklore and features. Every house in the village reflects the vitality and simplicity of Chinese rural areas. A large number of peach trees were planted in the garden.

Every year when peach blossoms blossom, Nanhui Peach Blossom Festival is organized, which is rich in content and fascinating. This is the best place to pursue the local history of Pudong and return to nature.

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ucun Park in the Baoshan Distrcit is Shanghai’s biggest blossom park and arguably the place to be to check out the cherry blossoms. With the annual festival taking place from March 15 through midApril, the park can get super busy, but its worth it. The Southwestern part of this huge urban forest park is dedicated to the cherry forest with about 4,000 cherry trees. About 500 trees can be found in the eastern part of the Children’s Forest Carnival. The park also hosts a smaller cherry blossom forest.

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ight before Line 9 ends, you can find Zuibaichi Park. If you’re feeling adventurous, head here to see the cherry blossoms and snap some off-the-beaten-track photos Zubaichi literally means drunken Bai pond. It was formerly a part of Songjiang jinshi’s residence. Jinshi was an advanced scholar during the Song Dynasty.

Zubaichi was named Zhu Zhichun during the rule of the Song Dynasty. Zubaichi Park is presently spread into an area of 50,000 square meters. It is located in the heart of Sonjiang district. The park has a history of over 900 years. The ancient garden architecture is still intact. The visitors are enamored by painted rafters, stone sculptures, winding ancient galleries and elegant pavilions. Luxuriant plants in myriad colors are also there, ready to captivate its visitors.

he Shanghai botanical garden is glorious park to enjoy the blossoms, it’s also home to a wide range of greenery including waterways, magnolia-lined avenues and an outstanding garden dedicated to bonsai trees. The little ones can also enjoy the amusement zone.

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he Shanghai Tongij University is one of Shanghai’s most popular areas for photo shoots with the cherry blossoms is the 200-meter lane at Shanghai Tongji University. Don’t forget to pack a picnic! Then Luxun park in Hongkou district is one of the parks celebrating the Shanghai Cherry Blossom Festival during the months of march and april.

EVERY FLOWER IS A SOUL BLOSSOMING IN NATURE

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TEMPLE FAIR Shanghai Longhua Temple Fair is the largest traditional temple fair in Shanghai. It has a long history, and is held ceremoniously on the 3rd day of the 3rd month of Chinese calendar.

It has now become a typical modern tourist attraction in Shanghai, integrating natural landscape, ancient architecture, commodities for sale, folk-customs, cultural characteristics, folk entertainments, snacks, and religious activities.

Shanghai Longhua Temple Fair is the largest traditional temple fair in Shanghai. It has a long history, and is held ceremoniously on the 3rd day of the 3rd month of Chinese calendar.

It has now become a typical modern tourist attraction in Shanghai, integrating natural landscape, ancient architecture, commodities for sale, folk-customs, cultural characteristics, folk entertainments, snacks, and religious activities.

SHANGHAI LONGHUA TEMPLE FAIR S

hanghai Longhua Temple Fair is a traditional Shanghai fair which has impact on the Shanghai regions and the whole Yangtze River Delta region.On the “temple street” business markets surround famous temples containing profound traditional culture. The center of Longhua Temple Fair is the Longhue Temple, mainly in the area of north of Shanghai Longhua Road Maugong Bridge (Huarong Road), south of the Zhongshan road (now Longhua Road) and at the intersection Tianyaoqiao road. Longhua Temple Area is now in the Xuhui District Longhua Street. Xuhui District is one of the fastest growing economic and cultural center of the region, Shanghai area. It is an important part of Shanghai culture. Longhua Temple Fair is not a simple faith activity, commodity trade and entertainment is almost as important as the activities and beliefs. Longhua ancient town has an extensive waterway as the Longhua Harbor almost pass through half of Shanghai. Longhua harbor also connected with the Huangpu River, the vessel through Huangpu River estuary into the sea, thus communicating the broader geographic ties with Longhua Harbor.

Longhua Temple Fair was developed because of its temple fair and Longhua Temple also benefited from the Longhua Temple fair. Occurrence of Longhua Temple Fair can be traced to the Tang Dynasty. From the Ming Dynasty, the temple was developed from a single set of Buddha temple to a Buddha, commerce, entertainment integrated temple. This is a development period of the temple. Since the time of the Qing Dynasty, the temple fair was being pushed by the third day of the third lunar month to the fifteenth day of the third lunar month, combined with peach blossom tours.

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ith the expansion of the size and influence of the temple fair, the temple fair also expanded entertainment content. Temple fair entered the heyday. After the 1920s, the temple fair took place a second transformation, transformed from rural to urban temple fair, which is its transition. After the liberation, the government involved in the organization of Longhua temple fair and the temple end spontaneous state, entering new phase. Entertainment practices is an important part of the Longhua Temple fair. These practices are mostly entertainment evolved from the Han Chinese traditions or local traditions evolution, and is closely related to local production and lifestyle. The main entertainment practices include: outing tours peach, shadow play and hub concept drama, dragon and lion dance and swing lake boat show.

During the fair tourists from China and abroad have an opportunity to taste the famous Longhua vegetarian dishes, and can take part in one---day tour activities held by the locals.

At night tourists can take part in the welcoming ceremony held at the front square of Longhua Temple with dancing and singing, and visit the Sutra Hall (Cangjinglou). You can learn martial arts in the morning, go shopping in the “temple street”, taste local- flavor snacks, and watch artistic performances. You can learn martial arts in the morning, go shopping in the “temple street”, taste local- flavor snacks, and watch artistic performances. In the development process of Longhua Temple fair, it also produced many legends, poetry, proverbs and other literary works. Production of these works illustrate the important role both in the public life of the temple fair, and also reflects the enormous influence of the temple fair and its strong radiation.

The Longhua temple is the largest and more beautiful temple in Shanghai.

It was first built in 242 AD and its structure stands at the height of 40.4 m

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he temple was first built in 242 AD, during the Three Kingdoms Period (220–165).

According to a legend, Sun Quan, King of the Kingdom of Wu (222–280), had obtained Sharira relics, which are cremated remains of the Buddha. To house these precious relics, the king ordered the construction of 13 pagodas.

Longhua Pagoda, part of the Longhua temple complex, is said to have been one of them.

Like the function of the pagoda, the name of the temple also has its origin in a local legend according to which a dragon once appeared on the site. The temple was destroyed by war towards the end of the Tang dynasty (618–907) and rebuilt in 977 AD, under the autonomous Kingdom of Wuyue during the Northern Song dynasty period (960–1127).

Later in the Song dynasty, in 1064, it was renamed “Kongxiang Temple” , but the original name “Longhua Temple” was restored in the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).

A modern restoration of the entire temple complex was carried out in 1954.

The temple and monastery were originally surrounded by extensive gardens and orchards. Viewing of the peach blossom in the Longhua gardens was an annual attraction for people in surrounding cities. The temple grounds have been used as a site for internment as well as for executions. Public executions were held on the site in the 20th century. In 1927, the Kuomintang carried out a purge of suspected communists in Shanghai.

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housands of victims of this purge were brought to the temple grounds to be executed. They are commemorated today by the Longhua Martyrs Cemetery behind the temple.

