april-2012

The Yu Gardens
have the Chinese
architecture that
most tourists and
fi lmmakers go for
MORE FILM
BUFF TRIVIA
Did you know that…
...the 1930s Shanghai film star
Lan Ping (aka Jiang Qing)
became better known as
the infamous, real-life
Madame Mao?
...the Gong Li/John Cusack film
Shanghai was actually made
in Bangkok after they were
denied filming permits a week
before shooting was to begin?
...the scenes in M:I3 where
Tom Cruise is running to save
his wife were actually filmed
in the water town of Xitang,
90km from Shanghai? And that
the post-apocalyptic view of
Pudong that is supposedly the
South Shanghai Rail Station
Yard where Cruise meets his
nemesis in M:I3 is the exact
same footage (minus Cruise
and the long white limo) used
as the opening shot in The
Transformers: Revenge of the
Fallen? Look closely and you’ll
even see the same three fires
burning on the ground…
M OVIE MAGIC IN CHINA
On location at
Yu Gardens
Yu Gardens is what most people who
have never been to Shanghai imagine
the city to look like: narrow streets
with Chinese-style architecture and
lots of little stands on the street selling
trinkets. It’s even a bit seedy, you might
say. Not surprisingly, it’s one of the
city’s main tourist attractions since it’s
one of the few places in Shanghai that
has a true “Asian” feel. This perhaps
explains why Cruise and comrades are
magically transported across the river
to Puxi for the car chase that ensues
{ 93 }
after he descends from the skyscrapers
of Pudong — there’s better scenery and
more laundry hanging outside people’s
windows in this part of town.
Best time to visit: daytime, when
you can also shop for less-thanauthentic
watches, eat cheap noodles,
and pay a visit to the City God Temple
(Chenghuang Miao).