Asian Cities

Shanghai (China)

Shanghai, A City steeped in history and mixture of many cultures.

Although a bustling hub of business and entertainment, it still
holds it's traditional Chinese roots.

The word Shanghai literally means " City on the Sea" and was carved up by by other countries after it opened their ports to foreign involvement after the first Opium War which was around 1842. Brought with these countries (British, French, America), was diverse cultures, architectures and societies.

Described as the Paris of the East "Shanghai" was a hub of business, entertainment and had some of the best art around. It was playground for the rich but all this would eventually come crashing down later on when it was occupied by the Japanese in World War 2 and eventually fell to the uninformed culture of Communism.

Today Shanghai has yet again become a hub for business and was once described by Deng "Xiaoping " as the head of the Dragon. It's a unique city steeped in history and many Western and traditional Chinese cultures.

I'm not quite sure what attracted me to research this city but it's a place I have heard of in films. I visioned it as a bustling neon lit city which is true but, I never new that it was a mixture of all different cultures. I love the traditional side of City with the no Doubt beautiful Chinese gardens with the neon lit back drop. As for how this could tie in to my project, well I suppose I could look into the types of food and drink, the fashion, I could create a visit Shanghai brochure which takes you on a tour around the many different cultures that make up the City.

Information sourced from The New York Times www.newyorktimes.com

Hanoi (Vietnam)

Described as the modern Vietnam, Hanoi has areas which
have a Parisian grace about them 

The hustle an bustle of the busy streets of Hanoi

I like this clash of cultures Hanoi may have foreign influences but
it still has areas of it's own culture.

Over the many years, the city of Hanoi has been dominated by many powers. From the country of China back as far back as the 9th century, to the French taking over in the 19th century trough to the 1940's when Japan took over during WW2. At the end of WW2 Hanoi began operating as the capital of Vietnam but yet again conflicts changed the cities fate when Vietnam was split into two which led to the Vietnam war, during this time, Hanoi became the capital of the north.

What caught my eye when reading about this city is the French culture that has been entwined with the Vietnamese culture and way of life. During the occupation of the Hanoi by the French Hanoi has a distinct Parisian theme to some of the architecture.

Tokyo (Japan) 

A place of technology, vibrancy and wonder and history. Originally known as "Edo" Tokyo was a centre of politics and culture as far back as 1603. It wasn't until 1868 when Edo would be named as Tokyo as we all know it today. Tokyo has suffered devastation from the great Kanto earthquake,  to the bombings of 1945 which more or less levelled the city.

Over the years the city has grown from strength to strength producing cutting edge technology, culture and fashion and is currently accelerating efforts to achieve goals for a 10 year plan to deal with the recent Great East earthquake of March 2011 and become a city that fits the 21st century.

I would  imagine Tokyo as a technological wonder, the vibrant city and culture within it  is an area I may wish to explore or at least include in my project.

Delhi (India)

Delhi is a city where emperors have risen and fell throughout history among these is a our very own British rule 1911. I can't say that the city grabs my attention but the cuisine certainly does. Curry is there native dish which is probably very different from our equivalent. I also imagine that the city is a very colourful place but in a more traditional way instead of the neon glows of the streets of Tokyo.

The cuisine aspect may be an interesting way to take this project. It's an area which is reflection of there customs and traditions and each city or countries cuisines are so different and diverse.