Lotus-Renault GP F1 Team News & Updates: Kung Fu in Shanghai

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Kung Fu in Shanghai

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Kung Fu in Shanghai 22 million people. Pollution, traffic, beeping horns, the buzzing sound of mopeds, market stalls, people teeming the streets. We'd arrived in Shanghai alright and this was in every manner possible, far, far away from the tranquil lush green surroundings of Enstone. Whilst our previous stop for the second Grand Prix of the season had been in the intense wet heat of Kuala Lumpur, this stop was in the dusty metropolis of Shanghai – the most populous city in China and one of the largest in the world.

Buoyant from the team's second podium in as many races, the LRGP team arrived on Monday and had begun its quest for more success by setting-up at the Shanghai Circuit in the past 24 hours. And with team driver Nick Heidfeld in good spirits following his tenacious third place finish in KL, we set-off to the city centre with the German for a filming session with a German TV crew. There are a number of Germans in F1 this season, and the media decided to enjoy the success of one their compatriots (in this case, Nick) by joining in some activities in amongst the 22 million locals around us!

On Wednesday afternoon, we set-off by bus to the Yu Garden district of the city. This area, just to the south of The Bund (the area which runs along by the Huangpu River) is a tourist magnet due to its array of historic pavilions. Its streets used to be a maze of tiny alleyways, which now have widened as the number of tourists has grown. A clear enough indication of the fact that we were walking through a historic tourist district in the 21^st century was the blend of mainly old buildings scattered with some new (to my left was the famous Huxining Teahouse and to my right was globalisation in all its force in the form of the mighty Starbucks – see photo in gallery). Anyway, enough of the Lonely Planet talk, we were here for a Nick Heidfeld media shoot. so let's get to it.

We had two stops on this two-hour filming. First was the Huxining Teahouse (yes, the one we'd just spotted). Over the bridge and then up a narrow staircase we went and we arrived at the quaint upper floor of what is now a famed Chinese teahouse. Sipping on the appropriately-named Lotus leaf tea, Nick and his trainer James took in the genteel surroundings, and enjoyed what was a very Chinese experience. James, showing his true English colours, was feeling quite at home sipping on a nice cup of tea. Home from home, eh James! Glancing above, I noticed a framed photo of Her Majesty The Queen who had also visited the teahouse more than twenty years ago. If it's good enough for Her Majesty, it was good enough for us too.

Before getting too comfortable, however, we were quickly taken across town to the more energetic and the eagerly-anticipated Kung Fu training. Keen not to get dragged into action, we all watched from the sidelines as Nick was able to use up some energy in a session with the Kung Fu expert at the Longwu Kungfu Center. Kung Fu first, then some Nunchucks work (don't ask) – we all stood well back and admired. Nick got quite into the swing of it (see photos in gallery) and it was hard for us to get away, but some rest beckoned before our first track day tomorrow. I'd had very little involvement with martial arts centres before, and the closest I could associate with this type of place was the Karate Kid film from the 1980s. I half expected Mr. Miyagi to appear from around one of the corner in one of the mirrored studios. Alas, he didn't, and we darted off into the Shanghai rush hour traffic.