During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese operated their largest civilian internment camp in the area, where American, British, as well as nationals of other allied countries were held under poor conditions. The temple’s extensive gardens have since been almost entirely absorbed into the neighboring Longhua Martyrs’ Cemetery and have been extensively reconstructed in a contemporary monumental style. A small traditional garden remains immediately adjacent to the temple buildings.The Longhua Temple occupies an area of more than 20,000 sq. Meters. The main axis of the compound is 194 m long. The tallest structure is the Longhua Pagoda which stands at the height of 40.4 m.

The temple consists of five halls which are built according to Sangharama Five-Hall Style of Buddhist Chan Sect, developed during Song dynasty.

Five main halls are arranged along a central north-south pointing axis The five main halls are arranged along a central north-south axis. These five halls are Maitreya Hall, Heavenly King Hall, Grand Hall of Great Sage, Three Sages Hall, and Abbot’s Hall.

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he Longhua Pagod: The 40.4 meter-high Longhua Pagoda is made of brick, and the staircases are made of wood. It is red, has 7 stories, and it looks like a delicate Song-era pagoda. The brick tubular shell of the pagoda is said to have been first built in 977. The wooden staircase and the 7 roofs are said to be of recent construction.

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ell Tower & Drum Towe: These buildings are off the axis. In the Bell Tower, there is a bronze bell that weighs 3,000 kilograms or 3.3 tons. It was cast in 1894. On the evening of New Year’s Eve on December 31st, it is a tradition to strike the bell 108 times to ring in the year. People can pay about 50 RMB or 7.50 USD to strike it three times. Bell ringing on New Year’s Eve is a common tradition in Buddhist temples that have a bell in East Asia.

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he Grand Hall of the Great Sage (Daxiong Baodian): The third hall will probably be the most impressive of the five main halls on the axis. In it, there is a big golden statue of Buddha along with several statues of arhats. Chanting music is played, and people bow and kneel in front of them.

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oom with 500 Golden Statues: Just outside of the main entrance of the third hall called the Daxiong Baodian where there is a big golden sitting Budda statue, there is a side hall where you can see 500 little gold statues arranged in rows. They shine and glitter in the light. From the austere courtyard with the smoke of fires and burning incense, the golden and bright statues are a striking contrast.

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SHANGHAI INTERNATION TEA CULTURE FESTIVAL T

he International Tea Culture festival is about a week long in March, April or May every year, focusing on Chinese tea. Tea is indispensable in the daily lives of the Chinese people. Tea has become known and favored by many foreigners since communications between China and other countries and regions have become more and more frequent. Tea’s popularity is due to not only its taste, variety, ease of preparation and beneficial health effects, but also the cultural connotation it conveys. This activity is just in order to show the distinguished tea culture. The opening ceremony is always held in Shanghai, but the closing ceremonies are usually in southern cities that are famous for their tea productions. Tea specialists, delegations and tourist groups from all over the world come to the city. Visitors can come to learn the proper way of brewing tea, taste various precious teas, watch the exhibitions or attend lectures. This is a grand event for the tea fans. This event started in the early nineties, and has evolved into a world famous gathering of tea lovers and traders and attracts thousands of tourists who seek knowledge about this medicinal drink. You will find any and all kinds of teas here, and you can also watch customs like tea dancing. Experience the elegant tea ceremonies at Songyuan Teahouse in Zhabei district (1667 Gonghexin road/ 1667)which is where it all started.

They serve tea-based dishes, desserts and more which are elaborately prepared by experts and also hold performances and operas which are all about tea and its rich history.

Near 200 companies doing business in tea, tourism and innovative cultural industries from around the country were invited to attend, along with tea companies from Sri Lanka and Australia. Both traditional and new tea products and tea sets were on display. Lao Shu Cha She, or Old Tree Teahouse, a member of Jing’an-based Daning Tea City, demonstrats tea-making procedures to visitors. The teahouse brought a new variety of yellow tea from central China’s Hunan Province to the festival this year. The teahouse is constantly developing new ways to enhance visitor understanding of classic Chinese tea cultures. “People create the culture and etiquette for tea,” said the owner of Lao Shu Cha She, who gave his surname as Huang. “We are more than happy to share our knowledge of tea with the public.” According to Huang, the most frequently consumed teas in China are green tea, black tea, white tea, brick tea, Oolong tea and yellow tea. However, public knowledge about yellow tea is relatively limited, compared with other varieties.

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he practice of drinking tea has a long history in China, having originated there.

The history of tea in China is long and complex, for the Chinese have enjoyed tea for millennia. Scholars hailed the brew as a cure for a variety of ailments; the nobility considered the consumption of good tea as a mark of their status, and the common people simply enjoyed its flavour. In 2016, the discovery of the earliest known physical evidence of tea from the mausoleum of Emperor Jing of Han in Xi’an was announced, indicating that tea from the genus Camellia was drunk by Han dynasty emperors as early as 2nd century BC. Tea then became a popular drink in the Tang (618–907) and Song(960–1279) Dynasties. Although tea originated in China, during the Tang dynasty, Chinese tea generally represents tea leaves which have been processed using methods inherited from ancient China. According to popular legend, tea was discovered by Chinese Emperor Shen Nong in 2737 BCE when a leaf from a nearby shrub

fell into water the emperor was boiling. Tea is deeply woven into the history and culture of China. The beverage is considered one of the seven necessities of Chinese life, along with firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar. During the Spring and Autumn period, Chinese tea was used for medicinal purposes and it was the period when the Chinese people first enjoyed the juice extracted from the tea leaves that they chewed. Chinese tea culture refers to how tea is prepared as well as the occasions when people consume tea in China. Tea culture in China differs from that in European countries such as Britain and other Asian countries like Japan in preparation, taste, and the occasions when people consume tea. Even today, tea is consumed regularly, both at casual and formal occasions. In addition to being a popular beverage, tea is used in traditional Chinese medicine, as well as in Chinese cuisine. Green tea is one of the main teas originating in China.

Tea-drinking is a constituent part of Chinese culture. China is an original producer of tea and is renowned for its skills in planting and making tea. Its customs of tea-drinking spread over to Europe and to many other regions through cultural exchange via the ancient “Silk Road” and other channels of trade. The Chinese nation has written a brilliant page for its tea culture in the history of world civilization. The development and promotion of tea has been one of China’s principal contributions to the world.

First appearing as early as 5,000 years ago, Green Tea is the oldest category of Chinese Tea. The original processing of the tea was quite simple. People either boiled the tea leaves straight from the tree, or sun-dried tea leaves for future use. While the processing methods have changed over the centuries it still resembles its ancient ancestor in that it is not fermented and only very slightly oxidized. This allows the tea to retain more of the original taste of the leaf. Traditionally, there are ten most famous teas, but not all “best ten” lists are in agreement.

