Notes From Shanghainese's 13 Days in Shanghai
Dec 3rd, 2007, 10:22 AM
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Notes From Shanghainese's 13 Days in Shanghai
I am not good at writing TRs and my visit to Shanghai in Oct/Nov was more of personal activities (attending a wedding, a reunion, housewarmings, hairy crab feed at the lake, etc.) than sightseeing. I thought I'd just do some notes and let me know when it gets dull.
FOOD
I stayed in the old french concession so I'll introduce some restaurants that haven't been mentioned often here. All are clean, tasteful decor and attentive service and gourmet food.
"Lost Heaven Yunan Restaurant" at 38 Gao You Road is truly heavenly, see 11/2 GTG for what we ate.
"Charmant" at 1414 West Huai Hai Road and "Lai Fu" at 1416 West Hai Hai Road are next to each other, both are excellent. Water bamboo salad (skin peeled), braised pork with dried veg, beef and tendon stew in claypot and pan fried noodles at "Charmant" for 2 at lunch. Dinner at "Lai Fu", the 4 of us had fried eggplant cakes, steamed eggs with scallops, tomato shrimp over rice crust, fish pillows with green peppers, chicken and mushroom with satay sauce in a stonepot, little village potatoes (baby ones with soy sauce) and mini rice flour balls in rice wine soup.
The other pair are "Jasmine" at 878 Jule Road and "Homes" at 791 Jule Road. "Jasmine" is upstairs in an old spacious french style mansion with serene white furnishings and small plates of amazing food so we ordered a lot. Drunken chicken, veg goose (mushrooms wrapped in dried bean curd skin), diced yam in plum sauce, smoked eel, freshwater crab meat soup, steamed eggs with pork, freshwater shrimp with dried jasmine blossoms, sauted veggies and fried noodles with shredded duck. There were 10 of us at "Homes" which is big and has 4 floors, we feasted on veg duck (not very different from goose), celery salad, red dates stuffed with sticky rice, shredded chicken, fried bean curd skin balls, salt and pepper corn, pickled green veggies with transparent rice sheets, slow-cooked shredded hard tofu, smoked fish, braised pork in claypot, blackboned chicken soup and rice flour balls filled with red bean paste. Yum!
"Fragrant Camphor Garden" on 2 Hengshan Road is very elegant, looks like a 2-story glass house built around a 20 foot tall old fragrant camphor tree. We had roasted goose, garlic spinach, braised big yellow croaker and shrimp and tofu chowder, exquisite!
I also went to the Fodorites favorite "Jia Jia Soup Dumplings", "Southern Beauty", "Lubolang", "Xiao Nan Guo" and had beijing roasted duck and hot pot. You'd think I did nothing but eat!
When you study the bill, I've noticed some restaurants are adding a small amount for tea and a wet towel around 25-40 cents. And although their small plates business set lunch of 3 dim sum, tiny cup of soup, 2 little attentizers, 1 hot dish, 1 veg, rice or noodles and fruit and tea for 68 RMB was quite good reasonable, I was surprised that the restaurant at the newly opened 5 star Skyways Landis Hotel added a 15% surcharge to the bill. Hopefully this does not become a trend.
I will move on to other notes (sights, shopping, thoughts) later.
FOOD
I stayed in the old french concession so I'll introduce some restaurants that haven't been mentioned often here. All are clean, tasteful decor and attentive service and gourmet food.
"Lost Heaven Yunan Restaurant" at 38 Gao You Road is truly heavenly, see 11/2 GTG for what we ate.
"Charmant" at 1414 West Huai Hai Road and "Lai Fu" at 1416 West Hai Hai Road are next to each other, both are excellent. Water bamboo salad (skin peeled), braised pork with dried veg, beef and tendon stew in claypot and pan fried noodles at "Charmant" for 2 at lunch. Dinner at "Lai Fu", the 4 of us had fried eggplant cakes, steamed eggs with scallops, tomato shrimp over rice crust, fish pillows with green peppers, chicken and mushroom with satay sauce in a stonepot, little village potatoes (baby ones with soy sauce) and mini rice flour balls in rice wine soup.
