Shanghai "hipper than Hong Kong, more alluring than Beijing"

Guess what? We're "hipper than Hong Kong and more alluring than Beijing," according to the Associated Press. The words appeared in an AP article on Shanghai pursuing luxury travelers in a strong effort to restore a "reputation for opulence and elegance that once made it the Paris of the Orient." Funnily enough, the article seemed to insinuate that this is something new for our city - a transformation we're rushing to finish in time for the Expo rather than, say, something we've been striving for since the late 1990s. Before this metamorphosing push, we were a "gritty industrial hub of crammed tenements." Huh. We guess the Jinmao and Xintiandi and all the Bund buildings that aren't the Peace Hotel can be considered really, really ahead of their time then?