Here is a typical list: Long Jing (Dragon Well tea); Bi Luo Chun (Green Snail Spring tea); Tieguanyin (Iron Goddess tea); Huangshan Mao Feng (Yellow Mountain Fur Peak tea); Junshan Yinzhen (Jun Mountain Silver Needle tea); Qimen Hong Cha (Qi Gate Red tea); Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe tea); Liu An Gua Pian (Liu An Melon Seed tea); Xin Yang Mao Jian (Xin Yang Hairy Tip tea); Tai Ping Hou Kui (Monkey King tea). Tea Ceremony drinking and appreciating tea can be life style. The Chinese tea ceremony contains the wisdom of oriental philosophy. Furthermore, Chinese tea ceremony reflects the central idea of Taoism, Confucian and Buddhism it’s a combination of philosophy and life style. Through the whole set of ceremonymaking tea, appreciating tea, smelling tea, enjoying tea, friendship is increased, virtue is cultivated, traditional virtues etiquette are learned. The ceremony can refresh mind and clear thoughts. The spirit of tea ceremony is the core of tea culture and the spirit is represented by Taoism.

Drinking and loving tea can be a life style.

The Chinese tea ceremony contains the wisdom of oriental philosophy. Furthermore, Chinese tea ceremony reflects the central idea of Taoism, Confucian and Buddhism it’s a combination of philosophy and life style. The ceremony can refresh mind and clear thoughts.

The spirit of tea ceremony is the core of tea culture and the spirit is represented by Taoism.

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ea ceremony is originated in China yet more popular in Japan since it has been introduced to Japan and Korean Peninsula during South Song Dynasty. When it came to yuan dynasty, tea ceremony was not that favored anymore in the central China. Tea ceremony today is better represented by Japan in fact. Tea and Horse Road refers to the folk international trade channel, which was originated from the ancient tea-horse trading in southwest of China. It was started during Tang and Song Dynasties, flourished in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but its hey-day were in the late World War II period. Chinese people use different kinds of tea wares with different kinds of teas. Green tea goes with white porcelain or celadon without a cover while scented tea with celadon or blue and white porcelain with a cover. Black tea goes well with purple clay ware with white inside glaze, or with white porcelain or warm colored wares or coffee wares. And Oolong tea is also excellent in purple clay ware. In other words, the harmonious combination of function, material, and color of tea ware is very essential to taste the essence of tea. Tea wares mainly consist of ovens, teapots, cups, tea bowls and trays and so on. Tea wares have been used for a long time in China. Tea drinking became more popular and pubic in the Tang Dynasty. In the palaces and nobles, tea wares made of metals were served and for civilians porcelain and earthen wares were commonly used. Tang scholars preferred green porcelain as for example from Shaoxing, Zhejiang province.

THIS IS AN OLD AND IMPORTANT TRADITION IN THE CHINESE CULTURE

PEOPLE USE DIFFERENT KIND OF TEA WARES WITH DIFFERENT KIND OF TEA

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his kind of green porcelain looks like jade with elegant design and exquisite decoration. Since the true color of tea was set off completely and beautifully in this dainty cup (ou in Chinese), it was listed as Number One in Lu Yu’s Tea Classics. Concerning about the function, the size and design of the cup well suited to the tea drinking habit of that time allowing for cooking tea powder with green onion, ginger, dates, tangerine peels and peppermint, then drinking the whole liquor as the same as the soup. The preference for green porcelain or white porcelain was suddenly changed to black glazed teacups in the Song Dynasty. Moreover, tea bowls became common with the shape of an upturned bell. They were glazed in black, dark-brown, grey, grey/white and white colors. Then grey/ white porcelain tea wares predominated in the Yuan Dynasty and white glazed tea wares became popular in the Ming Dynasty. Teapots which are made of porcelains and earth clay were very much in vogue during the middle of Ming Dynasty. Gilded multicolored porcelain produced in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province and the bodiless lacquer wares of Fujian Province emerged in the Qing Dynasty. Due to the popular of tea drinking, various kinds of tea wares continued to develop, for example wares made of earthen clay, porcelains, copper, tin, jade, agata, lacquer, glass and ceramic, etc. All make a rich and colorful variety of tea wares in the history of tea-drinking in China. Among various kinds of tea wares, porcelain wares made in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province ranked first and brown earthen wares made in Yixing, Jiangsu Province took the top place for a long time.

SHANGHAI IS THE BIGGEST CITY IN CHINA. SHE IS MODERN, GREAT AND UNSTOPPABLE

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART

MOCA SHANGHAI MISSION IS TO GATHER TOGETHER EXCELLENT ARTWORK FROM AROUND THE WORLD

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he Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai (MOCA Shanghai) is a contemporary art museum in the city of Shanghai, China. It is located within People’s Park, north of People’s Square, the location of a former racecourse that now holds the central administrative building and museums of Shanghai. Surrounding buildings include the Municipal Government Headquarters, the Shanghai Grand Theatre, the Shanghai Art Museum and the Shanghai Museum. MOCA Shanghai was founded in 2005 by the Samuel Kung Foundation as the first non-profit, independent, contemporary art institution in Shanghai. The glass building that houses the exhibitions is a reworking of the former People’s Park Greenhouse by Atelier Liu Yuyang Architects. the building was renovated to hold a 4,000-square meter museum space while preserving the outer glass wall. The first and second floor exhibition spaces are a combined area of around 1,800 square meters, with 300 square meters of additional space on the third floor. All exhibition areas are equipped with professional temperature and humidity control equipment. The 160-square meter restaurant, MoCA on the Park, is also located on the museum’s third floor, and makes an ideal setting for corporate or private events. From the rooftop terrace, guests are treated to stunning 360º views of lush greenery and some of Shanghai’s most historic buildings. Opened in 2015, MoCA Pavilion is a new space by Museum of Contemporary Art, Shanghai dedicated to emerging artists and ideas. Located at Gate 7 of People’s Park, it is a free and welcoming environment for the public to discover works of contemporary artists. The mission is to foster new trends in contemporary art, support emerging artists, and facilitate personal encounters between artists and the community.

The museum has focused on the promotion of Chinese and international contemporary art with a set of diverse exhibitions that include both well-known and fledgling contemporary Chinese artists, as well as retrospectives for leading names of the fashion and creative world (recently including Yayui Kusama, Dior, Salvatore Ferragamo, Chanel) The Summer 2012 exhibition was one such retrospective for Van Cleef & Arpels, entitled Timeless Beauty. In the past, MoCA has partnered with international organizations to host significant exhibitions. In 2007, MoCA partnered with the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum to present the contemporary works from the major survey exhibition, Art in America. More recently, MoCA collaborated with the Korea Foundation to present Nostalgia: East Asia Contemporary Art Exhibition, which included works from China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea. Other international exhibitions include contemporary art from Indonesia, Hungary (in conjunction with the Shanghai Expo), Italy, and India, and an exhibition on Finnish Design in collaboration with Marimekko. Furthermore, MoCA holds a biennale, MoCA Envisage, which focuses on Chinese contemporary art and considers its recent direction and themes. In addition to exhibitions, MoCA runs seminars, talks, and educational programs throughout the year, for both adults and children.The third floor of MoCA Shanghai is host to MoCA on the Park (formerly Art Lab), a full restaurant equipped with rooftop patio and bar. Various artworks populate the space, including those by Raymond Choy, Qu Guangci, Silvia Prada, Zhang Lian xi, Freeman Lau, Raman Hui, Yan Lei, and Xiang Jing. The restaurant also hosts a number of private events and opening ceremonies.

