I've got a couple of days in Shanghai free in a few weeks time as I had a stop over for some work but meetings have fallen through. Far from the worst thing given it'll be my 4th APAC city in 7 days.
Anyway, what are the must-do things? I'm staying near Jing'An park if that has any impact
There are some public gardens in the centre, well worth doing. Forget the expensive touristy tea shops outside.
Go to the new side of the river on the ferry and then go up the crazy red triple ball madness skyscraper. You will know it when you see it.
Din Tai Fung in Xintandi for Xioa Long Bao
Maybe the aerospace museum is open now.
I travelled for 2hrs on the train to see it but when I got there there was only the car park built and a train station called Aerospace Museum.
I wonder if there are Shanghai locals wandering around London looking for this amazing “Palace of Crystals”.
DTF is indeed excellent.
The Bund at sunset, while touristy, is quite a sight. Have fun deflecting the hawkers on Nanjing Road as you walk down there, though!
Will try and dig out a couple of other bars/restaurants from my little black book later. Fascinating place, both amazing and repulsive in equal measure.
Oh, and don't fall for the "special taxi" scam at the airport.
You can’t beat the view from the Bund across the river to Pudong at dusk. Looks like the Bladerunner future we were promised.
The Pudong skyscraper with a hole in it has a fantastic viewing deck.
Wander round any remaining old areas down by Yu Garden before they’re gone.
Go out on the metro to the nearest water village.
Neon crowd consumer madness of Nanjing Road at night.
Try to ignore the dawning realisation that we’ll never be able to compete with China.
Excellent, thanks very much. Quite keen to ride the maglev but I'm going to take it back to the airport to avoid the taxi scams at the maglev station (everyone seems to view that place as a hotspot) but the hotel is sorting me out on arrival.
The maglev isn't actually that great - by all means do it, but don't make it the highlight of your visit. Note that it only runs at top speed a couple of times a day. The rest of the time it's running around the same speed as China's high speed train network - which is also cleaner and smoother 🙂
The location of the maglev station in the middle of a random suburb is a bit odd, but you can get there by metro. The metro is easy and cheap to use in Shanghai. They're quite sensitive about the risk of domestic terrorism, so there is a perfunctory security check on the entrance to each metro station. It can take a while to get into some of the main stations at peak times because of the checks.
Not keen on the metro on arrival as I'll be lugging a suitcase and want to get some sort of idea of what the hell is happening. Way back is a different thing and I'm not expecting much from the maglev but I remember seeing maglev trains on Tomorrow's World so it's a box to tick 😉
I always try to use public transport straight away from the airport so I have a good handle on it as soon as I arrive and can get around easily. It is a drag with a suitcase and gear though. Most cities have an equivalent to London’s Oyster card that are worth getting hold of - Shanghai does, though I can’t remember what they call it.
Ridden round Shanghai a few times and it's been a nice way to see the city - the days of peak Chinese cycling are probably long gone but their roads are still built for it. Last time I was there it was peak hire bike war, couldn't move for them, but that might have calmed down now. I rented a bike last time I was over there (actually in Beijing) by buying a bit of an iffy fixed gear off a guy on the street for around 20 quid, then took it back to him after riding it round all day and he gave me a tenner. So there's plenty of options.
I've been up that oriental pearl tower when it's quiet and thought it was really nice, had something decent to eat, amazing views. I've also been up when it's busy, like Chinese busy, and would have donated a testicle if it meant teleporting out of this claustrophobic, cacophonous hellhole. So maybe pick your time if you fancy having a look round there.
Old French concession area - think it's Hengshan Rd, is nice to walk round / drink in at night - big bar area but more sedate for an arl fella like me. If you're more into fighting the whores off there's livelier stuff to be found.
Once you have dumped your luggage, the metro is the best way to travel. You can get a card that you can preload and then hold onto it for future visits.
There can be a few scammers down by the bund, I think the tea party scam is still alive and well.
I'm not likely to wander the streets with random strangers to get some tea. If I want some I'll get a hotel recommendation. I'd fall for a dumpling scam I'm sure 🙂
I’ve been up that oriental pearl tower when it’s quiet and thought it was really nice, had something decent to eat, amazing views. I’ve also been up when it’s busy, like Chinese busy, and would have donated a testicle if it meant teleporting out of this claustrophobic, cacophonous hellhole. So maybe pick your time if you fancy having a look round there.
Whatever you do, don't ever be up there when it's closing time.
Hope you don't mind me hijacking this thread for a bit of help but I'm trying to work out the best way to get from the airport (Pudong) to the motorshow (NATIONAL EXHIBITION AND CONVENTION CENTER) next Tuesday morning, assuming I don't break myself on Sunday at the National XC round at Hadleigh on Sunday!
I land at 7.55am and have to be at the show at 10am, all i can hear is the Mission Impossible theme tune going through my head...!
Any ideas? I'm thinking I'm going to have to change my flight but that could involve flying when I'm meant to be racing 🙁
I always use the official taxis at the airport, but I make sure that I have the address printed off on paper and a map of the location I want to get to. Do not rely on the taxi drivers understanding English (or an English printout of the address). Our Chinese office provide the address and map in Chinese and it is very useful.
metro is good
the parks are great
the science and technology museum now has a little bit of russian art made in scotland by an artist who had to leave russia because it wasn't communist approved. amazing how the world goes round. its aimed at families and children but the scale is immense.
french quarter is great.
to avoid hassle on busy tourist streets - just go parallel to the main drag.
Panmen scenic area in Suzhou is worth the train journey. lots of canals and old stuff
Do taxis only take cash like in HK or can I use card/alipay?