The other pair are "Jasmine" at 878 Jule Road and "Homes" at 791 Jule Road. "Jasmine" is upstairs in an old spacious french style mansion with serene white furnishings and small plates of amazing food so we ordered a lot. Drunken chicken, veg goose (mushrooms wrapped in dried bean curd skin), diced yam in plum sauce, smoked eel, freshwater crab meat soup, steamed eggs with pork, freshwater shrimp with dried jasmine blossoms, sauted veggies and fried noodles with shredded duck. There were 10 of us at "Homes" which is big and has 4 floors, we feasted on veg duck (not very different from goose), celery salad, red dates stuffed with sticky rice, shredded chicken, fried bean curd skin balls, salt and pepper corn, pickled green veggies with transparent rice sheets, slow-cooked shredded hard tofu, smoked fish, braised pork in claypot, blackboned chicken soup and rice flour balls filled with red bean paste. Yum!
"Fragrant Camphor Garden" on 2 Hengshan Road is very elegant, looks like a 2-story glass house built around a 20 foot tall old fragrant camphor tree. We had roasted goose, garlic spinach, braised big yellow croaker and shrimp and tofu chowder, exquisite!
I also went to the Fodorites favorite "Jia Jia Soup Dumplings", "Southern Beauty", "Lubolang", "Xiao Nan Guo" and had beijing roasted duck and hot pot. You'd think I did nothing but eat!
When you study the bill, I've noticed some restaurants are adding a small amount for tea and a wet towel around 25-40 cents. And although their small plates business set lunch of 3 dim sum, tiny cup of soup, 2 little attentizers, 1 hot dish, 1 veg, rice or noodles and fruit and tea for 68 RMB was quite good reasonable, I was surprised that the restaurant at the newly opened 5 star Skyways Landis Hotel added a 15% surcharge to the bill. Hopefully this does not become a trend.
I will move on to other notes (sights, shopping, thoughts) later.
Dec 6th, 2007, 09:39 AM
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SHOPPING
Most visitors know where to get souvenirs, I'm going to list items I've been asked about. Due to the huge influx of non-shanghainese into the city, a large % of sales staff do not speak nor understand shanghainese dialect and only converse in mandarin.
Tea: Tea leaves come from tea shrubs of the camellia family. Folklore has it that while boiling water to drink, leaves from the twigs used for the fire fell into the pot and gave the water an appealing aroma and flavor, hence the start of tea which the leaves are plucked from bushes and roasted.
There are numerous tea shops in Shanghai and some visitors have bad experiences. I go to Huanshan Tea Co. at 605 Huahai zhong (middle) Road, this is the nicest of the several branches in the city. The staff are knowledgable and pleasant, some can speak simple English. The tea is fresh and of high quality (I've seen tea in Chinatowns that have feathers and droppings of mysterious origin in them), there are pretty boxes and tins for gift packaging, and they have lovely teapots including the Yixin brown pottery. I bought a clear glass pot for a fraction of the price you see in Chinatowns.
Custom Made Clothes: After the Xiangyang Market closed, many vendors moved to the underground market adjacent to the Science and Technology Exhibit Centre subway station, about 2 dozen tailors moved there too. You can take the No. 2 Line to the Centre, it is indoors, bright and clean, has a food court and the security patrol does a good job. Amy Lin's Pears has moved there too.
Pearls: The most convenient place is Pearl City at 558 Nanjing Road pedestrian walkway on the 2nd floor. Ling Ling Pearls was expensive and the salesladies had blank expressions when I spoke in perfect shanghainese and mandarin. The smaller stalls with young staff were much ready to please (read bargain). There are large varieties of ready made stuff of all prices. You can also pick pearls and stones you like and wait for them to be stringed into bracelets and necklaces of your own design. I must have gone thru 100 grey pearls for my earrings.
The other area I like is Pearl Village at 457 Fangbang (pronounced more like bong) Road in the Yuyuan Bazaar. The stalls are rustic with more pretty stones than pearls (I adore red coral and found an unusual clear spiderweb stone, and the vendors are more tolerate of my haggling.
Golf Clubs: No. 1 Department Store at 830 Nanjing Dong Road across from the People's Square. The vendors at the Science and Technology sbuway station sell western brands (Calloway, etc.) but I can't tell whether they are knockoffs since I don't play. There are several newly opened world class courses, the VW International was playing when I was there and I was told the clubs sold in the proshop are the real thing.
Musical Instruments: In the area immediately east of the People's Square bordered by Fushou Road and Jinglin Road all the way to the Bund, there are blocks and blocks of stores selling anything from grand pianos, violins, guitars to drums and chinese instruments. My friend said they are of excellent quality since labor is cheap.
Faux Antiques: The open air Dongtai Road Market close to Xintiandi is a fun place as long as you are not searching for real antiques. Consider most of the stuff as souvenirs and when you look hard enough (and bargain), you can come up with some nice finds. I bought a bunch of little silver (read faux) jewelery boxes with flowered porcelain tops from broken cups and platters for gifts. And a fan because I liked the calligraphy on it. I also bought a scroll of a shanghai 1930s lady which my DD wanted.
Outlet Mall: Checked out the massive OUTLET Mall (that's the name) an hour outside Shanghai which has become a tourist destination for southeast Asian visitors, there were over 50 busloads of them. The place is larger than Central Park in New York City, beautifully landscaped with deluxe stores like Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Barney's, etc, and a huge food court and movie theater. The prices were closer to the real stores in the US than our outlets, no fun.
Last but not least, do not go to the Qipu Market, it is filthy and sleazy.
Most visitors know where to get souvenirs, I'm going to list items I've been asked about. Due to the huge influx of non-shanghainese into the city, a large % of sales staff do not speak nor understand shanghainese dialect and only converse in mandarin.
Tea: Tea leaves come from tea shrubs of the camellia family. Folklore has it that while boiling water to drink, leaves from the twigs used for the fire fell into the pot and gave the water an appealing aroma and flavor, hence the start of tea which the leaves are plucked from bushes and roasted.
There are numerous tea shops in Shanghai and some visitors have bad experiences. I go to Huanshan Tea Co. at 605 Huahai zhong (middle) Road, this is the nicest of the several branches in the city. The staff are knowledgable and pleasant, some can speak simple English. The tea is fresh and of high quality (I've seen tea in Chinatowns that have feathers and droppings of mysterious origin in them), there are pretty boxes and tins for gift packaging, and they have lovely teapots including the Yixin brown pottery. I bought a clear glass pot for a fraction of the price you see in Chinatowns.
Custom Made Clothes: After the Xiangyang Market closed, many vendors moved to the underground market adjacent to the Science and Technology Exhibit Centre subway station, about 2 dozen tailors moved there too. You can take the No. 2 Line to the Centre, it is indoors, bright and clean, has a food court and the security patrol does a good job. Amy Lin's Pears has moved there too.
Pearls: The most convenient place is Pearl City at 558 Nanjing Road pedestrian walkway on the 2nd floor. Ling Ling Pearls was expensive and the salesladies had blank expressions when I spoke in perfect shanghainese and mandarin. The smaller stalls with young staff were much ready to please (read bargain). There are large varieties of ready made stuff of all prices. You can also pick pearls and stones you like and wait for them to be stringed into bracelets and necklaces of your own design. I must have gone thru 100 grey pearls for my earrings.
The other area I like is Pearl Village at 457 Fangbang (pronounced more like bong) Road in the Yuyuan Bazaar. The stalls are rustic with more pretty stones than pearls (I adore red coral and found an unusual clear spiderweb stone, and the vendors are more tolerate of my haggling.
Golf Clubs: No. 1 Department Store at 830 Nanjing Dong Road across from the People's Square. The vendors at the Science and Technology sbuway station sell western brands (Calloway, etc.) but I can't tell whether they are knockoffs since I don't play. There are several newly opened world class courses, the VW International was playing when I was there and I was told the clubs sold in the proshop are the real thing.
Musical Instruments: In the area immediately east of the People's Square bordered by Fushou Road and Jinglin Road all the way to the Bund, there are blocks and blocks of stores selling anything from grand pianos, violins, guitars to drums and chinese instruments. My friend said they are of excellent quality since labor is cheap.
Faux Antiques: The open air Dongtai Road Market close to Xintiandi is a fun place as long as you are not searching for real antiques. Consider most of the stuff as souvenirs and when you look hard enough (and bargain), you can come up with some nice finds. I bought a bunch of little silver (read faux) jewelery boxes with flowered porcelain tops from broken cups and platters for gifts. And a fan because I liked the calligraphy on it. I also bought a scroll of a shanghai 1930s lady which my DD wanted.
Outlet Mall: Checked out the massive OUTLET Mall (that's the name) an hour outside Shanghai which has become a tourist destination for southeast Asian visitors, there were over 50 busloads of them. The place is larger than Central Park in New York City, beautifully landscaped with deluxe stores like Prada, Chanel, Gucci, Barney's, etc, and a huge food court and movie theater. The prices were closer to the real stores in the US than our outlets, no fun.