A DREAM I DREAMED MOCA SHANGHAI EXHIBITION

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he Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai hosted the touring Yayoi Kusama exhibition “A Dream I Dreamed” from the 15 of December 2014 to June 2015.

The exhibition featured over 100 pieces, including paintings, sculptures, installations, and documentary film footage. It brought together works previously shown at the Tate Modern, Centre Pompidou and the Whitney Museum. Established artist Yayoi Kusama, both tenaciously creative and obsessive, creates artworks wrested from her stream of consciousness. She was born in Nagano in 1929 and as a child, Kusama suffered from hallucinations of nets, dots and flowers that appeared to cover every inch of space and threaten to obliterate her. The hallucinations left an indelible impact on the artist, the imagery of which continues to manifest itself in her work. Essentially self-taught and fiercely determined to be an artist since childhood, Kusama arrived in the United States in 1957 at the age of 28. She rapidly established herself among the New York avant-garde and gained international attention during the 1960s with her paintings, sculpture, installations, poems, novels, performances and film. Her powerful presence during this period has been influential and inspirational for subsequent generations of artists. Her work has been exhibited at hundreds of galleries and museums, as well as included in private, public, and institutional collections, worldwide during her extraordinary career. She returned to Japan in 1973, moving into the Seiwa Hospital for the Mentally Ill, where she continues to live. Now in her ’80s, Kusama is the world’s highest paid living female artist, and is still creating new works. The show was curated by Kim Sun Hee, who also collaborated with MoCA Shanghai in a 2012 group show of works by Japanese, Korean and Chinese artists entitled “Nostalgia: East Asia Contemporary Art Exhibition.” Highlights of the show include huge red balloons with white polka dots entitled “Dots Obsession” (2013), several “infinity mirror rooms”, the 1,500 stainless steel sphere work “Narcissus Garden” (2013), dotted tentacles entitled “The moment of Regeneration” (2004), and the signature yellow-and-black “Great Gigantic Pumpkin” (2013). Another work to look forward to is the video “Manhattan Suicide Addict” (2010), which takes its name from Kusama’s 1978 novel. The exhibition previously showed at the Daegu Art Museum and the Seoul Arts Center, and continued on to Taipei. Undoubtedly, Kusama’s prominent fame and lasting appeal owes much to the straightforward, no-nonsense accessibility of her work. The highly charged outpouring of vibrant colors embodied in her paintings, the graspable tactility of her sculptural pieces, and profusion of shimmering lights defining her installations beckon with tantalizing enticement. The result is a rapid-fire, sensory overload that mesmerizes through direct visual stimulation that enchants the viewers today as they did so in yesteryear. Kusama’s legendary status was firmly established years.

DO YOU COPY 2019 WE HOPE TO ERASE DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN ARTISTIC CREATIONS AND IMMERSE THE VIEWER IN A WORLD WITHOUT BORDERS. DO YOU COPY AIMS TO SHOWCASE HUMAN IMMAGINATION ABOUT THE FUTURE IN DIFFERENT SPACES

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oCA Shanghai was pleased to present Do You Copy on August 26, 2019, as part of its ongoing “CROSS+” initiative. Encompassing the media of video, painting, photography, sculpture, installation, fashion, and artificial intelligence, Do You Copy featured works by artists and creative collectives, over half of which were commissioned specifically for this exhibition or presented in public for the first time.

Do you come from Heaven or rise from the Abyss? Human shave never ceased to imagine the future. Through speculation and exploration, we hope and strive for convenience, beauty, and all kinds of new experiences. We also direct our speculations towards the cosmos. From the time Galileo looked through his telescope, our cosmological speculations have always been a fusion of myth, fantasy, and science, and has always manifested itself in various forms.

Do You Copy? If you did, please answer!

In Do You Copy, we hope to erase distinctions between artistic creations and immerse the viewer in a world without borders.

Incorporating materials from the worlds of fashion, film, music, and illustration, Do You Copy aims to showcase human imagination about the future in different media and in different spaces and times.These are the artists that partecipated with their extraordinary works at the “Do you copy” exhibition: Team 23, Azuma Makoto, Jinky Huang, Axel, Mashama, Ni Youyu, Yangjun Peng, Reineren, Ricostru, Somei, Hui Tang, Devinsky, Zaoeyo, Hoho Zhou, Star Camp, Eigen Technology, Fashion Depertment, Fashion Department, School of Design, East China Normal University. The curators of the exhibition were June Chu and Miriam Sun and it lasted until the 5th of January 2020. This was an amazing experience and occasion to discover how the world of art is often inspired by other disciplines like fashion, science or myth. It was a different and very special exhibition full of futuristic, modern, original and different work of arts. Interesting was the work of the japanese artist Azuma Makoto that sent some flowers in the space and then took some

NEW DIGITAL MUSEUM SHANGHAI TEAM LAB BORDERLESS

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TEAM LAB IS AN ART COLLECTIVE, INTERDISCIPLINARY GROUP OF ULTRATECHNOLOGISTS WHOSE COLLABORATIVE PRACTISE SEEKS TO NAVIGATE THE CONFLUENCE OF ART, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, DESIGN AND THE NATURAL WORLD.

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pening on November 5 in the Huangpu District of Shanghai, teamLab Borderless Shanghai will include approximately 50 artworks in a space spanning over 71,000 square feet. The collective’s concept is to “explore a new relationship between humans and nature” through digital technology that knows no boundaries. The pieces are meant to move freely in out of rooms and at times even interact with one another in addition to the onlooker, creating a unique experience. And now that they’ll have a second museum, teamLab will take the borderless idea a step further through an installation that connects Tokyo and Shanghai, where the computer-generated creations will move between the two spaces simultaneously. The Shanghai venue will feature many of teamLab’s signature works. Forest of Resonating Lamps, where color-changing lanterns made from Murano glass are suspended in a mirrored room, will be the largest one ever, measuring one and a half times bigger than its counterpart in Tokyo.

Wander through the Crystal World, a maze of LED lights dangling from the ceiling set to sounds by musical artist Hideaki Takahashi, will also have its own room.

The Shanghai museum will also be home to En Tea House, where you’ll have a truly interactive experience as you drink this particular variety of green tea grown in southern Japan.

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ut there will be a few never-before-seen pieces as well. One that will surely become a new favorite is a large-scale sculpture of moving orbs titled Microcosmoses. Without a map, visitors will immerse themselves in the vast space and wander through the ‘four worlds’ that make up the museum. Each world is designed by TeamLab to provide unique experiences: ‘borderless world’ showcases many of teamLab’s previously exhibited installation pieces; ‘microcosmoses’ depicts a community of moving light vehicles; ‘forest of lamps’ consists of hundreds of lit lanterns below and above the ground; and a virtual tea drinking experience at the ‘en tea house’. The immense light sculpture made up of more than 1000 moving lights, ‘microcosmoses’ world will be ‘an experience as yet encountered by humanity’, describes teamLab. the autonomous light vehicles, in the form of a glass sphere, move simultaneously throughout the space on a rail.

The vehicles change speeds and colors in response to each other within proximity and depending on its battery life. When people stand close to a vehicle, it will shine brightly and emit sound tones in response to the person’s presence. As the combination of color, speed and sound vary by the second, every visitor will have one of a kind, unique experience.

