Warmth of Shanghai shakes off its chills
Print Edition
CANADIAN Colin Bogar never imagined he would marry a Shanghainese woman when he first came to the city 10 years ago. Now he has a perfect family setting with a beautiful wife, Nicole Li, and two children — a boy and a girl.
The 35-year-old, CEO of Property Passbook, first decided to come to Shanghai under the impression that the city had no winter.
“I think I looked at China like North America, and thought that Shanghai wouldn’t have a winter. I was very surprised when November and December came. I had a problem with winter clothes,” Bogar laughes.
He was first attracted to the city because of its fast economic development, which he believed would help his own career.
“There are lots of nice places in the world, but I could see the trends in Shanghai and its consumers, which persuaded me that my future was here,” he says.
Q: Do you still remember 10 years ago when you just came here? Why did you pick Shanghai as a place to live?
A: I came to China in 2007 for the first time. I chose Shanghai because it’s a financial and business center. I was attracted to China as I thought, economically, the country was an interesting place to be. Its economy excited me.
Q: Do you have any interesting or impressive stories about Shanghai?
A: Shanghai is an interesting city in so many ways.
I’m very impressed by the transportation system. Most foreigners have nice things to say about the subway system. And one of the things with Shanghai, compared with many other cities in the world, is that Shanghai benefits a lot from the international aspects of the city. With a lot of historical buildings and neighborhoods, the city still has a lot of flavor.
Q: How do you spend your weekends in Shanghai?
A: My weekends are very family-oriented. We live in Nanxiang (Jiading District) where there are some very nice parks, like Guyi Garden.
We really like the Natural History Museum, which is a world-class attraction, and the zoo, Disneyland and the other animal park in Pudong.
Before I got married, we’d often go out for dinner on weekends and try something new because Shanghai has so many great places for food.
Q: Which places in Shanghai do you like best? Why?
A: Shanghai has a lot of really nice areas that are less explored yet very interesting. One of my friends runs a chain called Big Bamboo, so I like to support him. And I also like all the burger places.
Q: Which road do you like best?
A: I like a lot of roads in Huangpu District, like Beijing Road E., and the older areas that are not developed yet.
I like all of Huangpu that isn’t the Bund. It’s interesting walking through there. You have some unbelievable architecture. I really hope the Huangpu government develops it in a way that allows everyone to enjoy it.
Q: What do you absolutely love in Shanghai?
A: Shanghai is the place to be in the world at the moment.
China is such a big and important country. It’s interesting being on the ground here and coming to your own conclusions. I really enjoy that. I like that everybody here is ambitious and I like the people.
I think in 20 or 30 years, Shanghai will be the same as New York and London. The type of people attracted to Shanghai are generally the type of people I like, both Chinese and foreign.
Q: Do you have complaints about Shanghai? Any suggestions to make it better?
A: One of the biggest complaints I’d have is that you still have a little bit of a foreign community and a Chinese community. There is some mixing, but it’s a little bit more separate than I would like.
It’s not easy. Now that I have children, one of the things that does stand out to me is that China could learn from the North American model where we have a culture of volunteering. I think, especially on the community level, you don’t really have community sports programs. Usually in cities it’s all run by volunteers, parents, everyone puts in effort. That’s completely non-existent here.
Q: Do you have any impressive memories?
A: I can talk about China. I honestly think the most impressive part of China is the landscape of Guilin and Yangshuo. I suggest when foreigners come to Shanghai, they should visit there. I think it’s underestimated.
Shanghai is interesting. There are a lot of nice restaurants and buildings that are impressive. But I have to say the most impressive thing in Shanghai is walking along the Bund at night.
Q: Now you have married a Shanghainese woman, do you enjoy the traditional Shanghainese way of life?
A: My Chinese parents-in-law are kind of like my grandparents. My dad was Czech, and they were very old-fashioned, and I found my parents-in-law, who are Shanghainese, are also similar. The positive is that they are very family-oriented, very willing to help us with taking care of the children which is greatly appreciated. That is really positive.
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