5. Yi Cheng Hero Silver Shanghai Engraved Fountain Pen

Shanghai, Pearl of the Orient, Paris of the East, is well known for its splendor and is an icon of China¡¯s prosperity. When one mentions the name Shanghai, one will remember the Bund, the port that leads to Hung Pu river, finally stretching itself to the South China Seas. It is here we learn about the famous Patriot Shi Wen Qiang, the leader of the gambling world of the 1930s, the notorious Du Yue Sheng, underworld Emperor of Shanghai, who at one time the leader of the Green Dragon Gang and the sworn brother of President Chiang Kai Shek. It is he who helped Chiang in arresting the communist and raise funds for the Guo Ming Dang through kidnapping and Opium trading.

History it seems, were all in the marking here in Shanghai.

After the communist takeover of China in 1949, the rich fled to Hong Kong. Shanghai takes center stage again when the Gang of Four, led by Mao¡¯s wife Jiang Qing, started the Cultural Revolution, killing millions of Chinese, mostly educated Professors and teachers, legislators and capitalist. Lands and property were sized from them in the name of rehabilitation. The most famous person to suffer a terrible death is Liu Shao Qi, the vice-premier of China. He, together with Deng Xiao Ping and Zhou En Lai has advised strongly against Mao marrying her. The Cultural Revolution allows Jiang Qing to get rid of them in a legitimate way.

Today Shanghai boasts of modern infrastructure with a gigantic World Trade Center that play host to the World Economic forum, an efficient albeit corrupt bureaucracy, a vibrant stock market and transport system. It is hybrid of ¡°Socialist System with a Chinese characteristic¡± proclaim once by the paramount leader Deng Xiao Ping.

My first visit to Shanghai is in 1996 as a second year varsity student looking for cheap adventure. With only US$300in my pocket, I arrived at Hong Qiao Airport. It was a cool and chilly winter. The Hong Qiao airport now no longer serve International airlines. The new airport at Pudong is located at the new Pudong development zone, a 45 minutes away from the main city area. The first thing, which captures my attention is the vastness of the city, which alone is more than 10 times the size of Singapore, where I was born. 80 years ago, my grand father came from Shantou, south of China due to hunger and draught. Today I am finally back to my Homeland ¨C China let me embrace in your arms!

Shanghai has a particular characteristic unlike the rest of the inland. Shanghainese care little about politics and law unlike the people from Beijing. Beijing people are well known for their law abiding as they have lived closed to the Emperor and aristocrat for centuries. The Shanghainese spoke Shanghai A Wu, a local dialects distinct from The north. They love to dress, have a passion for anything foreign and placed too much emphasis on ¡°Face Saving¡±. Sometimes they even go to the extent of spending their entire monthly pay on a pair of Italian shoes. Their philosophy is ¨C Nobody will know whether you have money in your pocket, appearance is deceptive and can win over many business dealings, including the promise of marriage of a young lady to a rich old man (The older the better of course).

In general Shanghainese is cunning, scheming and a care for personal gains above all makes this places interesting and dangerous.

Ask my personal feelings for Shanghai ¨C it is one part hatred (for their greed and selfishness), one part admiration (Their development is astounding), one part challenging (the same pen can be bought at different prices at different places and depending on who you are, a $1000 gold Mont Blanc pen is usually given free to a top official in return for a small favour!) and 6 part Love ( after all they are my comrades, the sons and daughters of the Yellow Emperors).

I have been to Shanghai 4 times, to china more than 10 times including Suzhou, Hang Zhou, Wuxi, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Thousand Island Lake and Kunshan. My last trip to Shanghai in 2003 send me to Nan Jing Road in search for Hero Fountain pen, the famous Shanghai Pen company. They look as good as European fountain pens but costing only a fraction of European Prices. Here you can see knock off and clones of Parker Pens and recently I was told fake Mont Blanc and Dupont were rampant on the streets too ( Sorry, I refuse to sell any of these fakes!)

It was also in Shanghai that my passion for pens selling blossom into a full time career. My Penchant for Chinese culture and history provide me an excellent training ground in developing me into a keen China observer and a China Business consultant today!

Shanghai still remains an attractive tourist destination. Note, however, that the air emitted from motor cars during the early morning rush is a little dusty, so bring along a face mask.

China is still a communist state but being in Shanghai I seems to breath capitalism everywhere!

This pen shows the Shanghai Pearl Tower and a barley Sterling body, rare!

This pen is rare, not for sale to the general public so get it now!

US$50

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