Senior Fashion Editor and street-style blog icon Leaf Greener takes photographer Liao Dan on a tour of her favorite Shanghai spots to launch NOWNESS’ latest reader competition, Your Secret Cities. In collaboration with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, NOWNESS invites you to photograph and share your city’s hidden gems, with the chance to win a $2500 gift card for a stay at any
Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts property across the globe. Using any camera app—like Instagram, Hipstamatic, Snapseed, Retro Camera Plus, etc—NOWNESS invites you to photograph and share your ‘secret city’: a visual guide to the iconic spaces and places, favorite hangouts and hidden gems of a city that you know and love. The competition is open for submissions for two weeks through September 3, followed by a nine day public voting period before a panel of judges—including NOWNESS regular contributors I Love You magazine’s Marcus Gaab, photographer Brigitte Lacombe, fashion animator Quentin Jones, filmmaker Zoe Cassavetes and James W. Mataitis Bailey of influential image blog Yimmy’s Yayo—will pick the Grand Prize Winner from the ten entries with the most votes. To enter, follow NOWNESS on Twitter or Sina Weibo and Tweet or post up to five of your original images with a caption including the location and the competition hashtag #NOWNESSsecretcities. All submissions can be viewed here.To get the competition rolling, here Greener offers her guide for a metropolitan Shanghai adventure. “This is the most convenient and spontaneous city, you’ll never know what you’ll encounter,” says Greener, a Beijing-native who started out as a freelance stylist, but quickly caught the eye of blogs like Garance Doré and Streetpeeper, and started working with leading celebrities to grow into one of Asia’s most influential—and most followed—fashion editors, “I think to walk around without any purpose is the best way to find new things here.”
Kin 宗祠 (The Grumpy Pig)
Kin is a really cool place that sells street-style brands, typical Shanghai food such as noodles served with oil, and vintage vinyl records. Sometimes they also organize a really fantastic flea market.
Maoming North Road, Jing'an
Antik-Nana Studio
I’ve known the jewelry designer Nana since 2009, when she was still a student and living in London. She made amazing jewelry just for fun, and one day she showed me her collar clips. I just fell in love with her wicked imagination.
129, Lane 67, Ruijin San Road, Shanghai
Le Lutin
I’ve known the co-founder of Le Lutin, Diana Tu, since back in 2009, when she just opened her store at Jin Xian Lu. This year she moved to a new place at the heart of Shanghai city, just next to the Gucci flagship store, but she has still kept her own low-key, delicate way of defining luxury. To me Le Lutin is a very personal favourite, it just feels like home.
Golden Eagle Square 2nd Floor 2A, 278 North Shanxi Road
Arcade Bar
For me, music is super important when I hang out. Arcade Bar has the best music and the best crowd in town. Also the cocktails are great. I took Nicola Formichetti there once and they made us these special shots—I swear I can only drink shots in there.
2nd Floor, 57 Fuxing West Road, Xuhui
Brocade Country Store
Two years ago I was walking along Julu Road, and I was amazed by these handmade vintage embroidered clothes from the Miao people at Brocade Country store. The owners are two sisters of Miao ethnicity. In China it’s hard to keep our traditional culture alive—I admire what they do, I admire their faith.
616 Julu Road, Jing'an
Emporium Vintage
I just found this treasure chest only a few months ago. The owners are very low-key, they don’t do any promotions for their store and it’s hidden in an old lane house. I feel vintage should be very private and very spontaneous. It’s fate to find something right for myself from someone, some place, some time I have never known.
No.4, Lane 526 Huaihai Zhong Lu near Chengdu Nan Lu
Dong Liang store
I went to Dong Liang when the owners opened their first store in Beijing two years ago, and they opened the second one in Shanghai in 2011. You can find the best up-and-coming Chinese designers there.
184 Fumin Road, Jing'an
Dr. Wine
This place has good wine, nice music, smart food and also a very chilled environment—it has been my casual dining room for four years already.
177号 Fumin Road Jing'an
Four Seasons Hotel Pudong
It has a great view—you can see the Oriental Pearl Tower next to the Bund. I’m looking forward to eating at their three-Michelin-star French restaurant soon.
210 Century Avenue, Pudong, Shanghai 200120
To read the competition’s full terms and conditions, click here.
Photographs must (a) be original, (b) not show any visibly recognizable person(s), and (c) not depict anything that is pornographic, derogatory or otherwise in bad taste, all of which shall be determined in the sole discretion of Sponsor.