| Show J what han aj ahai I 1 s lik e 0 1 4 10 01 VZ M 7 0 4 s aa V 0 14 1 N 4 shanghais Shan ghais skyline from the race track huge picturesque shanghai and its famous international settlement prepared by national geographic society washington D C service HILE the major battles WHILE between japanese and chinese ese forces have raged of late in the northeast province of shantung shanghai still has reminders of the conflict which swept through the city last year in accordance with arrangements of long standing between the chinese and foreign governments the latter maintain units of their troops at several points in china one of the most important of these being the international ter national settlement in shanghai excepting occasional stately junks with eyes painted on either side of the high bow to enable them to see their way there is little to suggest the orient on the way up the whang poo river in shanghai before the dock is ig reached however china obtrudes itself upon the sight and its odors penetrate the nostrils from a downstream wharf it is is a half hours ride in a tender to the customs jetty in the city wharves warehouses and factories line the shores immediately beyond the japanese docks in in hongkee appears the curve of water front upon which three consulates su lates now stand beyond lies the mouth of creek the crowded stream which meanders tortuously through the city it bristles with the floating homes 0 of f innumerable chinese chinese who are born live their entire lives and die on the sampans which huddle together in its murky water babies toddling too near the gun wales sometimes topple in and having been fished out are set casually to dry water dipped up over the side is used by the women for cooking rice and vegetables clothes are washed in it and it imparts that certain flavor to tea A sampan gaily pavilion ed and festooned festoon ed in red indicates that a wedding w will ill soon take place english had first foothold there great britain was the first of all the nations which now have such valuable commercial interests in ill the city above the sea to recognize the vast potentialities of the little fishing hamlet on the muddy shores of the Whang poo in 1842 emerging victorious from the so called opium war she concluded with china the T treaty reaty of by which shanghai and four obiter other coastal cities were established as treaty ports within two years the united states and france realizing that shang hais geographical position made it the natural outlet for products of the rich yangtze river valley followed suit and signed trade pacts with china ninety six years ago when the foreigners first obtained areas for sett settlement lemento land on the water front bro brought aught only mex an acre by 1935 an acre of Bund side property was valued at more than four millions an amazing variety of traffic throngs the bund that splendid waterfront ter front boulevard which is the center of shanghais Shan ghais bustling activity fine buildings on the bund imposing buildings rem reminiscent ini scent of london line the bund banks business houses newspaper offices clubs the conveyances of the east ricks has handcarts hand carts and wheelbarrows bearing an unbelievable variety of loads make way for lumbering double decked buses trams anil and sleek foreign cars the chinese have proved remarkably adaptable in adjusting themselves to contact with english speaking nations they have adopted e d automobiles foreign clothes jazz and golf the natives of the treaty ports have evolved a bizzare speech based on english with which they can communicate satisfactorily with the stranger since the average occidental resident of shanghai will not take the trouble to learn the local dialect the natives use pidgin or business english in fact two chinese from different provinces often resort to this jargon for each is almost sure to have difficulty in understanding der the dialect of the other in pidgin english one word often does duty for three or four thus my signifies also 1 I me mine and their plural forms my no savvy of course means 1 I do not understand what thing have got is to say what have you when the supply of butter is e exhausted x your cook will come to you with the complaint butter have finish missie there is the tradition of face which governs the duties of earh each employee within ironbound limits your cook will not mix cocktails he leaves this to the number one boy who in turn will not clean shoes or run errands these tasks are the coolies pidgin the wise foreigner does not attempt to change customs which have existed for centuries chinese servants are justly famous As a class they are unsurpassed in loyalty industry patience and cheerfulness they sometimes wonder at the strange customs of the foreigner but they bear with him night life in the city even during trouble the famous amous f night life of this cosmopolitan city of asia continues with vigor at such times private entertaining is somewhat curtailed pity the poor hostess whose guests have been caught by the curfew and who has them on her hands until dawn hotels and night clubs offer the usual diversions profiting by the increased trade which results from the enforced stay of those who are caught by the curfew at such times as well as under normal conditions dit ions the conservative old palace hotel on the bund and the cathay its up to date counterpart across the street present pictures of gaiety at cocktail time the bar at the cercle S sportily p artif francais the popular sports club in in the french concession is noisy with sprightly conversation in a hall half dozen languages chinese boys in long white gowns their black pantaloons bound tightly about the ankles move silently through the crowd with chits caits and laden trays the 20 story cathay hotel offers diverse amusement the glittering shops in its arcade are stocked with peking rugs jewel jade silks and curios for swank one dines in its grill under the lofty black pyramid which surmounts its roof the orchestra which plays in its air con ballroom pleases even blase american tourists chinese dance halls have opened in large numbers in the last two or three thre eyears years the native musician has not yet become a master of american syncopation and the orchestras ch estras are usually russian A modern young chinese in foreign clothes complete with horn rimmed glasses and brillian tined ha hair ir executes elaborate steps with his slender narrow eyed companion she is gowned in high necked brocade dainty exquisite sometimes as s she he sits sipping her drink she renews her makeup make up with the contents of a compact until well into the twentieth century chinese women of the better class were not seen in public when they did leave their homes it was only in sedan chairs concealed from the eyes of the world with the influx of western ideas of freedom the chinese woman emerged from her isolation foot binding possibly an expedient for keeping women at home not only went out of fashion but became illegal |
