Douglas Williams/Shanghai Daily news

Shanghai has evolved at a rate never before seen in history and nowhere in the city has that evolution been more dramatic than in the Pudong area.
Within the space of a mere 15 years, Pudong has gone from being a marsh with a sprinkling of fishing villages to one of the most spectacular urban landscapes on earth. Did I say evolved? How remiss of me. Of course, that would imply that the process of change had arrived at some sort of conclusion and therefore ceased which is clearly not the case. Pudong, more than any other area of the city is literally metamorphosing right in front of our very eyes and is set to become Shanghai's Manhattan.
That said, the eastern side of the Huangpu River has been some way behind the western side in terms of entertainment venues. Now, with the opening of the Sofitel Jin Jiang Oriental Hotel's astonishing X46 bar, Pudong is in possession of what will probably be Shanghai's ultimate night-time destination.

The Champagne bar with suitably deluxe stools (left) and the futuristic stairs to the classical French restaurant with its epicurean delights and stunning views.

X46 is a lounge bar club that Manhattanites would kill for, dear old London or Paris simply couldn't muster and a venue that Sydney clubbers would go crazy for.
The 46 part of the name comes not surprisingly from the fact that it's on the 46th floor. Space ship in shape and appearance from the ground it revolves six degrees every minute so that in an hour it's gone full circle. Lean against a wall and the movement is noticeable but only barely.
Situated in east Pudong at 889 Yanggao Road, the view to the west encompasses the Jin Mao Tower, the Oriental Pearl Broadcasting and TV Tower and a forest of brand spanking new sky scrapers of assorted shapes, styles and heights.
"We will do for Shanghai nightlife what Park 97 did for the city when it opened back in 1997," says Gerhard Zimmer, the general manger of the Sofitel Jin Jiang Oriental Pudong, a true Old World gastronome and resident of Shanghai for 13 years.
"With the opening of X46, Pudong is now officially alive. Many people travel to Pudong to work, many people live here and more are seeing the benefits of living on this side of the river, now they have a fabulous place to come and enjoy their evening while those in the Puxi area have an amazing destination for a wonderful night out."
The hotel is a 10-yuan (US$1.24) taxi ride from Century Park metro station or a 27-yuan taxi ride from People's Square through the tunnel.
At 180 meters high and with few similarly tall buildings nearby, the almost floor to high ceiling windows afford a panoramic view that can be enjoyed from the heavy comfortable chairs and sofas or from a stool at any of the five bars: wine bar, coffee bar, Champagne bar, cocktail bar and vodka bar.
This is a hotel lounge bar club but not so as you'd notice - the entrance, the sound system, the bars, the view, the finish, the dance area make this a truly sophisticated club and with the promise of regular stints by top European DJs that looks to be where X46's destiny lies.
If the launch party last week, a "White Party" fresh from the exclusive St Tropez resort in France, is anything to go by, pumping funky tunes by DJ Tony Fonseca, lashings of expertly prepared and presented drinks and all with a spectacular skyline, lots of starry skies and a big moon beyond the windows, future parties will be difficult to get tickets for.
Laurent Branover, director of food and beverage, says: "This will be the sort of place that will appeal to everyone, to locals and expats alike. It's trendy but it's different and can be used for business and pleasure. Earlier in the evening the atmosphere is very relaxed.
"It's the perfect place to chill after a busy day. We serve a variety of what we call tapas but are really world snacks, different tastes from around the world."
Eric Gregoire, the uber-cool and handsome operations manager of X46, has cunning plans up his sleeve. He describes the bar as "romantic" and there can be no doubt that sitting with someone special by the huge windows looking out over Pudong, perfect Martini in hand, the world sure seems like a beautiful place.
douglaswilliams@shanghaidaily.com