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THE BORDERLESS WORLD IS CONSTANTLY CHANGHING DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF OTHERS, SO TWO MOMENTS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

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entral to the teamLab Borderless Shanghai museum is just that — a borderless experience. The museum offers no map or sense of direction. Instead, you are invited to explore a world that shifts and changes as you move through the space. The artworks are continuously moving in ways that feel impossible to imagine. Partly because often art museums are still focused on stationary paintings and sculpture that offer more momentum to time. It’s a museum where artworks leave rooms, communicate with each other, and fuse together. The ideas behind the museum hope to connect the audience to the natural world by creating a beating heart of activity that responds to the physicality of humanness. One artwork that speaks to this narrative is Forest of Flowers and People: Lost, Immersed and Reborn, which was first exhibited at PACE Beijing. The artwork is rendered in real-time by a computer program, no two encounters will be the same. It also changes over time, with flowers falling to decay before regrowing in abundance. The team explain the perplexity of working on such large artworks. “We created it with a specialist who creates 3D CG flower model and animation, a 3D software programmer, an engineer who designs equipment such as projectors, a software programmer who localizes and integrates dozens of projectors within the space.” Where flowers grow in the Forest of Flowers and People, while Flutter of Butterflies Beyond Borders, Ephemeral Life Born from People sees butterflies filling the backdrop.

The flowers and butterflies echo narratives of humankind’s position within the continuity of life. When the visitor stands still, flowers and butterflies grow from their presence, but when the person reaches out to touch these, the creatures and florals scatter and die.

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eamLab reflects, “we hope is that people will see the beauty of this continuous, borderless world, which will expand their value systems, even if by just a little bit.” Another site-responsive highlight from the museum in Tokyo includes a visit to the “En tea house”, for Flowers Bloom in an Infinite Universe inside a Teacup.

As cups fill with physical tea, flower visuals bloom, responding to the measure of liquid. Visitors share that if they spill their tea, the flowers “spill” as well.

“Because the Borderless World is constantly changing due to the presence of others, no two moments will ever be the same,” teamLab explore. “As a result, it is hard to say what a “full experience” in the museum would be since it is impossible to see every single thing.” Instead, it’s about getting lost in the museum, letting yourself go to the passing of time and try to relax into the spectacular show.

While teamLab are a global collective, their philosophies feel rooted within the focus of Japanese art, one of the fragilities and impermanence of human interaction with the natural world; changing seasons, and a collective identity unbound by culture. TeamLab Borderless is a technical masterpiece, but it brings together a collective experience, for children and adults to enjoy and play. Because of the overarching nature theme, teamLab hope it inspires the audience to think globally about their connection to the world and nature. Where traditional art is a oneway conversation between a static piece and a viewer, in TeamLab’s digital art, the presence and touch of a human can change the whole work, encouraging utopian physicality with the world around us.

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eople understand and recognize the world through their bodies, moving freely and forming connections and relationships with others. As a consequence, the body has its own sense of time. In the mind, the boundaries between different thoughts are ambiguous, causing them to influence and sometimes intermingle with each other. TeamLab Borderless is a group of artworks that form one continuous, borderless world. Artworks move out of the rooms freely, form connections and relationships with people, communicate with other works, influence and sometimes intermingle with each other, and have the same concept of time as the human body. Artworks even transcend the physical space of the museum’s location, moving between other teamLab Borderless museums around the world, expanding and connecting the time and space of teamLab Borderless. People wander through the world, exploring with intention, creating and discovering a new world with others. The borderless world transforms according to our presence, and as we immerse and meld ourselves into this unified world, we explore a continuity among people, as well as a new understanding of the continuity between ourselves and the world.

ASIAN DOPE BOYS

SINCE 2015

ASIAN DOPE BOYS IS A SHANGHAI BASED TROUPE OF ARTISTS THAT CREATES PERFORMANCE ART THAT STRADDLES THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE BIZARRE.

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ollectively known as the Asian Dope Boys, the Shanghai-based, multi-disciplinary troupe creates performance art that straddles the beautiful and the bizarre. Last year they took a sampling of their absurdist theatrics on the road, touring the full 20-person opera through Europe, with dates at the Barbican in London, the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and Säule, the experimental space at Berghain, Berlin’s legendary techno club. For the performance at Säule, Yu Han, a founding member, gripped a oversized disco ball-cum-mask; his fellow artist Beio Mao, was naked and painted entirely white, a bamboo conical hat on his head and stacks of gold bangles on his wrists. Between two towering concrete pillars, they performed their own variation of Butoh, the avant-garde Japanese dance theater. Hovering in the shadows, stage left at show, was Tianzhuo Chen, the director of Asian Dope Boys. Even on this small scale, it’s clear that Chen has choreographed a transgressive ceremony of sorts, a tribute to club culture rituals that draws on Hindu, Tibetan Buddhist, and traditional Chinese aesthetics. Carefully interwoven within this lurid multiverse is iconography of the animal kingdom, drag culture, and Western pop culture.

Asian Dope Boys is my alter ego.

I don’t have a big mission. I just want to make fun parties for all the kids in China

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n the past, Chen has cited the holy demons within Tibetan Buddhist paintings known as Thangka as the starting point for his creative visions. Indeed Mao often appears unisex as a nod to the Chinese deities. In Chen’s “An Atypical Brain Damage” performance, two Vietnamese twin performers, Le Ngoc Thanh and Le Duc Hai, wear Justin Bieber-designed tracksuits purchased from H&M to represent “capitalism and super star.” Chen’s career encompasses fashion, performance, and video art, and spans cities across China and Europe. In 2014, he stumbled across the Western producers who would later soundtrack the ADB parties and performances, including Switzerland-born Nepalese-Tibetan musician Aïsha Devi and multi-instrumentalist Yves Tumor. He met Yu Han during a stint with London clothing label Sankuanz around the same time, and cast him several months later, alongside Beio Mao and French dancer Ylva Falk, in the kitschy, Pepto-Bismol-tinged video piece “19:53.” Asian Dope Boys was officially formed shortly thereafter in 2015, with a series of parties in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. Now ADP have become the leaders of a new performance art movement, with surrealist multimedia productions such as “Aetherave” and “An Atypical Brain Damage.” Falk’s Paris-based collective, House of Drama, has joined their ranks, too, as have outsider electronic artists such as Aïsha Devi, now a longterm collaborator of Chen’s, and Berlin-based experimental producer Dis Fig.

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WOODS is delighted to present Trance, a solo exhibition by artist Tianzhuo Chen in the museum’s location in 798 Art Zone.

This exhibition will be Chen’s largest solo exhibition in China to date, and centers around a new 12-hour long performance of the same name. Presenting new work in conjunction with some of Chen’s most representative pieces, the exhibition will provide a comprehensive overview of the artist’s multidisciplinary practice that combines moments from previous exhibitions and performances from 2014 to the present. Artists based in China that have grown up after the turn of the millennium are, in many ways, the country’s first generation of contemporary art creators with a diverse global vision. With cultural background and identity no longer isolated topics in need of clarification, these artists engage with a wide array of subjects within the framework of a broader social, political, and economic context. Having established a distinct voice in contemporary art, Tianzhuo Chen adopts an eclectic and multidisciplinary practice that includes performance, installation, video, photography, and work on paper, oftentimes skilfully merging all these elements in his complex and hypnotic all-encompassing performances that blur the boundaries between exhibition and theater.

