How we enjoyed this quiet time at Shanghai
How did we enjoy this quiet time at Shanghai? It’s been a couple of months since the outbreak of coronavirus. We’ve been staying in and keeping outdoor venturing minimum, building up the inner zen …
Still, having fun: how to pass the time during the time of ‘staying in’ all that long, especially not by choice! Exercising at home, making spaces at living rooms, getting used to stretch out any time if feels like; friends try to perfect the culinary skills, no fear with heat in the kitchen… It will be an epic winter in the memory.
Shopping apps are the nearest and dearest for the restrained lazy toes, instructions on how to make the use of Hema, DingDong（叮咚买菜）, not to forget TaoBao, and, JingDong… Those delivery guys are the heroes.
Like entering uncharted territory, will life or the way of living quite the same or different in Shanghai from now on? Oh, perhaps… wait and hope, as Dumas cheered.
Get ready when it’s all over..
Our blog image overlooks NanPu Bridge at Power Station of Art, we’ll make a “splash” on it in blog in the near future.
How to get ready for summer at Shanghai
How to get ready for summer at Shanghai? We are nearly half way through the year. Summer is calling, isn’t it great to indulge oneself with ice old long drinks under the shades and watch the world goes by… get ready for those hot days!
If you plan to have a week there, we reckon it’s worth having a general plan about what to do, but just go with flow on the rest. It’s a fast paced city, always plenty going on, new sites/ new exhibitions / new gigs etc / new food trends … We have a list for someone who is only going to be there for a week.
- Yu Garden / Xin Tian Di… the former one is old town, where you see the original Oriental architecture, delicious traditional food. Check on our blog; the later one is a revamped residential area, lots of fun places for eating out, shopping, historic sites etc, our blog. These two areas are close by.
- Wai Tan / Pu Dong… you wouldn’t miss Wai Tan (Bund: riverbank) We recommend have an early start on the day, watching the locals enjoying the early morning there, or, becoming part of the evening glamour when you visit in the evening. Standing at Bund, you can see Pu Dong across the river, we also have blog on the best view.
- Shopping / East Bund… don’t miss out the fun of shopping. It is quite expensive to shop the brand goods, you can go shopping for tailor made clothing. We have checked out the place, it is great if you stay there at least a few days, allow the time for fitting etc. Check on our blog. Afterwards, take a stroll on the new development of East Bund.
- Old French Concession… there’re lots going on in this place, it is indeed our favourite place to walk in the town. Check on our blog We recommend visiting Propaganda Poster Art Centre, unusual experience.
- Zhu Jia Jiao / Hang Zhou … one of those days, you may want to venture out Shanghai, have a look the other cities, for example Hang Zhou, which is just two hours away by train. Our image is the sunset shot on Hang Zhou Bay Crossing Bridge. It’s a city where the one of the most successful enterprises in the World Alibaba based. Or, just take a short journey to one of the water towns, such as Zhu Jia Jiao, Read more on our blog
Want more FUN!.
What’s about Propaganda Poster Art Centre
How to make the most of Spring in Shanghai
how to make most of Spring in Shanghai It is a long wait to come after the damp winter, finally we see the cherry blossoms in parks and alongside the pine trees. Flowers festival will open till the mid April, in Gu Cun park and Pu Dong. Sports events like Marathon, takes place just before Spring.
A friend shot the image for this blog. It’s an old saying in China, duck can tell the weather the first. You always know that heat is on its way. Close to the Easter, people visit the grave of late family members or relations at Qing Ming Festival, a type of glutinous rice ball (糯米青团) in jade colour served for the occasion.
If you are a foodie, you may be interested in the local food tour with 12 dishes for 3 hours, is it somethings you are tempted?
Hot pot is getting popular in England recently with the influence of Chinese students, a type of comfort food in the cosy winter nights, it is fun to taste in this season. I have my favourite hot spot for the hot pot. This one maybe just what you want for the experience of hot pot on the cruise .
You are not going to be disappointed if you are a fan of traditional Chinese food, it will be great fun to impress your folks, master Dumpling making and get to know plenty of anecdotes at workshops.
Friends often rave about the scenes and the experience of laid back, after they have had excursions. Over the time, B&B at Farmers (农家乐) have grown with strength, attracted more and more city dwellers for weekends, you may also find fascinating when you explore outside Shanghai. Check on water towns nearby and talk to your local guides.
Check out our previous blog
How to enjoy the Spring Festival like a local
How to enjoy the Spring Festival like a local, when you are in Shanghai, you want to keep up with locals, just for good time sake.
Lights were lit up a few days ago, people rush back to their home towns to celebrate the festival with their families, it’s quieter this time of the year, it’s something that a busy town like Shanghai appreciates.
Don’t worry about the quietness, almost two hundred attractions lined up such as museums, galleries, exhibitions are open to the public, check on the official tourism board, even walking tours organised by the locals, you can keep yourself occupied by joining the locals for some culture spice up or learning classes.
