Beijing vs Shanghai: a song contest
Everybody knows that Beijing is the capital of China, but Shanghai is its most developed and cosmopolitan city. Beijing is about politics, culture and historical sites; Shanghai is about money, cocktails and shopping. Well, those are the stereotypes. What it is true is that there is a rivalry between the two cities, and that both Beijing and Shanghai have their own diehard fans who will pick a fight if you insinuate that the other city is better in some sense.
Once, when I was still living in Beijing, I was on a plane going back from a job interview in Shanghai. The Chinese man sitting next to me asked which city I preferred, Beijing or Shanghai? You have to be VERY careful when a Chinese person asks you this. It’s a loaded question and to answer correctly you should know first where that person is from. I was naive enough as to tell him the truth: “Shanghai is a very nice place, but I love Beijing”. HUGE MISTAKE. That man was a proud Shanghainese and he spent the next two hours explaning me why Shanghai was way better than Beijing.
Apart from the Beijing vs Shanghai rivalry there is a Rest of China vs Shanghai rivalry. Shanghainese think they are the most modern and glamourous people in China, and people who are not from Shanghai are villagers from the countryside. So Shanghainese are considered conceited and arrogant by the rest of China.
But I wanted this post to be about songs that talk about Beijing or Shanghai. Let’s start with Beijing:
北京欢迎你 (Beijing welcomes you)
If you were a foreign student in Beijing around 2008 you probably know this song by heart, as you had to sing it in every event organized by your university. It was the official theme song of the Beijing Olympics so it was played everywhere at all times. In the video you can see a lot of famous Chinese singers telling you that in Beijing you will feel at home.
北京一夜 (One night in Beijing)
This song has been covered by a lot of artists so I don’t know which is the original one. The video I chose is from the Taiwanese rock band Shin (信乐团). This is an essential song in our karaoke nights and whoever is in charge of singing the Chinese opera part usually ends up with a sore throat.
北京北京 (Beijing Beijing)
Another classic in our karaoke nights. The singer is called Wang Feng (汪锋) and he is originally from Beijing. He also has other song called 晚安北京 (Good night, Beijing). From Beijing Beijing I like the video and I love the part where he sings 如果有一天我不得不离去，我希望人们把我埋在这里 (If one day I have to leave, I hope people will bury me here).
Coming down to Beijing
This song is in English! Brain Failure (脑浊) are a punk/rock band formed in 1997 in Beijing. This song was played nonstop in the car of one of my Beijingnese friends back when I was a student there.
Now You’re in Beijing
I think this song was made as part of an advertising campaign but I still like it! Two laowais sing in English about Beijing.
Well that’s enough for the Beijing songs. Let’s turn the mic to the Shanghai team. But first I have to say that I didn’t know any song about Shanghai prior to my research, so that might indicate that Beijing is musically more popular than Shanghai.
夜上海 (Shanghai Night)
I LOVE songs that sound old. And this is from the 1920s!
上海童年 (Childhood in Shanghai)
A song in Shanghai dialect. I had never heard it before. There are old images of Shanghai in the video.
2010 Shanghai Expo official song
I worked in the 2010 Shanghai Expo and I can assure you that I never heard this song there (as compared to the Beijing Olympics song, which was everywhere). I guess it wasn’t popular because, let’s face it, it sounds awful! It’s not even catchy!
上海25小时 (Shanghai 25 hours)
A song from a Shanghai indie band called顶楼的马戏团 (Top Floor Circus). It’s also in Shanghai dialect! It seems this band has another song called 上海不欢迎你 (Shanghai doesn’t welcome you) but I couldn’t find a video with decent sound.
Who do you think should win this song contest? Beijing or Shanghai? Do you know any other songs that talk about these two cities? Feel free to leave a comment!
I love this collection of videos! I lived in hangzhou from 2006-2008. I heard that “One Night in Beijing” song soooo many times and also had to listen to it at KTV. Haha. And I love the Jay-Z spoof, especially when they say “There’s nothing you can do.”. Hahaha. Thanks for the chuckle and the reminders of China. I’ve spent more time in Shanghai, so I’m going to go ahead and vote for it. :)
Ok, your vote is noted! Glad you enjoyed it :D
The original singer of 北京一夜 is 陳昇. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics.
Thanks for the info!
Can’t really say who would win this contest as both have some good songs or songs I have heard too often in the past years.
It is kind of strange that any given country has this rivalry between major cities. I bet Spain has something similar going on :)
I for myself would love to visit Shanghai at some point soon and also have a better look around Beijing as I was there only for one day before my plane went back to finland three years ago
Definitely, haven’t you heard about Madrid and Barcelona? Haha! And that’s only the most famous one!
When are you planning to visit China again? :D
I really love the Jay-Z spoof, they did an amazing job with the lyrics and both of them have great voices! I think Beijing has the better songs, but I’m still gonna have to vote for Shanghai. I don’t know what it is with Beijing, maybe I just have bad luck there, but every time I go there I seem to just run into the biggest 骗子 and they’re everywhere! I feel like I have to be on guard way too much.
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that! I’ve never had any bad experiences in Beijing… but last time I went there I found it was quite hard to get a taxi! They would ask for 100 kuai for a 30 kuai ride before you got inside and if you didn’t agree they just didn’t take you!
The worst Beijing taxi story I have was this time when I had just landed at the airport after a terrible flight from the states and I was exhausted. I got in a taxi (a real one, not a hei che) and he took me to my hotel, which was really close to the airport and he had agreed to use the meter. When we got there, he tried to act like I had agreed to pay him 100 USD and when I wouldn’t give it to him, he reached for my wallet and took everything I had, which was about $300 USD and about $100 in RMB. He wouldn’t give it back and the so-called security guard at the hotel was of no help to me. I didn’t have an activated cell phone yet so I couldn’t even call the police!
WTF???? That is crazy!!!
OMG that is frightening!! I hope you got his number that’s on the dashboard to report him?
I heard Beijing isn’t as strict as Shanghai, but Shanghai taxi drivers will seldom do crazy things like that because if they are reported they instantly lose their license and permit to drive a taxi.
However, once my friend got in a fight with a cab driver that basically gave her the run around, amounting to 100+ RMB extra in cab fee. When she refused to pay he chased her down the street and they got into a fist fight! She threw 100 RMB at him and ran off, but she’s lucky she wasn’t hurt. She failed in getting his number, but it’s a good thing to have on hand so that we can get nasty drivers off the street.
Your friend sounds awesome.
This post is gold!
Although I prefer to live in Shanghai, I think there’s really something special and unique about Beijing. It’s got heart and soul (ironically, with the government so near it seems like that would be crushed), whereas Shanghai is more about money, power and influence.
Plus Beijing Beijing and One Night in Beijing are just AMAZING songs!
But Zhou Xuan IS a classic.
Hahaha I agree! I loved my time as a student in Beijing, but living in Shanghai is easier, especially transportation wise.
I loved the old song about Shanghai but everybody knows the current music scene is in Beijing… Shanghainese are too busy sipping cocktails hahaha.