Appearing within his work are fragmented pieces of information and symbols derived from sources such as electronic music, religion, club culture, cartoons, and Butoh, a form of Japanese dance theater.

These wide-ranging and seemingly disparate sources are synthesized effortlessly by the artist to unpredictable and surprising chemistry. Thus, although Chen’s work can be puzzling in its novelty and absurdity, it is not the artist’s intention to induce confusion, or to force viewers to unpack the meanings of each symbol and detail in order to understand his work. Rather, Chen seeks to create an alternative world, situated somewhere between everyday reality and illusion, which demands the visitor’s visual, aural, and total physical sensory experience.

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hroughout Chen’s diverse and eclectic practice, what emerges as a constant is his intense – at times even overwhelmingly so – visual imagery, and their persistent reflection on the absurdity of life and death.Over the course of three days, Chen’s artistic style and energy will be put to the stage in the brand-new performance piece Trance, during the exhibition’s opening. With each performance lasting 12 hours and taking place once per day, this marathon-like performance project is the artist’s first trial after many years of preparation. Unbound by traditional genres of theatre, dance, or musical opera, Trance takes the entire museum as its stage, and presents six stories, all of which are related to human illusions, and previous artworks. Rather than adhering to established conventions of narrative, chronology, or delineation between work and the environment it is situated in, Chen immerses audiences in a spatially and temporally de-centralized performance, where visitors are free to wander for the entire 12-hour duration as if in an aimless stream of consciousness.

Eventually, Chen expects viewers will cross a threshold, whereby they are no longer in control and enter a “state of trance” induced by their perceptions. After the first three days of live performances, a related video work will be created and exhibited in the central hall of the museum during the course of the exhibition.

Taking Trance as the starting point, M WOODS invites audiences to immerse themselves in the world of Tianzhuo Chen: in his rebellion against cultural monotony and stereotypical interpretation, and in his persistent search for sincere, genuine modes of expression.

TIANZHUO CHEN SEEKS TO CREATE AN ALTERNATIVE WORLD BETWEEN EVERYDAY REALITY AND ILLUSION WHICH DEMANDS THE VISITOR’S VISUAL, AURAL AND TOTAL PHYSICAL SENSORY EXPERIENCE. THIS PERFORMANCE IS ECLECTIC, INTENSE AND OVERWHELMING.

INTERVIEW First can you introduce yourselves? Who are you, where are you, what do you do, etc…

Chen Tianzhuo: We’re Asian Dope Boys, a Chinese label. We want to bring underground and alternative things from all over the world to China, and at the same time throw our own parties, produce our own merchandise and publications, or any other work that’s fun or interesting to us.

Yu Han: I’m Yu Han, I live in Beijing, currently doing the Asian Dope Boys label.

How long have you been working together? What attracted you to each other’s work initially?

Tianzhuo: Yu Han and I first collaborated on my video work “19:53”, he was an actor in it. Afterwards we collaborated on performances at Palais de Tokyo in Paris and Berghain in Berlin, he also joined as an actor and performer in those. After that, I had the idea to start a label, and I thought he’d be really good to work with on it. He’s very passionate about this kind of work, and we’re already familiar with each other’s temperaments.

How did you get the idea to form Asian Dope Boys? What was your concept for it at the beginning?

Tianzhuo: I had the idea when I was travelling in India. I felt that in addition to my work as an artist, I was also interested in doing a lot of other kinds of projects. Limiting myself to art is really boring, doing other kinds of projects would be more interesting. Plus the audience within the art world is quite lame and closed-minded. Outside of art itself, they don’t know much about anything else, and don’t even care to. So I wanted to do something for an audience with broader tastes and interests to enjoy. We also want to make a label that’s led by our own taste, not something that’s led by commercial concerns or going after a specific target audience or whatever.

Asian Dope Boys is a pretty rad name… how’d you settle on that?

Tianzhuo: It’s my Instagram name, I just thought it perfectly suited our crew, which includes Beio, Yu Han, and the other people we’ve collaborated with.

Can you introduce some of your collaborators?

I know you’re working with House of Drama from Paris, and other French musicians and producers. How did you assemble this cast of characters?

Tianzhuo: All of them are already really lihai [extraordinary] in their respective fields. It’s like if you’re shooting a movie, you need to assemble a suitable cast of performers and a suitable soundtrack. When all of these artists converge in this performance, each contributes their personal touch and expertise, be it dance or music.

What is your role in all of this? Do you do all of the costume design and choreography yourself?

Tianzhuo: My role in these Asian Dope Boys performances is director. For my own performances I do all the design myself, but of course for this I can’t do every single piece of costume design or choreography. House of Drama is bringing their specialized experience in choreography. They’re basically doing their own performance within the frame of the Asian Dope Boys party.

Will Asian Dope Boys be an ongoing party / performance series? What do yo have planned after these events are over?

Tianzhuo: Since Asian Dope Boys is a label, we’ll definitely have some follow-up events, physical products, parties, publications, etc.

Yu Han: Asian Dope Boys presents art, music and dance performance in the format of a label, but our label’s style is first being established through visuals and sound. Later, Asian Dope Boys will release books and various other kinds of merchandise. We’ll also use it as an antenna to seek out interesting things happening in other domains.

NIGHTLIFE

NIGHTLIFE

SHANGHAI IS THE BEST PLACE TO HAVE FUN AND SPEND A GOOD TIME! S

hanghai has always enjoyed its status as an alluring entertainment spot, from its swinging jazz clubs in the 19th century to its sprawling rooftop bars today. While lots of cash usually helps fuel a night out here, that’s not to say an expensive night is the only type of night you can have. In fact, perhaps because of this, it has helped launch a burgeoning underground scene, which has given birth to a number of impressive, home-grown DJs. Whatever type of night you’re after, you’ll find it in Shanghai.

As China’s second-most populous city with over 26 million citizens (Guangzhou pits them to the post with 45 million), it’s safe to say Shanghai caters to a varied crowd. With a huge number of migrants, businesspeople and travellers flocking to the city, life here is best lived in the fast lane. This is telling of its nightlife scene, with many new bars replacing old haunts or rebranding as an even bigger, even better experience.

So, whether you want a gritty, underground affair or a high-end, opulent rendezvous, there are more than enough options to find something that ticks the bill.

The popularity of Shanghai’s lookat-me culture still prevails and it’s one based on aesthetics, connections and the glue that holds it all together: money. While entry fees can be low – sometimes free or often starting from ¥50 (£5) – they can still soar above this. What you really will be paying for is for the prevalent table and bottle service.

This is a city where you flash your cash to show off how much better your night is than anyone else’s. This could mean splashing out between ¥800–1000 (£91-113) for a bottle of spirit or getting a table for anything between ¥3,000– 5,000 (£341-569) during the weekends. It’s important to remember that this is just one end of the scale and that there are still more lower-spend options available. In Shanghai you can have a lot of fun and there are a lot of places where you can go and spend a good time, like for example discos, theatres, cinemas, parks and so on.