Last but not least, do not go to the Qipu Market, it is filthy and sleazy.
Dec 6th, 2007, 10:50 AM
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Thanks for your report. The food sounds wonderful and the shopping tips are very helpful. Friends and I will be there in early April and hope we find a few of those appealing restaurants and great food. Yum.
Dec 8th, 2007, 10:49 AM
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I enjoyed reading a report from a native of the City. I'm sure many travelers will use this posting as a resource for their trip. As you know from my recent report of my trip there, I really enjoyed my stay in Shanghai. It is truly a great place to visit.
Dec 10th, 2007, 09:41 AM
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Larry -- Thanks very much for your kind words, from your ungrouchy report I recognize you really like Shanghai.
I should be penalized but I'm so swamped but will get to the sights soon.
I should be penalized but I'm so swamped but will get to the sights soon.
Dec 11th, 2007, 03:46 AM
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Hey Shanghainese, I liked your trip report a lot - you always have such great advice and we can tell you're a real foodie. I'm hungry already!
I'm headed there in two weeks so your updates will certainly come in handy. I brought some jewelry designs to have custom-made and favorite pieces of clothing to have copied and can't wait...I want to try that red coral and check out new stones.
Ooh, I suspect I'll need to get another suitcase on this visit.
I'm headed there in two weeks so your updates will certainly come in handy. I brought some jewelry designs to have custom-made and favorite pieces of clothing to have copied and can't wait...I want to try that red coral and check out new stones.
Ooh, I suspect I'll need to get another suitcase on this visit.
Dec 11th, 2007, 01:30 PM
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S - loved your food report, my mouth is watering! Now I have some places to look forward to dining at the next time I go!
I'm curious about the dumpling places you mentioned. Wondering if I had eaten at one of them without knowing. The one I visited (aside from Nanxiang) was about a block or two north of Renmin Park, just past the Park Hotel I think, on the east side of the street. A very small, nondescript place, but the most amazing crab dumplings I ever tasted! Okay, the only crab dumplings I ever tasted, but still
I'm curious about the dumpling places you mentioned. Wondering if I had eaten at one of them without knowing. The one I visited (aside from Nanxiang) was about a block or two north of Renmin Park, just past the Park Hotel I think, on the east side of the street. A very small, nondescript place, but the most amazing crab dumplings I ever tasted! Okay, the only crab dumplings I ever tasted, but still
Dec 12th, 2007, 05:37 PM
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Sam -- next time direct your wife's attention to all the food, I don't know what's healthier, eating or shopping!
Lia -- have a great trip and fun time, and let us know your findings!
Nutella -- Yep, you experienced it, the best xiaolongbao soup dumplings in the world "Jia Jia Tangbao"! It is a hole in the wall, sit on stools at crowded tables (I shared with 3 young and pleasant office guys who wanted to practice English), no napkins, no tea, I ordered the seaweed egg flower soup.
The soup dumplings with crab meat in Shanghai are sweet water crab meat, they taste special. I won't order them with crab meat in the US because it's salt water crab meat and doesn't taste good, besides it's a waste of money. Btw, my uncle was the general manager of Park Hotel in the 1940s before he came to the US. DM remembers big band dancing in the grand banquet hall.
Lia -- have a great trip and fun time, and let us know your findings!
Nutella -- Yep, you experienced it, the best xiaolongbao soup dumplings in the world "Jia Jia Tangbao"! It is a hole in the wall, sit on stools at crowded tables (I shared with 3 young and pleasant office guys who wanted to practice English), no napkins, no tea, I ordered the seaweed egg flower soup.
The soup dumplings with crab meat in Shanghai are sweet water crab meat, they taste special. I won't order them with crab meat in the US because it's salt water crab meat and doesn't taste good, besides it's a waste of money. Btw, my uncle was the general manager of Park Hotel in the 1940s before he came to the US. DM remembers big band dancing in the grand banquet hall.
Dec 16th, 2007, 08:13 PM
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One more shopping item to add --
Olympic Games souvenirs: When I was there in June last year,there were a couple of official souvenir shops selling a wide variety of stuff, we bought dozens of caps, T-shirts, bags, key-chains, pens, etc. Neither of the shops existed this year, I saw only key-chains and caps at the underground market next to the Science and Technology Centre.
