The Monocle team has just wrapped the inaugural edition of The Entrepreneurs Live at the Jing An Kerry Centre in Shanghai. It was a day of pacey panel discussions and candid conversations about what it takes to build a business today. But being a Monocle event, there was as much play as there was work. Here’s what’s to come in today’s special On The Road edition:

COLUMN: Observations from Shanghai
Q&A: Songtsam CEO Tashi Tsering on luxury hospitality
HOUSE NEWS: Visit the Monocle pop-up shop and café at the Jing An Kerry Centre
THE MONOCLE CONCIERGE: Where to spend your money in China’s retail capital
OVERHEARD AT...:The Entrepreneurs Live

1.
Statement retail is steaming ahead
Louis Vuitton’s larger-than-life, three-storey exhibition space and shop on West Nanjing Road is a high-water mark for shopping and brand building. The ship-shaped structure, which opened last year, welcomes more than 120,000 visitors a day. Landlubbers can enjoy an immaculate rendition of the Louis Vuitton story, treat themselves to one-off pieces and gain insight to the craft that goes into each item. Has Louis Vuitton gone overboard? Judging by the queue outside, not in the least.

2.
Old buildings are on the move
Shanghai boasts a modern skyline but the Zhang Yuan development is a great example of bringing history into human-scale developments. Here, scores of traditional shikumen (brick townhouses from the 19th century and onwards) have been scrubbed, polished and, in some cases, moved wholesale to create an exciting-to-explore neighbourhood.

3.
High-end residentials still sell out in seconds
A source in the real-estate industry rebuffed the idea that residential property is struggling – particularly at the higher end of the market. They cited a series of recent auctions where prospective buyers looking for top-drawer, riverside apartments entered lotteries and sales that saw spaces sold-out in under a minute. As for commercial real estate? The market is warming back up.

4.
All quiet on the eastern front
A historic movement of manufacturing from Shanghai’s city centre and China’s swift switch to electric cars has left the city unexpectedly quiet and admirably clean. Efforts to curb light pollution have also proved wise and add immeasurably to the civility of an evening stroll – just look out for those nearly silent e-scooters on the pavements.

5.
No tipping necessary
We’re not just trying to save our pennies; it’s simply easier not having to tot things up again, risk getting the decimal wrong or offending your servers. Alipay is easy to use and a lack of ambiguity about gratuity means international visitors without knowledge of the conversation rate have one less thing to worry about. It also moves the onus onto an employer to cover a fair wage for talented staff.

6.
The customer isn’t always right
Tashi Tsering (see below), CEO of hospitality company Songtsam, borrows from the wisdom of his native Yunnan province in running 20 hotels across the Tibetan Plateau. He says his hotel team are less like traditional GMs and more like hosts. The catch? Western sensibilities suggest that the customer is always right, but Himalayan culture stresses the need for them to honour the people putting them up, and behave with respect. Something for guests the world over to think over. 

7.
Take a chance on young talent
Labelhood is the name to know for emerging Chinese fashion in Shanghai. Founders Tasha Liu and Justin Peng have nurtured some 600 brands over the past 15 years, supporting them in every aspect of the business, from campaigns to runway shows. Together, the husband-and-wife duo are shaping a new generation of designers and increasingly discerning shoppers. 

8.
Don’t overlook the everyday
WeeTeng Wen, founder of Singapore hospitality company Lo & Behold, urges developers not to ignore neighbourhood buildings that resonate with a local audience. His New Bahru development has given life to the former Nan Chiau High School and created a vibrant home for dozens of Singaporean and independent overseas brands.

China’s tourism dollars are significant enough to make or break neighbouring economies. But today, with the world in flux and consumption being encouraged at home, domestic travel is coming into focus. Frequent flyers from tier-one cities in eastern China are discovering their own county’s vast interior, journeying to the central and western regions in search of exclusive experiences and natural escapes. Independent brands are building some of the best examples of this new luxury rooted in local traditions, culture, geography, cuisine and design. 

Tashi Tsering, the CEO of Songtsam – a peerless hospitality group from Yunnan province – joined Monocle’s Josh Fehnert on the conference stage to discuss modern Chinese hospitality and what makes a good hotel. Here’s an excerpt from the conversation.

Songtsam has been in business for 26 years and you’ve been running it for 13 of those years. For the uninitiated, what do you do out there in Yunnan province?
We don’t see ourselves as a hotel brand. Today we have about 20 boutique hotels in the northwest of Yunnan toward the Himalayan border, all the way from the ancient Tea Horse Road trade route to Lhasa. And we connected all the hotels to make travel itineraries to bring guests to enjoy the view and experience the culture. We want to deliver Tibetan culture to the outside world. That’s our purpose.

Your hotels have hosts rather than general managers. What’s the thinking behind this?
We call the managers of our hotels “the female host of the family”. If you know a little bit about Tibetan culture, you know that the female host is in charge of the home, rather than the male host. Mothers always take care of the family and if they are not there, the home will be in chaos. 

Every brand, app and hotel is trying to offer more. You offer less – no TVs and limited wi-fi. How do you get a guest from Shanghai to slow down?
It’s not easy because people are in a very [high-paced] rhythm. They want exciting things but we look for inner peace [and offer experiences] to slow-down. 

Click here to read more from the interview

Team Monocle indulged in some retail, dining and cultural therapy throughout our week in Shanghai. Here are some of our favourite spots.

Alila Shanghai, Jing An
The former Four Seasons has been completely reimagined by Hyatt and reconfigured by talented interior designer Ju Bin and his studio, Horizontal Design. Shanghai’s hottest new hotel hosted our speakers from near and far for  get-to-know-each-other drinks at the exquisitely lit Chayan bar before moving to dinner: a Shanghainese menu at the rooftop private-dining room and some more exquisite wine from Silver Heights.

Calypso, Jing An Shangri-la
Designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, the Calypso hosted our conference and dinner. The terrace of this two-storey, stand-alone building is a fine spot on a warm evening for a glass of wine.

1515 Bar, Jing An
A classic, American-style bar on the fourth floor of the Shangri-la – a snug spot after dark. The drinks programme is overseen by King Wang, one of China’s foremost sommeliers and a special guest at The Entrepreneurs Live.

Sober Company, Fuxing Park
Japanese bartender Shingo Gokan’s SG Group is responsible for some of Shanghai’s best nightspots, including legendary speakeasy Speak Low. After dinner the party continued at Tipsy, Gokan’s hidden cocktail bar inside of Sober Company.

More Shanghai gems:
Where to shop in Shanghai – 15 retailers for fashion, furniture and more

Muh Shoou’s latest hotel is a sanctuary for Shanghai’s city dwellers