This will be the year of Pig in Chinese lunar year, pig indicates wealth and growth, like we all need after a long haul austerity. On the first day, it’s tradition to enjoy dumpling together for a family, it symbolises the unity and prosperity. A dish has so many varieties and been celebrated all over the country, we cannot help having the blog image other than this. You can join the class, to learn to make dumpling.
If you fancy eating out like a local, try our recommendation.
It’s cold in Shanghai, there are many ways to get lovely walks around in the town, find your favourite spots and local hangout, check on link here for your inspirations, and don’t hesitate to share your cool stop by.
Hop on hop off, to discover your kind of Shanghai,
If you would like to venture out of Shanghai, visit the water town nearby, give it a try.
When in Shanghai, have fun and never forget to taste the high life.
Finally, have fun and Happy New Year, as the locals say Gong Xi Fa Cai (恭喜发财 have a prosperous year)!
How to make the most of weekend in Shanghai
How to make the most of weekend in Shanghai? It takes time to get to know a place though, we sums up some tips here if you are only there for a short spell.
Head to Yu Garden, If you want to see the traditional architecture, which is located in the old town.
Not far from Yu Garden, an area which has been revamped and became a show piece, XinTianDi, you can see Shanghai’s typical eye catching residential style. You will also visit the premises of the 1st Chinese Communist Party conference. Plenty of bars/restaurant, highly possible to keep you entertained.
Even just for a weekend, still possible to enjoy walks around the city. Xu Hui where I grew up, is a must ‘go’ to me, Within walking distance, you bump into Russian poet Pushkin’s statue, Shanghai Orchestra, Music Academy..,. You can spend all day or just one afternoon in this area, in its galleries and museums, This time I went Propaganda Art, well worth visiting despite its confusing location (in the basement of one building), .
When you are in Shanghai, hardly miss out the Bund, the epitome of metropolis Shanghai, which has done it lots of proud over the years, enjoy the evening view. You can visit East side of the river, PuDong, have a drink at the “cloud”..
To make the most time of a weekend. If you are into history or anything arty, some of options here, ‘Shanghai History Museum’ on People’s Square, pleasantly informative. Some of touristy spots for the evening chill out, check on our blog about the oldest band in town (Peace Hotel).
Our blog image shows flamingos dancing around the lake at Shanghai Zoo
It will be cool if you’d like to send over your tips on the new hang outs.
How to enjoy the rest Summer in Shanghai
How to enjoy the rest Summer in Shanghai? Plum Rain season ends, we see off the downpour and lightening, we are entering another hot month next, blistering hot days with high humidity (大伏天), a couple of tips from us to keep your research brief.
We recommend to download Shanghai WOW on the phone, for anything trendy hot and smart, from food, eating out, fun, spa, hotels and so on. But, if you fancy something tweaked by your home folk, who knows Shanghai like his palm, who knows more than where to eat, how to haggle, which gig to go, etc, you maybe check on TimeOutShanghai regularly to get insightful updates.
Viator has added quite a few trips and tours, such as fancy ethnic dinning style on the evening river cruise “Dinning Experience”, it can be a highlight for the trip. Or, some day trips outside Shanghai, apart from Su Zhou, or, nearby Zhu Jia Jiao (see our blog), how about day trip to Beijing exploring the Great Wall, you can even go further, see your options.
Experience your local life. Locals are keen to practice English, you will not be short of conversations with strangers. Common sense prevails if anything too good. Transport is usually super duper with metro, bus lines, mobile app friendly taxi service DiDi (Chinese equivalent to Uber), you probably have to fine tune the search engine.
If you need stay in touch with your acquaintances, or, stay tuned, download WeChat, it can make your life seriously easier.
If you enjoy our tips above, read more on hot summer in Shanghai, or one day in Shanghai. If you want to share any info, we’d love to hear from you, drop us a note on Contact page.
Have fun in Shanghai!
How to enjoy the best views in Shanghai
How to enjoy the best views in Shanghai? For the breathtaking views from the top, we are ready to explore the options from the skyline at Lu Jia Zui in Shanghai, where you get the panoramic views across the town.
Observatory decks are located at the recently constructed three super tall skyscrapers: Jin Mao, Shanghai World Financial Centre and new Shanghai Tower, together they make up the world’s first adjacent grouping of three super high rises. They were built one after another, pride themselves with the height of 420 meters, 492 meters and 632 meters respectively. They form an impressive view over the skyline, like three musketeers, all with hotels, shopping malls and office buildings. Each has its own charm. Locals tease them like a set of kitchen accessory, mixer drill, bottle opener or cheese grater… At Shanghai World Financial Centre, miniature bottle openers can be bought at the souvenir shop.
Super fast elevators take you to the top. If resourceful, it will be fun to enjoy the fabulous views from each of them, taller over one another, it is so interesting to notice the nuances of the views, where the city stretches out in front of the eyes. Blog image is the view from New Shanghai Tower, over Shanghai World Financial Tower and Jin Mao, “expensive but well worth it”, the friend who share the image is convinced.
Jin Mao is the oldest kid in this block, been there since 1999, you can check out whether Sky Walk is still available if it interests you.
