I’m sorry that’s just not happening. Not as long as so much of Chinese cultural products exist entirely for internal consumption.
Not now, but I did say in 10 years.
First, Shanghai is not so much Chinese, but an international city. It is the most Westernized city far beyond anywhere else in China.
What makes NYC the cultural hub is not that it is the epitome of American culture (you can find more authentic American vibes in any Southern city), but that it is an international city made up of enclaves of immigrants who brought their own culture into the mix.
Like NYC, Shanghai is the financial center of the nation. Comparing Shanghai to other major Chinese industrial cities, say Zhengzhou in Henan, is like comparing NYC to, say, Atlanta. Very different vibes.
And like NYC, the rent and property prices are way beyond what most young people can afford, and the people there have a smugness not seen in other cities except for maybe Beijing and Hangzhou, though not at the level of New Yorkers yet.
Second, Shanghai already has the ingredients for becoming an international cultural hub, but it needs time.
How do I know this? First, we need to ask, what is it that makes NYC a cultural hub? I’ve mentioned above that it has a lot of immigrants of diverse backgrounds, but as a metric of cultural centers, NYC has international cultural activities that you simply cannot find in the vast majority of the cities in the world outside of their own places of origin.
This is going to sound funny, but bear with me: let’s say I want to learn a niche African tribal dance (just an example, it can be any form of international cultural activity), I can easily find an expert teacher in NYC. Believe it or not, these days you can similarly find them in Shanghai. You simply cannot find similar dance studios with such world-class teachers in most cities in the world. That’s what makes these cities candidates for international cultural hubs.
It is true that Shanghai does not yet have the immigration numbers compared to NYC, but the shifting in geopolitical power in the coming decades can change that. China does need to relax its immigration policy, and the recent K visas for foreigners can help, but the most important part is that the basic ingredients are already there.
What Shanghai will always lose out to NYC though, are all the stolen artefacts from other cultures and civilizations that you find in the Met.
Not now, but I did say in 10 years.
First, Shanghai is not so much Chinese, but an international city. It is the most Westernized city far beyond anywhere else in China.
What makes NYC the cultural hub is not that it is the epitome of American culture (you can find more authentic American vibes in any Southern city), but that it is an international city made up of enclaves of immigrants who brought their own culture into the mix.
Like NYC, Shanghai is the financial center of the nation. Comparing Shanghai to other major Chinese industrial cities, say Zhengzhou in Henan, is like comparing NYC to, say, Atlanta. Very different vibes.
And like NYC, the rent and property prices are way beyond what most young people can afford, and the people there have a smugness not seen in other cities except for maybe Beijing and Hangzhou, though not at the level of New Yorkers yet.
Second, Shanghai already has the ingredients for becoming an international cultural hub, but it needs time.
How do I know this? First, we need to ask, what is it that makes NYC a cultural hub? I’ve mentioned above that it has a lot of immigrants of diverse backgrounds, but as a metric of cultural centers, NYC has international cultural activities that you simply cannot find in the vast majority of the cities in the world outside of their own places of origin.
This is going to sound funny, but bear with me: let’s say I want to learn a niche African tribal dance (just an example, it can be any form of international cultural activity), I can easily find an expert teacher in NYC. Believe it or not, these days you can similarly find them in Shanghai. You simply cannot find similar dance studios with such world-class teachers in most cities in the world. That’s what makes these cities candidates for international cultural hubs.
It is true that Shanghai does not yet have the immigration numbers compared to NYC, but the shifting in geopolitical power in the coming decades can change that. China does need to relax its immigration policy, and the recent K visas for foreigners can help, but the most important part is that the basic ingredients are already there.
What Shanghai will always lose out to NYC though, are all the stolen artefacts from other cultures and civilizations that you find in the Met.
well that’s not happening anytime soon