French artist shares his special bond with Shanghai

With a special bond forged amidst the vibrant streets of Shanghai, China, a French artist reveals how the city's nightscape ignited his creative spirit and fueled his artistic endeavors.

Quentin Foucque is an artist from Marseille, France. After a two-week trip to Shanghai in 2010, he fell completely in love with the city. Consequently, he decided to settle down as an artistic director of a popular bar and ended up spending more than half of his adult life there.

"I've spent more than half my adult life in Shanghai, China, more time than in France. I was born in 1987, the year Marseille and Shanghai were twinned. After two weeks on vacation in Shanghai in October 2010 to visit a friend, I completely fell in love with the city, and as a result, I decided to pack up and leave Paris, where I was at the time, to settle in Shanghai," Foucque said.

He said he fell in love with the city the first time he visited the Bund, an iconic and symbolic site that epitomizes the city's rich history, cultural significance, and economic prominence.

"The feeling I had when I first arrived at the Bund? It was late in the evening and I felt a sense of vertigo. I was impressed by the view, by the lights, by the buildings and the energy in Shanghai. It was an incredible visual shock and something I had never seen anywhere else in the world," he noted.

He pointed out Shanghai and his hometown have many aspects in common, one of which is that they are both close to the sea.

"These two cities have a common point, which is their connection to the sea. Shanghai is close to the sea and lives by the sea. Marseille is also open to the sea, both through its commerce and its history," Foucque said.

During his stay in Shanghai, he forged strong friendships. He thinks that people from Shanghai and Marseille are quite similar: open-minded and welcoming.

"People from Shanghai and Marseille have quite similar characters. They are very open-minded, very welcoming, with a big heart, and they trust people. Shanghai is an extraordinary and dynamic city. And it gives you the feeling that everything is possible, where everyone has a chance, where anyone can succeed in any field. People are welcoming, much like in Marseille," he said.

He said his hobby is taking photo and the colorful scenery in Shanghai gives him many creative inspirations.

"My main hobby was photography, wandering the streets of Shanghai with my camera. What inspired me a lot in Shanghai was the night. It's a city that is quite humid and there are a lot of light projections from the screens, from the signage. There are many ads, and these ads are reflected in the sky and in photography, it translates into surreal colors. One could feel like being inside a film, like Blade Runner for example. Typically, it's this somewhat futuristic, very colorful, very saturated atmosphere," he noted.

French artist shares his special bond with Shanghai

The Russian auto market has undergone a major shift in recent years,with Chinese brands surging in popularity and now capturing over half of new car sales in Russia.

Following Russia's conflict with Ukraine, major companies from Germany, the U.S., South Korea, and Japan ceased official sales, supplies, and services in the country, leading to a significant increase in prices for their cars and spare parts.

This void has been filled by Chinese car brands, whose market share in Russia surged to over 60 percent in 2023, nearly doubling from the previous year. In contrast, China held just a 9 percent market share in February 2022.

Ekaterina, an owner of a Chinese car who switched from a European brand, cited the complications in servicing her old car after Western car brands exited the Russian market. She highlighted the stability of Chinese car prices as a key factor behind her decision.

"A year ago, many people had concerns about whether to switch to a Chinese-made car and some of my friends decided to do so. People looked at the car, listened to the pitch, and made the choice naturally because the price is stable," she said.

Sergey Tselikov, director of the analytical agency Avtostat, predicts further growth in 2024, as Chinese companies have already exported record volumes of cars to Russia.

"First, almost all other brands have stopped supplying to Russia. Automakers in South Korea, Japan, Europe and the U.S. have halted supplies amid fears of sanctions," said Tselikov.

Tselikov also pointed to the significant quality improvements in Chinese car manufacturing over the past five to seven years as another reason for their popularity in Russia.

The share of dealerships selling Chinese cars in Russia witnessed a remarkable increase, rising from 31 percent to 65 percent in 2023, while the number of models and modifications continues to expand. Chinese automakers have even re-purposed some factories previously used by Western car manufacturers.

Russia is also encouraging localization efforts, hoping to revive its own car manufacturing industry.

"The [Russian] Ministry of Industry and Trade and the government are stimulating and trying to ensure that the cars are not only imported but assembled in Russia and then hopefully localized. In Russia, this is a problematic endeavor because it is very difficult to produce cheaper components in Russia than those produced in China," said Tselikov.

Russian companies are seeking collaboration with Chinese firms to domestically assemble Chinese cars. Moskvich, a long-established Soviet-era car company, has started assembling Chinese cars under its own brand.

Chinese cars reshape Russia's auto industry as Western brands scale back