LarryRGV, did you see any at the building on Nanjing Road you went with your wife?
Bait and Switch: Yes, it still exists so shop with caution. If you are interested in a certain item and the shopkeeper says it's for display and goes to the back of the shop to get you another one sealed in a bag, hold onto the original item and don't say anything till the other one in the bag arrives. Then say you want to buy the one in your hand and tell the shopkeeper to pull out the one from the bag as display. Be alert of your wallet or purse at all times.
Olympic Games souvenirs: When I was there in June last year,there were a couple of official souvenir shops selling a wide variety of stuff, we bought dozens of caps, T-shirts, bags, key-chains, pens, etc. Neither of the shops existed this year, I saw only key-chains and caps at the underground market next to the Science and Technology Centre.
LarryRGV, did you see any at the building on Nanjing Road you went with your wife?
Bait and Switch: Yes, it still exists so shop with caution. If you are interested in a certain item and the shopkeeper says it's for display and goes to the back of the shop to get you another one sealed in a bag, hold onto the original item and don't say anything till the other one in the bag arrives. Then say you want to buy the one in your hand and tell the shopkeeper to pull out the one from the bag as display. Be alert of your wallet or purse at all times.
Dec 18th, 2007, 06:31 AM
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Funny you ask about the olympic soveniers. We did see a couple early in the Shanghai trip but didn't buy them when we could, and later didn't see them at all but we didn't go back the first place as we figured we could always pick them up in our final stop, Hong Kong. In HK we searched all over for them and there were none at all.
Dec 28th, 2007, 05:25 PM
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Hi Shanghainese,
It's great to write to you now that we have met! Although you say you aren't good at writing trip reports, you actually are extremely good at it... too modest!
I had glanced at this report before but just read it again (and copied it into my trip notes). Great report!
I'll let you know which restaurants we visit and the results... most likely several more pounds! I think I gained at least a pound at lunch today.
TravelingGal - We are tentatively scheduled to be in Shanghai April 4-8 (still no definite plan, but getting closer every day to making reservations!). If you and your friends will be there at the same time maybe we can get together at one of Shanghainese's restaurant recommendations... the more the merrier for sampling dumplings and other wonderful things to eat.
It's great to write to you now that we have met! Although you say you aren't good at writing trip reports, you actually are extremely good at it... too modest!
I had glanced at this report before but just read it again (and copied it into my trip notes). Great report!
I'll let you know which restaurants we visit and the results... most likely several more pounds! I think I gained at least a pound at lunch today.
TravelingGal - We are tentatively scheduled to be in Shanghai April 4-8 (still no definite plan, but getting closer every day to making reservations!). If you and your friends will be there at the same time maybe we can get together at one of Shanghainese's restaurant recommendations... the more the merrier for sampling dumplings and other wonderful things to eat.
Jan 4th, 2008, 02:31 AM
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Hi Shanghainese, I rarely come on the asia board and wanted to ask a question. I have been for work to China Twice this year. I have only shopped in the Yu Gardens area this past trip and the Feng Xiang Gift market on Nanjing Road. I am usually working so much I cannot get away when the shops are open! What do you think of this shopping plaza...I think I did better in Beijuing with price and less hassle at the pearl market for clothes and jewellery.
I probably have been charged for tea towels etc but I cannot read chinese and just review the bill to make sure its not charged for extra meals etc. I ate in a lovely older style building in the French concession...I will check my cards as I had two wonderful meals here as well as a hot pot meal not far from the bund in Restaurant 789.
Can you reccomend any tailors or tailor market on the other side of the river? I will be staying near the stadium for work but can taxi it. Also a few people were aking where the best price and quality for cashmere was...any suggestions.
Just an FYI if you like your bedding I bought a stunning set in a shop near the french quarter. The lady had a little anglish (and myself even worse Chinese) but I bought a king size duver, shett 2 sq pillow cases and 2 regular as a set. It is lovely qquality and cotton...the styles are unusual lovely floral and nice colours. Mine was red and beige with large flowers on it. It looks stunning on the bed in Ireland...nothing in the shops like it here!
Thanks S
I probably have been charged for tea towels etc but I cannot read chinese and just review the bill to make sure its not charged for extra meals etc. I ate in a lovely older style building in the French concession...I will check my cards as I had two wonderful meals here as well as a hot pot meal not far from the bund in Restaurant 789.
