Take a tour of the exhibition Shanghai: Time and Timeless 1990-1993 with on exclusive audioguide recorded by Jasmine Pang，Founder of Branding Shanghai. Cultural Advisor of TV "Blossoms Shanghai". A special edition series of Shanghainese audio guide is presented in addition to Mandarin and English versions.

Welcome to Fotografiska Shanghai to visit the new exhibition "Shanghai: Time and Timeless1990-1993”, which features nearly 100 works by the distinguished Dutch photographer Robert van der Hilst. In the early 1990s, commissioned by magazines such as Vogue, van der Hilst visited Shanghai multiple times and captured numerous photos of urban landscapes and social life scenes by color reversal film. These works faithfully documented the special period when Shanghai, just embarking on a new round of reform and opening-up, the city was going through a change like never before with new transformation amidst new opportunities and new impetus of the times. They have become a visual archive the urban landscape and moments of local citizen’s life during its economic leap and development takeoff.

Stepping into the Exhibition Hall, the first photo that catches your eye on the brown wall near the entrance is a group of young girls dressed in glitter dancing and singing karaoke. It was taken by Robert at a private club named "Gentlemen's Club" on Beijing Road, where he stumbled upon a lively party. With the girls' permission, he joined in the dance and had a delightful evening. The photo beside it showcased the eighth floor of the Peace Hotel, where a jazz band was preparing to perform. During those times, both musicians and gentlemen would dress in black tie tuxedos for such concerts. Robert mentioned that he stayed at the Peace Hotel every time during his visits to Shanghai at that time and he already had forged friendships with the seasoned jazz musicians.

From the photos on this wall, we can see some people were waiting for wedding guests outside the hotel, individuals getting perms in beauty salons, and some people were spending joyful moments in the dance pool with friends. The vibrant colors and bold styles of their clothing, coupled with their elaborate makeup, reflect a fearless embrace of fashion, rooted in a profound love for life and a radiant hope for the future. As Robert recalled, "Walking down the street, I'd glimpse through the windows and see beautiful girls getting their hair done, each with a radiant smile on their face."

Moving forward, is a series of photos depicting street characters on the lake-green wall. We may never know who these people are, where they come from, or where they're headed, but their expressions radiate joy; everyone seems brimming with energy and hope for the future. For instance, a young man jubilantly raises his fist upon seeing a soaring stock market update in one photo. On the Bund, Robert encountered three boys dressed in fur coats, with the one wearing sunglasses proudly introducing to Robert in English, "You know what, sir? We made these suits and fur coats ourselves." And at the corner of Tianjin Road, two gentlemen in tailored suits exuded the aura of successful businessmen straight out of a Hong Kong or Taiwanese TV series. However, according to one of the protagonists in the photo, he only dressed up in his finest suit that day because Robert, who frequented his noodle shop, suddenly said, "Let me take a photo of you." This was perhaps the utmost "dignity" that Shanghainese cherished.

Adjacent to this group portrait, a long strip of screen and a circular screen roll out more street snapshots. The long strip screen showcases the various livelihoods sought on the streets—carpenters, seal engravers, barbers, street food vendors—capturing fleeting moments of hard work and perseverance amidst societal freedom and openness. The circular screen, on the other hand, depicts people on wheels—bicycles, motorcycles, tricycles, disabled vehicles, buses, and cars. These wheels carry fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, friends, or even strangers, propelling the city forward in its relentless pace.

The subsequent two mutually perpendicular dark green walls present another vibrant tapestry of street life. Citizens engage in chess, dancing, and lounging in the open, while children play and even bathe at the alley entrances. These are the spillovers of daily life onto the streets, unique phenomena of urban living back then. A particularly striking photo from Daming Road, captured on one sweltering August day, shows people cooling off by the roadside, with an aunt leaning against a window, wiping her sweat with a handkerchief—a gesture reminiscent of Robert, who also carried a handkerchief on his belt to wipe away the sweat. Yet, what stands out most in Robert's memory is the friendliness of the Shanghainese people! They were unfazed by his camera and often willingly engaged in conversation, a factor that enabled him to swiftly fall in love with the city within 24 hours of his unprepared arrival.

In this series of photos on the yellow wall, we also encounter a rather trendy addition to the household items of the time—TV. Although their screens seemed small back then, and regardless of whether they were black and white or color, they served as a new window for people to understand and imagine the world. Even in the most cramped of rooms, they could carry us away to the boundless world outside. These photos also reveal the classic painting traditions of the Netherlands, the homeland of Robert, with the colors, light, and compositions embodied by Vermeer. This stylistic feature is more prominently and beautifully showcased in his subsequent, equally important series of works, "Chinese Interiors".

On the lake blue wall near the exit, a series of huge billboards lining the roadside come into view. Back then, billboards were still painted manually by artists. The bikes, cosmetics, cameras, and various other cutting-edge products depicted on the posters narrated an alluring vision of a better life. Even Robert, a foreigner, still remembers that during those days, everyone aspired to own a "Phoenix" bike, whereas now, when people dream of owning one “BBA” as their first car.

On the final lake blue wall of the show, there is a set of photos taken by Robert along the Bund and the Huangpu River. When he first laid down in the suite ofthe Peace Hotel, the sound of steam whistles on the Huangpu River instantly transported him back to his childhood by the canals of Amsterdam. So, the next morning at sunrise, he eagerly set out with his camera and tripod. At around 6 a.m., as the sun slowly rose, two young men lay on the flood prevention wall of the Bund, seemingly having spent the night there to cool off from the heat. Meanwhile, citizens strolling, exercising, dancing, and resting along the Bund fascinated him. Looking across the river, the Oriental Pearl Tower in Lujiazui had just broken ground, young as a bamboo shoot, and the Yangpu Bridge taking shape.

These photo by Robert instantly transport us back to those anonymous, slightly worn moments from 30 years ago, filled with warmth and nostalgia in our memories. Back then, the old way of life had yet to fade, and the new world had not yet arrived, but the vibes of both the old and the new had already begun to infiltrate and permeate various spaces throughout the city — on the streets, in homes, and in the expressions, clothing, and even accents of everyone, eliciting excitement while also harboring undercurrents of tension. Yet fundamentally, it was a beautiful period to recall, because as that particularly popular song sang at the time, people then believed that "tomorrow will be better."

This exhibition has also specially invited sound artist Ge Xin to create customized environmental sound effects for the exhibit. Drawing from a broad range of documentaries, feature films, and TV series from the 1990s, the artist has extracted and curated the most captivating urban soundscapes, which are then edited and played throughout the exhibition hall at different times of the day. It is hoped that viewers, while admiring these vivid life scenes and urban landscapes, will find an even greater sense of immersion.