0:00:11 > 0:00:15City slickers. Young people on the move.
0:00:15 > 0:00:19This is Shanghai on fast-forward
0:00:19 > 0:00:21in the 21st century.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24Yesterday's fashions, today's museum pieces.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Shanghai sets the trend for the rest of China.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Image guru Wang Lei will make sure it stays ahead.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40The son of actors,
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Wang Lei was exposed to the theatre from an early age.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45His interest in the backstage world of hair and make-up
0:00:45 > 0:00:49led him to study hairstyling in the US.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53While he was there, he took care to observe the people around him.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Shanghai was an ideal base.
0:01:30 > 0:01:33When China opened up to the West in the late '70s,
0:01:33 > 0:01:35it was deluged by Western goods.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38The Chinese were avid consumers.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Wang Lei set up different salons for different groups of clients.
0:01:47 > 0:01:51Hollywood, with its steel and stark colours,
0:01:51 > 0:01:53is for the young and trendy.
0:01:55 > 0:01:58Housed in one of the city's shopping malls is a children's salon,
0:01:58 > 0:02:02where the new generation of fashion consumers can be indulged.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07For the more mature or foreign clients
0:02:07 > 0:02:09after an authentic flavour
0:02:09 > 0:02:11there's "China Nostalgia",
0:02:11 > 0:02:13with its Oriental decor.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18I always liked the mixture, culture,
0:02:18 > 0:02:20you know, food and mixture for the music
0:02:20 > 0:02:22and mixture of everything.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25It's one of the best things about the city. That's why I stay here.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Even I decorate my shops with...
0:02:28 > 0:02:32you know...Chinese and Western all mixed in together. Always.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36It just feels so much better when you have both cultures mixed together.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41The cultural mix is exploited to the full.
0:02:41 > 0:02:45The American idea that first impressions are all-important
0:02:45 > 0:02:47is adopted in Wang Lei's company motto -
0:02:47 > 0:02:49"Image Is Everything".
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Learning about the importance of image starts in-house.
0:03:06 > 0:03:07To his managerial staff,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10Wang Lei stresses that the three keys to success
0:03:10 > 0:03:12are being observant,
0:03:12 > 0:03:14focused and pragmatic.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53Wang Lei now also offers image consultancy
0:03:53 > 0:03:55to professionals in middle management,
0:03:55 > 0:03:57like Wang Yunchen.
0:04:00 > 0:04:01First, the hair colour,
0:04:01 > 0:04:05then off to search for a complete new look.
0:04:07 > 0:04:10In China, being concerned about personal appearance
0:04:10 > 0:04:12was once frowned on.
0:04:12 > 0:04:14Wang Lei's fought hard
0:04:14 > 0:04:17to prove that his profession isn't about vanity.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45A transformed Yunchen turns up at work.
0:04:45 > 0:04:50So, how does she feel with her new look?
0:05:07 > 0:05:11High-profile clients like Yunchen give image consultancy
0:05:11 > 0:05:12a much-needed boost.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Wang Lei's aim is spurred on
0:05:27 > 0:05:30by China's rapidly developing economy.
0:05:30 > 0:05:33Maoism has given way to a new ideology,
0:05:33 > 0:05:34consumerism.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37And, with it, a whole new generation
0:05:37 > 0:05:39of impressionable youngsters
0:05:39 > 0:05:41eager for anything new.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23In China's race to modernise,
0:07:23 > 0:07:27following fashion gives young people a sense of identity
0:07:27 > 0:07:30in a society where it's hard to know where you belong.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20Not belonging is a feeling Wang Lei knows only too well.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24In America, he had to work at his image.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08This is an idea Wang Lei wants to bring to his hairstyling.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11His is the only Chinese salon
0:09:11 > 0:09:14to exhibit in this year's Shanghai Hair Show,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17alongside some of the world's best-known names.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23He's asked an advertising agency
0:09:23 > 0:09:25to work up some of his proposals.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28But Shanghai's love affair with the West
0:10:28 > 0:10:30is not about to end.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Wang Lei has to admit, it's a relationship that's here to stay.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Shanghai's cosmopolitan feel
0:11:25 > 0:11:28gives Wang Lei inspiration for the forthcoming hair show.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37He's taking the essence of East and West
0:11:37 > 0:11:39to create a fusion of the two,
0:11:39 > 0:11:42a unique look that's very Wang Lei.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09The Shanghai Grand Theatre, the city's premier venue,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13a perfect place for showing off talent and winning recognition.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15TRADITIONAL MUSIC PLAYS
0:12:32 > 0:12:34DISCO MUSIC
0:12:45 > 0:12:47TRADITIONAL MUSIC
0:13:16 > 0:13:20Exposure at this kind of event has propelled Wang Lei
0:13:20 > 0:13:23to the forefront of the hairstyling scene.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26Today, Shanghai. Tomorrow...the world?
0:13:26 > 0:13:28HE LAUGHS
0:13:57 > 0:13:59UPBEAT ELECTRONIC MUSIC
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:14:22 > 0:14:25E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk