The December Issue of Urbane is Out

Most people count years sequentially. Urbane is not fettered with such pedestrian constraints. Welcome to the hype overdrive for Shanghai 2010 World Expo, the subject of this month’s feature. Contingents from more than 200 countries and international organizations are poised to flock to Shanghai slightly less than a year and a half from now. They will build a Giant Hairy Marshmallow, and scores of other amazing exhibition pavilions, as they show off to each other and the world for six glorious months. To make it all happen they will raze their city as Beijing did for the Olympics, mercilessly popularize a goofy gummy mascot, and take as many other extreme actions as they can think of, on a massive scale.

Back here in the present, things are still pretty interesting. Our expanded Exhibitionist section features a what’s why and why’s what of China’s recent nationwide art zone explosion, as fashion heavyweight Dior also thunders onto the Chinese contemporary art scene this month in Beijing. Elsewhere, we discuss a bovine-grass energy solution for rural China, The Opposite House reveals its attractions and Nanluogu Xiang explodes with commercial creativity.

We go inside and deep underneath the lovely Purple Bamboo Park-area courtyard duplex of Carl Crook, general manager of Montrose Food &Wine. In Spotlight, we visit with the founders behind the Vinyl Group design collective, who work in a downtown Shanghai Terracotta Warrior pit, and have done more than their fair share to help their stylish city continue to ooze with sleek flavor.

That’s just a random sample to whet your appetite, of course. This month’s issue also introduces Jakarta’s architectural cutting edge, the gateway to the friendliest people in the world (Dublin), high-altitude sweat treatment (Tibmed Spa), the life of a suburban recycling village, and much, much more.