Me, Myself, and I in Shanghai

Allan Wu:  Alone in Shanghai

By Charlene Chua

The New Paper

Wednesday, Feb 01, 2012

Shanghai may well be the perfect place to get a taste of a truly authentic Chinese New Year experience.

But local celebrity couple Allan Wu and Wong Li Lin spent their Chinese New Year apart – with she and their children spending the holidays in Australia.

They relocated to Shanghai last August with their daughter Sage, seven, and son Jonas, five, with Wu aiming to make inroads in the China market.

It turned out that due to last-minute jobs that came in, Wu was unable to join his family in Australia, where they planned to spend 11/2 weeks.

So while the trio were on an “obscure” farm near Sydney that had no Internet access, US-born Wu was alone in China.

The 39-year-old told The New Paper over the phone from Shanghai: “Work is one of the top priorities now as we’ve been here only for five months and people (in the entertainment industry) are still getting familiar with me.

“My end goal is to go into the production business or import and export of a health, beauty and fashion business.

“If I were offered the chance to be a singer and cut an album, I would say yes too.”

Over the festive season, Wu had made appearances on several Chinese New Year shows that required him to host, dance and sing in Mandarin.

The actor-host said he hasn’t been picky with the jobs offered to him as he’s still trying to carve a niche for himself in the Chinese entertainment industry.

He also explained that he had booked only Wong and the kids’ air tickets in advance and would have joined them at the last minute if he was free.

Wu said his family had a great time playing with the animals on the farm and they would go on to visit friends and relatives Down Under.

He added that Wong wasn’t disappointed that he couldn’t join them as they normally spend a lot of time together.

Wong and the kids are due back in Shanghai this week.

Meanwhile, Wu has been relishing his Chinese New Year solo.

He said: “A lot of people in Shanghai actually go back to their hometowns in other parts of China so I had expected it to be rather quiet here.

“But Chinese New Year here is a huge holiday and firecrackers were going off non-stop, it felt like the city was under siege.

“The mood was so festive, it was really great. I had dinner with my friend’s family and it was delicious, authentic Chinese food cooked by the Ah Yi (helper) like nian gao.”

Wu and Wong haven’t had a chance to feel lonely in a foreign environment because they have many American-born Chinese friends in Shanghai.

Wong has also been having fun travelling around Shanghai with her brand new set of wheels – a pretty bicycle with an attached child seat at the back.

Like Wu, 38-year-old Wong is also making a living by doing hosting jobs at variety shows, gala events and product launches in Shanghai.

Calling the relocation a “tough challenge”, Wu revealed that he and Wong haven’t had any major disagreements – save for when she over-indulged in buying winter clothing for the family.

The secret to their happy union?

Open communication.

Said Wu: “Li Lin and I talk about everything and we make sure we tell each other when we are unhappy with something.

“When you keep the channels of communication open, it prevents quarrels and fights.”

But what was difficult for them was finding a suitable Ah Yi.

Hard to find help

In China, “Ah Yis” are part-time or full-time help who do the daily household chores, cook and handle childcare.

Wu said they had interviewed many Ah Yis and most of them, when they found out that they were foreigners, asked for a much higher salary.

An Ah Yi can cost up to 6,000 yuan (S$1,200) a month to hire.

He revealed that the cost of living in Shanghai is high and even more so for him and Wong as they wanted to find good help and also send their kids to international schools.

But the family may be moving again at the end of the year.

Said Wu: “I would like to score roles in Hollywood movies.

“My agent and manager are in the US now, (so) we may move there at the end of this year depending on how things work out.

“I have absolutely no regrets about moving to Shanghai. For now we are looking forward to visiting Singapore in March.”

This article was first published in  The New Paper.