Today we decided to persevere further in our efforts to get some information about government and regulation of screens. As usual, it proved very difficult, with the tendency for everyone to refer us up the food chain again. However, we found some other interesting things out.

First, we sent a fax to the Yangpu District Propaganda Department to try and see if we can get them to tell “Teacher Wang” to give us an interview. The current line on that is we need to go over there and get a piece of paper with a stamp on it, and then take that back to “Teacher Wang”. Dan will do this next week while I’m in Suzhou, and I guess we have to hope that the interview might take place on Friday next week.

Having determined the location of the Yangpu District “Urban Beautification” (市容) department, which we’d been told was where you went to apply to hang a screen, we headed off to 700 Pingliang Road (平凉路), which is in the lower part of the district, close to Hongkou, and at the intersection with Huaide Road (怀德路). We arrived at midday, only to be stopped by the doorman (门卫), who told us they’d all gone to lunch and wouldn’t be back until 1.30 p.m. When we returned at 1.30, he quickly directed us to 3 men rushing out of the building. They were from the right department, but on their way to an appointment, and they directed us up to the Propaganda Department to make an appointment. Up there, we met Wang Jian of the “Shanghai Yangpu District Municipal Administration of Urban Beautification.” He wants us to fax him a list of questions (no email) and then will set up a meeting with the appropriate people. Maybe.

However, we did make some interesting discoveries while we were cooling our heels waiting for the guys to come back from lunch. After eating our own lunch, we walked around the neighbourhood. It’s an increasingly rare example of the “lilong” traditional neighbourhoods that are being labelled as slums and bulldozed all over the central city. First, we noticed there were no screens here, not even tickertape LEDs. Second, we discovered blackboards at the entrances to the lilongs. This is the missing link for me, and having these photos (complete with chalk versions of the Expo emblem!) is perfect to support my argument about the blackboard lineage.

From there, we went up to the Bailian Youyicheng department store at Wujiaochang and had a brief chat with Xu Jin, a designer with the Operations Department of the store. She seemed a bit less well-informed than the woman we spoke to the other day at the Orient. But she told us that the screen had been installed in 2008, and was not part of the original design of the building, which was built in 2006 (I think I heard her say — Dan?). The store retains control over up to 1/6 of the content, which they can use to put their own advertising on. Otherwise, the screen is controlled by SMG. Youyicheng does not vet what SMG puts on the screen, and so far is not concerned about whether it’s appropriate to their image or not. She said the screen operates the same hours as the store is open (10-10), but I know it starts earlier and runs later. She gave the usual reason for not running it 24 hours — lack of people in the neighbourhood. She also told us that sometimes they make their own ads, but for clips like the ones running currently, they get an outside company to do it for them. SMG probably pays them for the use of the screen (she did not know how much and could not confirm for sure), but the store’s own 1/6 use of the screen is probably factored into the payment.

Dan told me that she had been able to find no information about axing the screens in taxis. In the taxi from the district office up to Wujiaochang, we talked to the driver and he said pretty much the same thing. Maybe it’s all an urban legend?

Finally, over dinner this evening, I was told that the price of flat screens and LEDs has dropped a lot recently, helping to make them more affordable.