The New Year is observed much the same way Christmas is observed in the West, with parties, the exchanging of gifts, and the decorating of homes with lights. The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated with people hanging special lanterns at home and eating moon cakes, which are made with sesame, eggs, and ground lotus.
Shanghai cuisine is a derivative of the Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Suzou styles of cooking and also contains elements that are unique to it. It is often considered to be sweet and oily as compared to other forms of Chinese cuisine. Examples of some famous Shanghai dishes include Drunken Chicken, Shanghai Noodles and Dumplings, and Sweet and Sour Braised Meat. Besides having its own culinary style, Shanghai also boasts of maintaining its own unique style of fashion. For example, the cheongsam is a moderation of the traditional Chinese qipao garment, which is a type of women's dress.
The Shanghai variation contains Western styled influences, which include making the dress more tight fitting and high cut, unlike the traditional style.
Modern Chinese art and literature predominantly originated from Shanghai. The "Shanghai Style," which used to be considered an inferior form of Chinese art, displays several unique features. One such feature is that it is able to incorporate many elements, both traditional and...
This is the reason why many forms of modern Shanghai art contain Western inspired influences within them. Another such feature is that Shanghai art is able to quickly change its methods in favor of newer and more improved ones. It will discard any conventional methods its views as being outdated and explore for other artistic options.
Modern Chinese cinema was born in Shanghai. The 1913 film Nanfu Nanqi (the Difficult Couple) and the 1923 feature film Gu'er Jiuzu Ji (Orphan Rescues Grandfather) were the first developed Chinese films and played an important part in turning Shanghai into a major center of Chinese film-making activity, especially during the 1930's and 1940's.
Modern Chinese literature contains the works of exceptional writers such as Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Shi Zhecun, Eileen Chang and others, all of whom were residents of Shanghai. These authors were heavily influenced by Western thought and creativity. Lu Xun, one of China's most prominent writers known today, was most widely regarded as displaying socialist thoughts and tendencies in his writings. In contrast to his writings, the works of authors such as Zhecun and Chang were more inclined towards more romantic notions of life. Shanghai's contact with the outside world can thus be found readily apparent in this and other…
