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.
Did you know more flights available to Shanghai …
Did you know more flights available from London to travel to Shanghai directly? Gatwick has opened its “gate” since March, at the time of writing this blog, price is at £468 end of Summer, operated by China Eastern.
Did you know it just takes more than 11 hours to Shanghai (Pu Dong international airport) directly, over 12 hours on the way back. With time difference, it makes sense to switch your body clock to the destination time zone before your travelling. On arrival, ready for all actions.
To celebrate its 100 years in business, British Airway is offering promotion prices, which includes return flights from Heathrow to Shanghai on £508 (check out its dates). Good for them, however, watch out you top it with the check in luggage.
Please let us know if we can be of any helps.
Our blog image is from Mo Gan Mountain (easy access from Shanghai), a cool choice to see the rural China over the weekend.
We are happy to help your flights choice if needed. You can share your favourite Shanghai images with us (we can flaunt them on our Instagram).
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 enjoy the water towns around Shanghai
How to enjoy the water towns around Shanghai? It’s getting warm, time to go out, go for those trips.
Why not enjoy the water towns around Shanghai – discover another piece of jigsaw in Chinese culture, delight yourself in these places.
Zhu Jia Jiao of Qin Pu is the one in our blog last year, Water Town Zhu Jia Jiao it often comes to the top of the list for its size and the distance, its history and its gardens.
Far away from the noise, water town is a symbol of the tranquil life in Southern China. In the olden days, these water towns possess rural charms, epitomised the simple lifestyle of easy living and harmony, just like the drawings affectionately done by Feng ZiKai (ZiKai Feng Paintings).
Late artist YiFei Chen put the images of the water towns in some of his masterpieces (Chen YiFei Paintings), they have drawn attention from the visitors ever since. Easy access attributed to the recent development, most of those places are not yet completely commercialised, though not everyone may be sharing this opinion. A fabulous table on China Highlights can expedite your decision making (“Water Towns Nearby Shanghai”), you can choose to suit your plan.
Image of this blog was taken from water town TongLi. Different from the much celebrated Zhou Zhuang, which frequented in YiFei’s paintings, you find Tong Li quietly situated between Shanghai and Su Zhou, make it an ideal en route to Su Zhou.
If time is precious, the nearest to Shanghai, Qi Bao can always be the option, it is still part of Shanghai, so expect the crowds.
Whether you have or have not been to the water towns nearby, we’d love to hear from you.
Here comes Christmas in Shanghai …
Christmas… how time flies, we have seen the seasons come and go: Shanghai is the place we’ve been talking about All Year …
If you happen in Shanghai for this season, there are loads of things to do, check on the link Get into Christmas Swing for its mapping out in detail. Again we also recommend the trendy App ShanghaiWoW for its city guide support, check out the trendy places for the seasonal promotion.
Even you stop here for a short stay, there are things you still want to enjoy, let’s not forget our collection from Viator Our Top Picks Or get some insights from our Blog About Shanghai, try our short & sweet A Flying Visit.
Perhaps, this city is in your mind for the next adventure, visit our links TO GO to get started and TO STAY to organise, or to drop a note to us Get In Touch, let us know your schedule, your budget, your interests and your thoughts, that’s really cool and be assured you’ll hear from us…
Thanks for stopping by on this site, we will be back after the festive season: wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year!
How to cook like a local in Shanghai
How to cook like a local? live like a local, not only by staying in Airbnb, eating at the food stalls… It is interesting to understand the culture and customs by learning to cook the Chinese food, so how to cook like a local?
how to cook like a local? Chinese appreciates the food, enjoys the preparation of the food and the cooking… if you can cook a simple stir fry, why not set a challenge for making dim sum or dumplings?
Always a happy occasion when everyone is involved in the process of making dumplings, from preparing the mince, kneading the dough, perfecting the pastry, making the dumplings, tipping them into the boiling pan then joyfully sharing them, it lightens everyone up in a family gathering. It has significance in the Chinese culinary culture. If you are tempted to learn more, why not try a Cooking Class, be creative on your own production, taste the Chinese food made by yourself. Or, take a three hour Cooking & Food Tour, (incl, one hour cooking class), you can venture out the neighbourhood to see the local market.
Another couple of food cooking tours are worth considering, Cooking Class & Market Visit, a tour mixed cooking class with market visit, go price bargain with vendors, source your ingredients, sounds cool. Plenty of vegetarian dishes are available in Chinese cuisine. try Cooking Class with Veg Options (with vegetarian option). Great fun to entertain your friends with the acquired cooking style.
If you would like to know more about Chinese cooking class and tours or live like a local, drop us a note. We’ll get back to you with our best know how. Great to learn your experience and share your knowledge with us.
How to eat like a local when you are in Shanghai
Eating out like a local is so much fun in Shanghai, so many choices and we selected two tours for you to taste.
How to eat like a local when you are in Shanghai, apart from sightseeing, city walks? We have build the recommendations from Viator with selections on ‘top picks’, ‘day trips’ and ‘extended tours’, here with “local food”.
Eating like a local? yes. Now, late autumn, Shanghai-ese are addicted to ‘hairy crabs’, it doesn’t sound delicate, but the dish is a delicacy and delicious for the locals. This has been tradition, it seems get popular to the entire nation’s taste buds.
Food breeds contentment for Chinese, they see it as the source of happiness. That’s why they greet each other with “have you eaten?” When it comes to the variety of restaurants, such as different regional styles, Shanghai can compete any places in the country. It also offers a fantastic range for international cuisines. Shanghai-ese shows tremendous appetite for acquiring the new flavours.
