Pete & I went to Shanghai for the weekend (24-26 February) for the first time. Shanghai is quite amazing - it's a mix of new & old areas & a very different culture to HK. We did enough tourist stuff we could fit into the three days we were there. Here is a summary of our itinerary & some recommendations for what to do in Shanghai:
Le Royal Meridien Shanghai
We stayed at a newish hotel opposite People's Square on the famous Nanjing Lu shopping street. The hotel just opened in June 2006 and the rooms are spacious and the location is extremely convenient. It even has a Samsung 42inch plasma TV in each room! The hotel is close to the People's Square underground station.
Nanjingdong Lu
This is a pedestrian street/mall that extends from the People's Square to The Bund (see below). As soon as we stepped out of the hotel, we are right onto the pedestrian street/mall which is lined with department stores, gold/jewelery shops and restaurants. There is a Starbucks, McDonalds and Ajisen Ramen (味千拉麵) at every corner. The department stores are massive! New Century Tower is the largest department store in Asia. The prices are not cheaper than HK though but there are some brands you can't get in HK. There is also the Shanghai First Food Store selling dried foods imported from all over Asia. There is also a small foodcourt towards the back & one of the counters sells fresh pan-fried pork buns (生煎包) which are really good. If you are daring enough, you can also try the chili vermicelli (麻辣米粉) for only Rmb6 but you will walk out sweating & looking like a tomato! I also constantly craved for soya bean drink from a local food chainstore called 永和豆漿. Local food in Shanghai is generally really cheap. One morning we bought some steamed buns for breakfast which only costed Rmb1 each!
The Bund 外灘
This is a famous 2km strip of late 19th and early 20th-century buildings facing the Huangpu River and across to Pudong (see below). It used to be the banking headquarters for various Chinese banks but most of the buildings have been renovated into luxury dining, bars and shops for high end fashion labels. Some of the most happening restaurants & bars locate in Three on the Bund (check out M on the Bund, New Heights Restaurant and Jeans Georges French Restaurant) which having stunning views of the river and Pudong, especially at night.
Pudong 浦東
We took the Bund tourist tunnel (which Pete thought was really tacky) across the river to Pudong, soon becoming the business center of Shanghai. Pudong already has some of the world's tallest skycrapers & biggest shopping malls with more to come. It does make the Shanghai skyline more interesting with funny-shaped buildings including the Pearl Tower and Jinmao Tower. We went up the Jinmao Tower which is the tallest building in Shanghai (88 floors) with panoramic views of city. From 53 to 87 floors is the world's tallest hotel, Grand Hyatt Hotel Shanghai.
Xintiandi 新天地
A relatively new part of Shanghai is Xintiandi. It is part pedestrian mall, part public square and part street fair packed with restaurants and pubs - a bit like Lan Kwai Fong in HK for tourists and expats. We only went in the day time but we were blown away by the interesting buildings packed with restaurants and pubs. Apparently it goes off at night with live bands and people flooding out onto the walkway.
The French Concession
Not too far from Xintiandi is the remains of the former French Concession. This part of Shanghai is really beautiful with parks, streets lined with tall trees and old mansions, some renovated to become restaurants, bars and galleries. We went to former residence of Sun Yat Sen and other homes belonging to many who served the Chinese Communist Party. The main street near the French Concession is Central Huahai Rd which is like Nathan Road in HK with lots of shops and restaurants and the adjacent HengShan Rd area. While in that area, you have to try out this restaurant which serves the most authentic Shanghainese food called Jesse (Xinjishi). The food is fantastic and it's all so cheap but you have to book because it's always full house!
Nanjingxi Lu - home of Shanghai street food
If you want to try Shanghainese street food, you have to head to Wujiang Rd, which was only a short walk from our hotel. Even in the middle of the day, it was packed with people and the street is filled with the smell of bbq. Pete wouldn't let me try the street food because I get food poisoning easily but it all smelled so good! It's definitely worth checking out though even if you don't eat any of it. There was a shop famous for their pan-fried pork buns called 小楊生煎館 but the line is ridiculously long. Nearby there is also a few other well-known restaurants including 王家沙 (you can buy food souveniors) & 功德林 (a famous Shanghainese vegetarian restaurant).
Now for some culture...
On People's Avenue is the People's Park on one side and People's Square on the other. On People's Avenue you will find the Shanghai Grand Theater, the Government House, Shanghai Urban and Planning Center and the Shanghai Museum.
Old Shanghai
One of the popular tourist attractions is Yuyuan 豫園. We took a taxi there from our hotel and the moment we turned into this area, we knew why it is renowned as 'Old Shanghai'. It is lined with traditional Chinese buildings and temples. Even on a Monday afternoon, it was packed with tourists. Inside Yuyuan Square, there is a lot of food to try and souveniers to buy. We went to a famous restaurant to eat steamed pork dumplings (小籠包). This restaurant has 3 levels and depending on which level you eat at, you are charged different prices. The reason is, it's so packed that you need to pay a premium just to get a table! But even at the top floor where we decided to eat, its still dirt cheap! Nearby we also ate 'stinky tofu' which was really nice because the tofu in Shanghai is really fresh.
So that's about all... we did a lot of walking, surrounded by tall Shanghainese people, ate lots of great food and hardly had to spend any money. We definitely recommend Shanghai for a full weekend getaway.
