director Shu Haolun after the viewing

culture - Changing Shanghai in Nostalgia

Packed was an understatement for the viewing room at the museum in People's Square were Shu Haolun's documentary Nostalgia was screened. The evening was saved for a huge number of people, including some of the participants, as a second viewing room was opened.
The touching and often very funny story on how the concrete is eating away old Shanghai, by focusing on his old neighborhood Da Zhongli next to the current Four Seasons Hotel triggered much laughter. The mostly young Shanghainese audience recognized the scenes perfectly, the old grannies, their comments and the eternal mahjong.
Haolun had re-enacted a part of his early years, and people wondered why he had to make up things. "I feel more like a poet," he said. "And I can add to make my poem more beautiful."