When in Shanghai, it is so much fun to eat like a local. We have selected two tours for eating like a local. The “Local Food Tour” lasts 3 hours, takes you to the old French Concession and the traditional Shanghai ShiKuMen, you taste noodles, steamed buns, 12 dishes at the different venues, currently it runs Evening tour, “Local Food Tour” so you get the chance to start with a beer as well.
Apart from the traditional food tour, another one on our list is the street food tour. You can enjoy the local Shanghai’s culinary scene, busting with flavours and aroma, you taste 12 to 15 different dishes in this 3 hours tour. “Eat like a Local” You are not going to be disappointed.
We will continue to recommend the tours / trips, share our excitement, and, have a feel on our selection. Read More
We’d love to share your thoughts, contact us if we can be of any helps.
How to get the best deal on flights to Shanghai
With so many flights to Shanghai, it takes time to get the best deal on price and what it offers, we can help.
How to get the best deals to Shanghai? Of course, you know all about it: go to the search engine, type in your key words: there you are, a list of flights: time and prices.
It takes over 11 hours directly from London to Shanghai, so it’s a long way staying in the air for nearly 6000 miles. By knowing slightly on who normally provide non –stops, who operate with stops, who is generous on the luggage allowance, who gives more on the leg room, who comes along with frills and thrills on food and entertainment. We can look for accordingly.
Comparison sites, such as Expedia can do a lot when it comes to flights and accommodations. We build our flights search links around its platform, so you can choose either fly from London or Birmingham or Manchester. Check on our link (London, Manchester, Birmingham): London; Manchester; Birmingham
Looking for the best deal, we are doing much the same. We also like to get there on one go (non-stops). In our view, East China does the best for the price, luggage allowance. Shown on Expedia, price at £470 at the time of this blog for a week return, directs London and Shanghai. Food is yammy (by our experience), though you may not get the chance to taste your favourite “tipple”. Pretty good when you can land at Shanghai or London (inbound) late afternoon for overnight recovery. We give Virgin thumb up (at this time of the blog) for its food and being comfy, bit more on the price £630 though, maybe for its entertainment, and it does land in Shanghai at AM.
You know you are not on your own, we are happy to assist (for flights, accommodations and sightseeing or your travel plan), just get in touch.
More: check on our link for Airport Transfer
Check on Things to Do on Expedia
Jin’An Ladoll Service Apartment
Ladoll Service Apartment is at the heart of city centre and only 5 minutes stroll to Jin’an Temple. Metro and bus lines are darted around within walking distance. The location is fab and simply offers the super base for anyone staying for a couple of days or longer.
By all means we put this one as one of our selections is not only the location. The vicinity is one of the most interesting areas in Shanghai. The street it is at is Yu Yuan Road, which is a long stretch road over one and half a mile. Its history dated back in Qin Dynasty, there had been celebrities and politicians living here in the cottages and apartment blocks. Lots of those houses still are around today, some have been kept as museums.
Ladoll is a converted apartment building with five storeys. There are two types of rooms to choose from: studio or with lounge. Reasonably priced, the rooms are pretty cosy with kitchenette. No flair but comfy in the décor. You can get on the metro Line 2 for a big grocery shopping if you fancy staying in, Carrefour is just two stops away. But you are so spoilt with choices and it’s a task to decide where to eat at such a prime location.
It has the character for an accommodation centrally based, you feel the buzz when you walk out the place and step into the pavement, Only a couple of yards away, you can see the queue at a DimSum outlet.
One of the good signs is lots of locals staying here. Plus, staff are friendly and helpful.
One of the sunny afternoon, you may feel so intrigued by the noise outside the apartment, next you find yourself wandering along this popular road, and, by chance you may discover your favourite antique shops, book store, music studio…
Blue sky
The other day, I scanned through the friends’ “Moment” on the phone app WeChat (Chinese equivalent to WhatsApp), a couple of photos caught my eyes. My friend titled them with “G20 Sky”. I thought they were shot somewhere in Europe. Naah, it was Shanghai. The photos show a line of beautiful houses with a lake in the front, more important, the sky on those photos is clearly very blue, only a few patches of clouds scattered.
The other day, I scanned through the friends’ “Moment” on the phone app WeChat (Chinese equivalent to WhatsApp), a couple of photos caught my eyes. My friend titled them with “G20 Sky”. I thought they were shot somewhere in Europe. Naah, it was Shanghai. The photos show a line of beautiful houses with a lake in the front, more important, the sky on those photos is clearly very blue, only a few patches of clouds scattered.
Surprised, well, I was. Remember the smog in the city? It was so well documented, that it symbolised the fast paced growth with the environment. 60% of pollution is from transport. There had even been a cottage industry producing air protection masks and air purifiers. Then, how come with such stunning blue sky?
My friend returned my query, ah, it was for the forthcoming G20 Summit. With such an important economy forum approaching, as always, air pollution is kept to the minimum for major events in the metropolis. Even though the summit was to be taken place in Hang Zhou, a town two one hours by train, the scale for the air excellence is getting bigger with time.
Air quality has been a sensitive subject for quite some time. There is hourly real time PM2.5 reading for the clarity of air, which is issued by Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Centre since 2013. You cannot blame people’s obsession about the air quality.
Look at my friend’s photos and the comments, it seems that the authority is doing everything they promised to keep the sky blue, as some of the stats suggest over the past few years, not only just guaranteed for the important events.
I just had a read on PM 2.5 (Air Pollution Index) for this day in Shanghai, at 99, categorised as moderate. London 58, read from the same source.