After checking out the panoramic views of the city, reward yourself a well-deserved drink at one of the bars in the cloud …
Please feel free to drop us a note to share your thoughts about Shanghai.
How to get ready for summer in Shanghai
How to get ready for summer in Shanghai? Wow, is summer actually a festival? Why get ready? Pretty simple, it’s noisy, busy and no need to stay put the humidity, get ready, so much fun in summer.
Grew up in Shanghai, I know that it’s hot in summer, and it seems the temperature in summer gets higher over the time. If you haven’t developed the resilience over the heat and humidity yet, it’ll put you in a cool state to enjoy what the heat throws. Anyway you can always resort to the indoors. Fair enough, there are TV festival then Shanghai International Film Festival in Jun. it’s suppose that the films will be interesting this year, highlighted to address the hot issue of ‘belt and road’, which the countries along the new silk road get chances to bring out their works.
At the moment, the annual Lavender Festival is in full bloom at Pu Dong, Shanghai International Tourism and Resorts zone. This festival runs till the end of June, you can make insta-friendly trips. For any sporty person, Dragon Boat Festival can entertain you mid Jun with its traditional rhythm, plus its colour vibrancy. Seasonal staple Zong Zi is already available, you can taste the traditional treat with sweet or savoury fillings.
If you feel like to venture out of downtown, Song Jiang can be an option (the previous blog mentioned “Go Chong Ming”). Rich in history, Song Jian has a lot to offer with parks, temples, cathedral, mosque, plus an English themed Thames Park, nicknamed as “Small Britain in Shanghai”. Check on Song Jiang, to see anything of your picks.
See our picks, visit China Art Museum and enjoy Huang Pu River Cruise and Shanghai Lights, if your trip is a flying visit (see our blog One Day Only).
Happy summer!
How to get around in April Shanghai
How to get around in April Shanghai? Mirrored to the Easter, there’s Qing Ming festival in April, where the families pay tributes to their deceased members, as called “sweeping the gravestones” by the locals. Traffic tends to gridlock on the way out to the outskirt for the weekends. People enjoy the traditional dim sum “Qing Tuan” (glutinous rice dumplings).
Drizzling April has its charm and it brings the hope that Spring is on the door step. In the school, Chinese kids learn the great poem of Tao Yuan Ming, which celebrates April’s idiosyncrasy: How to get around it drizzles endless during the rainy season / travellers along the road look gloomy and miserable / when I ask where I can find a tavern / a shepherd boy points a hamlet nestling amidst apricot blossoms in distance. (translation quoted and modified from the edition of XianYi Yang & NaiDi Dai).
Outdoor and nature are the prime choice in April, an exhibition of variety of flowers in Chong Ming runs from March to July. April seems a wise choice considering the temperature at the time, Go Chong Ming Island. This weekend comes with the first practice of Chinese F1 Grand Prix at Jia Ding district. Plenty going on to suit different tastes for culture and entertaining, including a Tibetan heritage show .
For a city which strives to be the best with never ending metro lines and sky scrappers, it has come around to preserve its celebrated unique culture: alleyways and backstreets where you discover the local living, those gems hidden behind the glittering shopping malls and office buildings, will get a makeover, How exciting. We recommend the tours, for the authentic local food as well as with walk.
Expats in Shanghai form own sense of being a local, ask them where to go or what to do, follow TimeOut to check on any seasoned tips.
Read more on our Blog Best time to visit Shanghai
Read more on Alleyways will get a makeover in Shanghai
How to enjoy Chinese New Year like a local
How to enjoy Chinese New Year like a local, so you are in Shanghai, you are not flying away somewhere afar, the town is nearly empty, traffic is kind…
Whether you go for the traditional Chinese affair, or, stay on the trend, you will always find your type. Let’s start with indulge yourself with the traditional flavour, all the fanfare and folk stuff. There’s the carnival.
Following the current Cultural Carnival, which ends in 14th Feb, Spring Festival Carnival takes place to coincide Chinese New Year (16/02-02/03) at SongJiang District, celebrates with traditional folk music shows, lantern show, stand-up comedians and lights displays, food stalls… Address: 888 LinHu Road.
It’s the 2nd year to celebrate the Chinese New Year for the newly established Shanghai Disney Resort, Impressed, not only by the charm of Disney with Chinese twist. Some locals are keen to have the New Year Eve banquet there, a worthy family event.
Brace yourself, it is crispy cold time of the year. Nothing can put people off to enjoy the brief quietness in such a busy town, you can appreciate the wintery blossom in Central Park, or parks like DianShan, ZhenRu for cool excursions out of the centre. A friend of took the blog image near her house at the recent snowy day.
Chinese New Year is always about the food. With plenty of expats living in the town, rest assured, you will find your favourites. Some apps expedite your decision, like ShanghaiWoW To be truly like a local, you need download the app WeChat, you can find any info you need, we mean any. it works like an altogether of FaceTime, WhatsApp and Facebook.
OK, if you are there, we wish you a happy time and will be great if you get in touch to share.
For the organised celebrations over the Chinese New Year, please check on the link: