Book your tickets and pack your bags – we’re heading to Shanghai

As we gear up for The Entrepreneurs Live, our business conference in Shanghai next month, I thought that I’d drop by to reacquaint myself with the city and catch up with a few of its movers and shakers. How has it changed since I last visited? Well, for starters, it’s a lot easier to visit. Hardly anyone needs a visa these days and some immigration officers even smiled as I passed by. 
 
A rush of inbound tourism is helping to cover up an overall drop in the number of its foreign residents but in some pockets of the city it’s like nothing has changed. At the Jing An Shangri-La (our host in April) there were plenty of office workers from overseas picking up their morning coffees at Blue Bottle Coffee, Nodi and Ralph’s Coffee. Cash is also back in circulation thanks to a law that came into effect in February requiring all shops, restaurants and taxis to accept hard currency – a huge win for both visitors and the elderly population. Driving around town, there are not many new skyscrapers or landmarks – besides that mad ship-shaped, three-storey LVMH flagship. But, as some local entrepreneurs point out, one of the biggest transformations is happening inside the shopping malls. There are far more homegrown brands rubbing shoulders with European luxury giants. It’s an exciting time for retail and it’s one of the topics that we will be tackling during The Entrepreneurs Live. Our programme is now complete and our line-up of speakers from local brands, such as Shushu/Tong and An Ko Rau, know how to appeal to the modern Chinese consumer. 

At our event in Jakarta last year, there was a lot of talk about Chinese brands expanding to Southeast Asia. True as this is, it is encouraging to see two-way traffic. Singaporean design studio Beyond the Vines is opening a shop at the Kerry Centre in mid-April. Founder Rebecca Ting spoke at last year’s edition alongside Vorravit “Pui” Siripark, the founder of Thailand’s top luxury beauty brand Pañpuri, which is opening three outposts in China this year. We like to pick speakers who are riding a wave of success. And we also like it when these speakers go on to form friendships and new ventures together. Attendees at December’s Wonderfruit festival in Thailand were roaming the fields wearing bags from a Topologie x Wonderfruit collaboration that the two founders shook hands on in Jakarta. I have it on good authority that one or two of our Asian conference alumni will be in the audience in Shanghai this year too.
 
Consumer tastes and the overall business environment are changing quickly and are far more nuanced than the “peak China” drivel being spun in Washington. Europe’s brands are working harder than ever but the doom and gloom is not universal. Miu Miu is doing very well and the market for pre-owned luxury is booming too. But what does all this mean? Well, you’ll have to hear it from the founder of leading resale platform ZZER, who is coming to speak to us in Shanghai. 
 
In the hospitality sector, business in Asia is similarly mixed. The Four Seasons is struggling, while Marriott and Hyatt are said to be thriving, partly thanks to the Hyatt-owned Alila, a recent opening in Shanghai that was a fixture of the F1 weekend last week. Picking the right partners to work with is, as ever in China, imperative. Independent Chinese hotel brands are blossoming and we will hear from the CEO of one of the best in the business – all the way from Yunnan province. 
 
Back on the streets of Shanghai there are plenty of Chinese car companies that I don’t recognise and the one that I thought would be everywhere – BYD – was nowhere to be seen. Zeekr seems to be the executive’s wheels of choice, especially in the driveways of Shanghai’s smartest hotels. The Hangzhou-based brand’s German design chief will be joining us all the way from its design headquarters in Gothenburg. 
 
Shanghai’s bars were shaken by the coronavirus-pandemic lull but the city is China’s commercial capital and, naturally, there are now plenty of new entrants popping up with fresh concepts. Cocktail bars Pony Up and Root Down are a hit, as are Hong Kong imports Coa and Bar Leone. Many classic restaurants have left the Bund (Shanghai’s famous waterfront neighbourhood) but there is a lot more going on around Suzhou Creek. Mona is a lovely spot for lunch on a sunny day and one to which I will be sure to take the Monocle team. Some of my colleagues will be visiting for the first time – and they are in for a treat. Spring will be in full bloom and the weather by the end of April is going to be perfect for exploring this very walkable and increasingly liveable city. There has hardly been a better time to visit Shanghai, so book your flights and come join us in Jing’An on 29 April. See you there. 
 
Join us at The Entrepreneurs Live for lively panel discussions, sharp interviews and candid conversations about what it takes to build a business today. Book your tickets today.

James Chambers is Monocle’s Asia editor. For more opinion, analysis and insight, subscribe to Monocle today.