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here isn’t a minimum drinking age, but alcohol cannot be sold to people under the age of 18. The only thing you may have to consider is that smoking indoors in public spaces is forbidden – although this isn’t always strictly monitored, so it’s best to check what others around you are doing. There isn’t a specific closing time for bars or nightclubs, but in general, they tend to close around 2am, while others keep their doors open until the early hours of the morning.

Alcohol is available to buy from supermarkets and convenience stores throughout the day and night.

Chinese drinking culture vastly differs from Western drinking culture. The ins and outs of this can get very detailed, most of which apply to more formal business events. But if you’re with Chinese friends, the main thing to remember is to always say ganbei (cheers!) back to the person toasting and don’t refuse a drink after someone has toasted you, as it is interpreted as rude. But if you’re out for the night, chances are you aren’t planning on saying no anyway. The Bund (wàitān) is the most popular but often the most expensive area to go clubbing. What makes it so pricey is that most clubs have an amazing view of Pudong and the Huangpu River. One of the most exclusive bars in Shanghai is Bar Rouge, a lounge with a French-Shanghai atmosphere. Another famous bar with a view is Mint, famous for its shark tank at the entrance. The Former French Concession (fǎ zūjiè) is one of the biggest clubbing areas. In general, clubbing in Shanghai is more expensive than in Beijing. But luckily, at some places you won’t have to spend that much money. Many students go to Perry’s Café for the cheap drinks and food. Customers are allowed to scribble on the walls, so don’t forget to bring a marker to sign your name! Another reasonably priced bar and restaurant is Windows, where locals and expats come together to play darts, pool or just relax after a long day. If you want to go clubbing afterwards, there are two clubs located in a basement, to have a real underground experience: C’s and Shelter.

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hanghai also has a large number of bars where you can enjoy listening to live music. If you like jazz music, you can go to JZ Club, Brown Sugar or Cotton Club. MAO Livehouse is an excellent choice for those who prefer rock music. If you’re looking for more variety, Brix has live bands playing a variety of different styles of music, depending on the day. On Thursdays there are performances from Latin bands and on Fridays and Saturdays their live band Common Culture performs hip hop, R&B and reggae hits.

Another bar where they play nearly every music style is the Melting Pot. Ladies, be on the lookout for ladies nights! On certain nights of the week, many clubs and bars offer ladies great deals, such as free drinks, free entrance and gifts. Most bars organize ladies nights on Wednesdays; however, there are some ladies nights on Tuesdays and Thursdays as well. On Tuesday, go to the I Love Shanghai bar - ladies can drink for free until 1am! At Geisha, martinis and wine are completely free from 9-11pm on Wednesdays.

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f you prefer beer cocktails, go to the Refter on Wednesday nights. Every Thursday the Apartment organizes a Gossip Girl event with free sparkling wine for all the ladies from 9pm-11pm. Even better still, Ruby’s has an open bar from 10pm-6am - every night of the week! Keep these deals in mind - you’ll save a lot of money that you can save up for much nicer things. There are quite a few sport bars in Shanghai where you can watch international sports on TV, play bar games and enjoy a good pint of beer. At the Spot they hostlive feeds of cycling, formula 1, football and moto GP. Big Bamboo and the Shed have live feeds of nearly every sport. Head on over and cheer for your favorite team.

Then Shanghai offers a large number of Karaoke bars, cinemas, bowlings and also theme parks and theatres. So if you’re in the mood to spend a more relaxing night with your friends you can have a lot of alternatives.

But you know that Shanghai is a place where everything can happen and where you can always have a lot of fun with your friends!

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araoke is wildly popular in China. Unsurprisingly, there are many KTV places scattered throughout the city. Unlike karaoke places in Western countries, in China you’ll have a private room, which you can rent out and split the cost with your friends. Besides a TV and karaoke set-up, you can also order drinks and food, which come delivered right to your room. There’s a KTV bar called Cashbox Partyworld, which is very good. Well, what are you waiting for? Go and sing your heart out!

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here are various places where you can go bowling in Shanghai.

Regal East Asia HotelBowling Club is without doubt one of the best ones. Every Wednesday they organize a Ladies Bowling Night where women can enjoy a special price of 200 CNY for a 2-hour game with up to four players per lane. Another bowling place that’s very nice and big is Pine City Hotel. Prices vary from 8 CNY to 15 CNY depending on the time of the day.

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riving a car in Shanghai might not be the best idea. However, there are indoor go-karting tracks, which can provide much less stressful driving experiences! There’s one called The Stampede, situated on Zhenguang Lu. It costs 85 CNY for about 7 minutes. Another one is Disc Cart Indoor Karting on Zaoyang Lu where a ticket costs 80 CNY for 8 minutes. So buckle up and go!

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othing to do on a rainy day? Go to the movies! UME International Cineplex is a movie theater located close to the Xintiandi subway station. Prices start from 100 CNY for regular tickets and 110 CNY for 3D tickets. Another movie theater is the Wanda International Cinema, where they show IMAX movies in addition to 2D movies. Prices vary from 70 CNY for regular tickets and 120 CNY for IMAX tickets. Both movie theaters have a wide selection of English and Chinese movies.

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appy Valley is a great place to escape from Shanghai for a day of thrills and relaxation. It has over a hundred attractions, the most being the Fireball, a wooden roller coaster. With 30 attractions, Jinjiang Amusement Park isn’t quite as big as Happy Valley, but it is just as fun.

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SHANGHAI

FROM THE 87TH FLOOR OF THE JIN MAO TOWER, CLOUD 9 OFFERS YOU THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VIEW OF SHANGHAI!

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ocated at the penultimate 87th floor of the iconic Jin Mao Tower in Shanghai, CLOUD 9 is one of the highest bars in the world, providing guests with jaw-dropping views across the entire panorama of the sprawling Shanghai megalopolis. The showpiece bar of the Grand Hyatt Shanghai, CLOUD 9 occupies a dramatic post-modern space that wraps around the inner core of the building, creating a sequence of differing spaces, each framed with their own unique outlook over Shanghai from 350 metres above the ground. CLOUD 9 is one of the “must-visit” bars in Shanghai, and attracts both first time visitors to Shanghai and hotel guests ,as well as being a popular after-work meeting place for office workers in the adjacent Pudong financial district. Apart from serving up spectacular views, the bar entices guests to linger with selections of creative cocktails, champagnes and wines, and a comprehensive bar list of premium spirits, beers, and non-alcoholic drinks. A menu of tapas-style small bites and desserts are available to compliment the drinks. A resident DJ spins the hottest house, jazz-lounge and electro tunes.

CLOUD 9 is open daily- from 5pm on weekdays and from 2 pm on the weekends. Access to the 87th floor “sky lounge’ is by dedicated elevators from the 85th floor- in turn reached with the hotel elevators from the main lobby level on 54th floor.

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hen first opened in 1999, the luxurious Grand Hyatt Shanghai was the highest hotel in the world. The Jin Mao Tower which houses the Grand Hyatt Shanghai was completed in 1998 and was until 2007 at a height of 420 metres, the tallest building in China. The iconic tower references Chinese architectural traditions with its tiered pagoda style edifice, and with due observance of the number 8 which is considered fortuitous in Chinese culture. Hence the building core is an octagon shape, the total number of floors is 88, and the structure is supported with 8 exterior supercolumns. The distinctive post-modern architectural style is expressed with the complex external curtain wall constructed from glass, granite, aluminium and stainless steel.

