Did you know the Chinese National Day
Did you know 1st Oct is the Chinese National Day? It’s been 70 years, the 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China. Celebration are in full swing, major cities like Shanghai obviously Is a cool show piece, whilst the rest of world has been through tear and wear, such as financial crisis, conflicts of political ideology, drama of Brexit and etc, China has been unstoppable rising to a formidable superpower. Credit should be given when it’s due.
Bund (wai tan) is a must to visit for the locals and visitors, you’d be lucky to get through during the main festival time, like in National Day. Police closely watch over, one of the main reasons is to keep the crowds in order, this is to respond the tragic accident a few years ago, when 39 people died due to the traffic chaos.
It was great fun to get to the point, when you seet the east side of Shanghai in the front, after wiggling through pedestrian area at Nan Jing Road, we took a photo shot at that famous view, as we have done many times, still not bored. Our Bund walk was not shaken by the typhoon this time.
Check on our blog wai tan
Shanghai Night we took this video at La Terrazza at Bulgari Hotel Shanghai.
Share your thoughts and tips and experience in Shanghai.
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 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)!
More About Shanghai Walk v05
More about Shanghai Walk, it’s the time to venture out to the south bank of Bund, where Shanghai marina is located. As this part of the old town is going through transformation, highlighted by the authority, aims to be part of the grand metropolis attractions.
It’s such a transformation from the old shanty town to the current developing trendy area, all the buzz and cosiness, our image here only captivates the front sight on the bank.
We left the Shanghai Fabric Market, which we will follow up with the shopping guide later. It’s just walking distance to the South Bank. Still some of the shanty towns remain, we have a couple of images taken for our own record, pretty sure those shanty town will disappear in no time.
We arrived at Shanghai Marina. Chic promenade stretches out on the river bank, gone are those stubby old blocks. Marina has been there back in the 11th century, when Shanghai was initially just a fishing port. Fast forward to the 18th century, the Marina took the role to receive the goods and the imports from the inland, East Asia and the far beyond, where they started their first legs of journey into China. It has played the irreplaceable part to transfer the goods deep into the mainland.
From here, you had to take barges to the other side of Huang Pu river (Pu Dong), replaced by the metro lines and the bridges now. Apart from the restaurants, boutiques, still a lot are in the proceeding of development, we feel this area gives a different perspective to see Shanghai, from the grandiose north river bank does, where the old commercial titans dominate its storytelling. This area maybe more Chinese or with the sense of local culture and humility.
Quite refreshing to see that Shanghai showcases its appreciation to its own humble history, its struggling over the passages of time. South Bank was magnetic in the past, it has plenty to offer when looking forward.
Oh, what are the Fun or Something Cool
How to get the most of Shanghai Walk
How to get the most of Shanghai Walk?
A favourite walk of mine is at the old Shanghai French concession, where some of interesting houses hidden away from the traffic, the lines of plane trees cover the streets, little boutiques sit quietly among the residences. Around the area, quite a few museums and galleries have established themselves over the years.
Around 10am, we set off from Wu Yuan Road (just off Metro line 1 & line 7, Chang Shu Road). On the road, one of the late artists Le Ping Zhang’s residence was turned into a museum, his art works are displayed. A very popular caricaturist, children worshipped him. Next, we took the left turn to Fu Xing Xi Road, where you can visit another celebrity (a late author Ke Ling) residence. Our blog image is taken outside his house. Authority prioritises the area of the maintenance for tourist interests, you can find enough celebrities’ houses available for public visits.
Plenty to see. We had to march on, quickly we found ourselves at Shanghai Propagandar Art Centre. Located in one of the blocks basement at Hua Shan Road, it has been there almost twenty years. The authority started funding it since 2012. Majority of its collections are since 1949, I got the bulk buy of postcard at its souvenir shop. A friend of mine felt Einstein is out of the place on the propaganda postcard. The great man once said “truth is born out through the test of experience”, perhaps that made him into the league. Chinese is renowned for being pragmatic.
We took a couple of turns, where Shanghai Drama Academy is in the middle of enrolling students, passed Wu Lu Mu Qi Road, we browsed “Safari Photography Exhibition” on the 3rd floor of Shanghai Hotel. Almost 2pm, after we visited late Yuan Pei Cai’s old residence, we must take a break, we were so relieved to find a cosy restaurant at Chang Shu Road, just opposite the old Little Theatre.
We were happy.
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 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:
How not to forget Shanghai you have been
How not to forget Shanghai you have been? Photos, plenty of them, insta it and of course blog it… Lots of different ways help to remember…
With fast paced change, Shanghai has altered so much, not people who visit it are amazed by the newness, resident are used to the ever changing. I have a map imprinted in the mind, where I was born and grew up, where the centre was and my favourite walks and meeting points. Over the recent years, Shanghai has stretched out much further, twenty four million people inhibit in this much larger city. It sounds sentimental to recall the old time, those little alleyways, simple old food, easy chitchat like everyone has time for each other, live was not overruled by digital. These tales are supposed to stay in the mind for a long long time.
Look at the skylines and so many hot spots. New Shanghai is equally exciting and can be more dynamic. We cannot help to recommend the easy appsShanghaiWoW for any new cool spot, or check on the official tourist sites for anything news worthy, it can be interesting too, see the example on Foodie Heaven
We will continue to blog in 2018, if you can share with us your experience in Shanghai, the places you went, the food you enjoyed and the people you met, that will be so cool.
How to get the most when you are in Shanghai
How to get the most when you are in Shanghai? Sightseeing, exploring are usual touristy things you will be doing, getting to know the place, culture, people and its history. We have build the recommendations around Viator on ‘top pick’, ‘day trips’ and ‘extended tours’.
A lot to choose from, we know you are interested in something different, fun and with local flavour… we bring them on!
Among those Top Pick, the trips to those old lanes and alleyways can be really fascinating. They are like “old town” in any major cities, around the initial residential area. People have emotional bonds with the old lanes and alleyways, they survived with time, especially in a city like Shanghai which had so much and with so much going on. The tour guides are awesome, you can discover the local charm and enjoy an unusual outing in the town. Check on our link Shanghai Old Lanes & Alleyways
We also recommend a unique tour of Shanghai’s Jewish Quarter, led by the local expert. It tells the story about the Jewish life into the previous Mid Century. Shanghai sheltered thousands Jewish refugees during the war time, people like Sasson (the initial owner of the Peace Hotel) has significance in shaping Shanghai’s landscape. The tour lasts 4 hours and includes a visit to Jewish Refugees Museum, Shanghai Jewish Quarter Tour will sure provide you exceptional insights about this city.
The tour on “Shanghai Circus World” is worth seeing too, you have the chance to learn about Chinese history and culture, get some understanding on martial art, it makes such a fun trip for family.
Of course, we will continue to recommend the tours / trips, share our excitement, and, have a feel on our selection. Oh, Top Pick
(Image is from “Viator“ )