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Quite frankly, we’re always happy to find an excuse to spend a bit of time in the Shanghai Exhibition Centre. The 1955 Soviet-style building, sometimes referred to as the ‘wedding cake’, has more charm than the multitude of new conference centres on the fringes of the city combined. Appropriate then, that this should be the venue of choice for the second Design Shanghai, a showcase of all things visually fabulous (not to mention fabulously expensive) that rolled back into town this past weekend.

Shanghai has always played second fiddle to Beijing in the contemporary art world, but the organizers of this show seemed determined to proclaim Shanghai as the design capital of China. Locals turned out in full support – so packed was the building’s vast Central Hall that the usually unflappable army of Italian vendors in sharp suits, here to promote their wares to a new generation of style-conscious homeowners, looked distinctly harried. Ticket touts prowled the streets outside, selling entry passes to those who had come too late to register.

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Shanghai’s a hard city to leave – not just because there is so much to do here, but also because it’s so darn big. The 24 million headcount doesn’t include the numerous (often very large) cities that sit just outside its borders, making for one of the most densely populated areas on earth.

If you’d like a day out of town, the ‘water towns’ are your best bet. Located on tributaries of the Grand Canal, you’ll find classic Chinese scenery here – wooden boats drift along winding waterways crossed by stone bridges. These scenes are a real treat for photographers and those who would like a taste of how this region would have looked in years gone by. What you’re seeing is a mix of preservation and restoration for visitors. Commercial development has been rapid in some of the towns – you’ll need to purchase a ticket to enter, for example, and most have a growing number of cafes and stores. In this respect, we’d say it’s best to think of these towns as ‘open museums’ rather than unspoiled, rural idylls.

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‘Crush the Dog Heads of Those Who Oppose Chairman Mao!’, ‘Smash the Capitalist Class!’. ‘Chairman Mao is the Red Sun of our Hearts!’. Even if you’ve never been to China, chances are you have at least a passing familiarity with the bold and colourful propaganda posters that are most strongly associated with China’s disastrous Cultural Revolution period (1966-1976); their slogans and imagery by turns inspirational and aggressive.

And while many will have heard of Mr Yang’s daring Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre – a collection of posters in the basement of a former French Concession apartment block – most are unaware that the Long Museum Pudong, located in a slightly forlorn corner of the Huamu area, has one of China’s most striking collections.

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