I see, I was still in Shanghai in the 50's, only craze was chanting long live chairman Mao!

Last Section:

SHOPPING -- It hasn't changed much so check my 2007 Notes for references. I'll just point out two easy areas to get to.

The area surrounding the Yu Gardens could be called a market or bazaar, full of gifts where there are loads of knickknacks for under a $1 up to gold and jade in the thousands. A nice souvenir or gift I like for to get is a chop carved with the english name translated into chinese, people-pleasing and inexpensive.

The other area is the Art Alley mentioned above, it has boutiques and art galleries that the first area doesn't have. Gifts are more tasteful and wide-ranged, some of the handicrafts and artwork are quite attractive such as hand-printed and hand-painted tops. If you ejoy mega malls, go across the street to the big shiny completx.

For fabrics, check out the multi-floor South Bund Fabric Market at 399 Lujiabang Road, Lots of tailors too, some say reminds them of a vertical Hoi An. I don't go there so cannot recommend anyone.

thanks, we have taken note..

TTT for tansmets

Thanks for posting this. What in your opinion is the best water town? We will probably overnight in the watertowns one night, you mention Tongli above, but what about Nanxun and Xitang? Zhujiajiao? We will have a Thursday and Friday to explore, probably overnighting in Suzhou. Remote is ok as I speak/read enough Mandarin to be comfortable anywhere.

Except for size, there is not a big difference between the watertowns so no opinion of which is the best. Even the largest one Zhouzhuang will not take 2 days to explore, Zhujiajiao is a 1/2 day trip, Nanxun and Xitang are daytrip places, Tongli too unless you are visiting Suzhou.

Remembering the wonderful dinner of duck at Old Beijing...yum

Thank you, Shanghainese, for the great information. For those who may be interested, we (Aussie couple, no Mandarin) caught an early morning public bus from near Peoples' Square to Zhujiajiao, and really enjoyed the whole experience. With another couple we met on the bus, who did speak Mandarin, we hired a guide and a boat. The boat ride was fun, and great for photos, but I don't think the guide is necessary, really, and we could have done it on our own, once we found the entrance, which is not visible from the bus station. A shop in
Zhujiajiao was selling silk filled doonas, which I thought would be a lovely souvenir if you needed one.

Just to add, in Shanghai, we caught the public ferry across the river - it's quite a walk from the opposite wharf to the Pearl Tower, and we found a loo in a modern building on the way. Have never seen one like it - the seat was covered in spotless plastic wrap, which rotated to replace itself with every flush! Amazing!

TTT for rhkkmk

got it

shanghainese,
I couldn't find your 2007 notes on the French Concession. Could you provide a link to it?
Thanks much!

barefootbeach: I will top the 2007 Notes for you, I didn't write about the french concession. In this 2012 Notes, the Sights/Sites talks about Dian Zi Fang/Art Alley, Wukang Road Fuxing Park and Xiangyang Park are all in that area.

Are you looking for something specific?

Thanks for topping Shanghainese,
I mainly wanted to see your restaurant descriptions from that trip...and your shopping notes...so I've copied that. Thanks much!

Aline,
I have a separate HSBC atm account which I usually use to get money while in Asia. I am assuming it is easy to find an atm machine that will accept this card in Shanghai and its environs? How did you exchange money in Shanghai? Mahalo

Aloha!

HT:

HSBC is well known in China, I don't think you'll have problems at ATM machines, they are everyone. For back-up you might want to bring another ATM card just in case. Bring a regular credit card to pay for your hotels and other larger expenses.

Notify all the banks of your travel schedule so your cards don't get "blocked".

Oops, I meant everywhere ...

just bring a roll of hundreds

Aren't you supposed to be narrating a bus tour about now?
I will have the boys running them the week before we leave.......bring more stale bread with you

Mahalo Shanghainese!

With regard to ATM machines, I just read on trip advisor that some of the machines in china require a 6 digit pin number. If your card does not work with your 4 digit pin, add two zeros at the end.