The interior of CLOUD 9 showcases the architectural construction elements to dramatic effect- with huge aluminium clad supporting columns rising diagonally from floor to ceiling, and chromed stainless steel internal columns. The eight-sided floor plan provides for a variety of intimate spaces, with all tables enjoying close-up proximity to the glass curtain wall for fabulous views. Each of the different sections of the bar differ somewhat in terms of layout, table arrangements etc. The structural materials are combined with dark mahogany timbers, and a soft amber lighting effect to create an atmosphere of warmth and sophisticated luxury.

JUST HAVE FUN! JUST HAVE FUN! JUST HAVE FUN!

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UE Bar is an elegant and stylish roof bar in Shanghai, occupying the 32nd and 33rd floor of the western tower at the five star Hyatt on the Bund. The hotel’s location, at the top bend of the Huangpu River, gives both unique and absolutely amazing views of both the ultra modern Pudong skyline as well as the historic buildings on the Bund side. Spreading over two levels, VUE Bar is a big place. And while there are lots of seatings inside the more rustic main bar, offering floor-to-ceiling windows, the open rooftop terrace is not that big. But what is lacking in space is made up for with decor. Or how about large and comfy daybeds and a rooftop marble jacuzzi? Perfect for relaxation with grand views. The rooftop bar offers a wide selection of wines and champagnes, beers, and premium spirits. And they are also known for making some real mean cocktails, from classics to Strawbellini and the signature VUE Martini.

The atmosphere at VUE Bar is usually sophisticated and on top, with live DJs spining records and a mix of local and foreign visitors. Popular place, so on weekends reservations are recommended just to get a place anywhere, and even more so to get a hold of one of the daybeds at the terrace. Usually there is a RMB 100 cover charge to get in, but then a drink is also included. So, VUE Bar atop the Hyatt on the Bund is a great place to sip on some after work cocktails, or lounge after a long Sunday Brunch. With amazing views of the Bund, wood interior and jacuzzi on the outdoor terrace, it’s a beautiful and equipped place to enjoy a mellow night out. It is the perfect place to relax while taking a bath in a luxurious jacuzzi and sipping a tasty drink or glass of wine, admiring the beautiful skyline of Shanghai.

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he opening of Bar Rouge in 2004 atop Bund 18 announced a new era in Shanghai nightlife.

Rapidly becoming the city’s go-to venue, Bar Rouge offers a unique combination of high style and unbeatable Shanghai’s skyline views from its spacious terrace. Sexy crowds, international DJs, fantastic theme parties, and unique Champagne celebration rituals, contribute to its amazing ambiance night after night, becoming an icon of Shanghai’s glamorous nightlife. Chic, exotic and effortlessly cool – Bar Rouge is the undisputed embodiment of the DJ, drink and dance culture. A trend-setting nightlife destination that gives revelers an energetic and fun brand of play only seen in some of the world’s finest clubs, Bar Rouge is a unique nightclub experience only found within Asia, marked with an international appeal. Possessing an allure that is its striking combination of sleek, sexy interiors, state-of-the-art sound and lighting systems and spacious DJ driven dance floors, being perched atop of some of the world’s most iconic landmarks, including Shanghai’s Bund 18, a heritage building on the Bund’s glamorous waterfront and at the penthouse of Singapore’s tallest hotel at Swissôtel The Stamford. The club has hosted awe-inspiring performances from top DJs such as: David Guetta, Bob Sinclar, Dennis Ferrer and Claptone, to name just a few. The latest renovation at the beginning of 2019 provides an evolved experience upon setting foot on to its new star-dazzled long entrance runway; a rectangular island bar centerpiece takes pride of place within the interior space, with the introduction of unrivalled interplay between club lights, sound system, 10 LED screens and a sweeping dance floor. The new rooftop terrace offers striking views over the futuristic skyline of Shanghai, featuring a larger elevated VIP seating area, and at the core of its design “Shanghai’s longest rooftop bar”, located on the Bund, promises an unforgettable nightlife experience from dusk till dawn.This is the best place to go if you really want to have fun and dance on the dancefloor with some creazy music. Definitely not the place to hang with your friends if you’re looking for a chill and relaxing time.Bar rouge is pure energy and passion!

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t’s a hip lil’ rollerskating rink called, succinctly, “RIINK.” More like a rink-pluscocktails-plus-bar bites place. You’ve got to give it up; it’s unique, it’s ballsy, it’s a nice idea, it’s not an EDM-trap club or a whiskey bar. The general dimensions are the same as Inferno, but the stage has been replaced with the skates and lockers.

The entire floorspace is given over to skating space, with a raised lounge seating area at the side. Neon lights and a sort of ‘80s Tron vibe. A circular DJ booth sits in the center of the skating area, which is not very big, but big enough for casual roller skaters (whether kids, adults or themed pajama party attendees). Four-wheel skate rentals are around 50rmb, for as long as you like. Sizes go up to 46s. Cocktails are funky, fruity, rum-based concoctions, lots of home-made infusions, and some Tiki-types. Price point’s 50rmb-60rmb or so. The concerns behind it are a pretty diverse team of F&B regulars: Ting Ting (of Roxie and previous occupant Inferno), hottie Bund mixologist Geo (The Captain, formerly Unico), and ubiquitous menu Macgyver-er Austin Hu (Diner, Madison Kitchen), with the latter two handling cocktails and bar bites respectively.

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ituated in the Park Hyatt hotel on the 92nd floor of the SWFC tower, this is reportedly the highest bar in the world, attracting a sophisticated, young professional crowd. Sadly with all the windows blocked by the bar, there are none of the views you would expect, but the artistic decor, good quality drinks and an upbeat live jazz band make it a popular after work drinks haven for those in the Lujiazui area. Ladies nights on Wednesdays are the big draw, with free entry and free sparkling wine (that is automatically replenished if you sit at the bar) for the girls; although a stiff entry fee for men (100RMB) ensures this is an almost exclusively female event.

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ocktails and magic, you say? Blackstone Magic Bar sounds so geeky, but in the coolest way possible. Opened by the talented and charismatic Hong Kong magic man Anson Chen, it’s the first magic bar in China, and an awesome concept – molecular cocktails mingling with mysterious tricks and magical history, performed by intelligent, passionate magicians. You can pop in any night to enjoy drinks and magic tricks performed every half hour or so, but the real draw is the interactive, intimate magic show, put on for small audiences in the bar’s 30-seat red velvet amphitheatre.

Show tickets are 240RMB per person and include one cocktail, and spots book up quickly.So how about that magic? The performance draws you in and fascinates; the magicians are talented, engaging and witty; the mindfully chosen soundtrack perfects the atmosphere of mystique. You’ll spend the show on the edge of your seat trying to figure out just how exactly they do it (to no avail – they’re all pros at what they do). It’s good stuff. But in addition to the magic tricks, another successful illusion comes in the form of Blackstone’s cocktails. The signature drinks are an absolute treat for the eye and reference famous historical magic tricks.