Can you reccomend any tailors or tailor market on the other side of the river? I will be staying near the stadium for work but can taxi it. Also a few people were aking where the best price and quality for cashmere was...any suggestions.
Just an FYI if you like your bedding I bought a stunning set in a shop near the french quarter. The lady had a little anglish (and myself even worse Chinese) but I bought a king size duver, shett 2 sq pillow cases and 2 regular as a set. It is lovely qquality and cotton...the styles are unusual lovely floral and nice colours. Mine was red and beige with large flowers on it. It looks stunning on the bed in Ireland...nothing in the shops like it here!
Thanks S
Jan 4th, 2008, 08:26 PM
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SiobhanP -- Delighted to meet you here! I am a fan of your Ireland postings, so sensible and informative. We were planning to visit this year but our dear friends from Wicklow who lived in the U.S. for quite a few years decided to visit in March, guess the Euro is really strong nowadays.
Back to Shanghai. Are you staying in Pudong or Puxi? In Pudong, there are more than a dozen tailors at the underground market adjacent to the subway station at the Science & Technology Exhibit Centre, I haven't personally used them.
In the french concession I go to a tailor at the southwest corner of Yungjia Road by Yueyang Road, it is a clean, hole in the wall, the selection of fabric is not large. The tailor doesn't speak English but has a great sense of style and is easy to work with. I recommend you bring samples or pictures with you. Please tell him the shanghainese lady who went to grammar school on the next block and now lives in America sent you.
I haven't really come across good quality cashmere, most of them pill easily. Is the Feng Xiang gift market at 350 or 380 Nanjing Xi (west) Road near the JC Mandarin Hotel? If so I haven't been there but LarryRGV and his wife went there twice.
Your bedding set sounds fabulous, I want to go there, do you recall the location?
Back to Shanghai. Are you staying in Pudong or Puxi? In Pudong, there are more than a dozen tailors at the underground market adjacent to the subway station at the Science & Technology Exhibit Centre, I haven't personally used them.
In the french concession I go to a tailor at the southwest corner of Yungjia Road by Yueyang Road, it is a clean, hole in the wall, the selection of fabric is not large. The tailor doesn't speak English but has a great sense of style and is easy to work with. I recommend you bring samples or pictures with you. Please tell him the shanghainese lady who went to grammar school on the next block and now lives in America sent you.
I haven't really come across good quality cashmere, most of them pill easily. Is the Feng Xiang gift market at 350 or 380 Nanjing Xi (west) Road near the JC Mandarin Hotel? If so I haven't been there but LarryRGV and his wife went there twice.
Your bedding set sounds fabulous, I want to go there, do you recall the location?
Jan 6th, 2008, 06:58 PM
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SiobhaanP -- When are you going? Talked to my DS in Shanghai today and she said the tailor is closing shop the 2nd and 3rd weeks in Feb to spend the Chinese New Year with his family in his hometown.
Well, better late than never on continuing my post, and my apologies to Lia for not getting to this in 2007.
SIGHTS
Aside from the usual places, here are a few I recommend if you have some extra time, and if you have kids.
Jade Buddha Temple: This is in the northern part of Shanghai, a taxi can get you there easily. It's crowded during holidays and fetivals, otherwise a serene oasis in a bustling mega city. The life-size buddha came from Burma and is made of white jade, quite a sight to behold.
Parks: These are the best places to sit and people-watch the locals even if it's only for 20 minutes. The Renmin (people's) Park is big, my favorites are in the french concession, which have leafy trees and nice landscaping. Those include the Fuxi Park, Xiangyang Park and the Jingan Park across from the temple with the same name.
Boat rides: A boat ride at night on the river gives thrills to travelers of all ages. The highrises featuere mind boggling neon billboards, and colored searchlights light up the sky. If you don't have time for a boat ride, do walk along the Bund at night.
Taikang Antiques Market: On Sinan Road, treat it more as a place to stroll than to shop. The neat stores are housed in old shikumen houses similar to Xingtiandi, but not as precious and dolled up for the ultimate commercial consumption.
Shanghai Ocean Aquarium: It is a huge and well-designed place with an enormous amount of sea life. Kids will be delighted for hours and not want to leave.
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum: Another great attraction for kids, the hands-on exhibits are creative and educational, including nature and technoland.
Well, better late than never on continuing my post, and my apologies to Lia for not getting to this in 2007.
SIGHTS
Aside from the usual places, here are a few I recommend if you have some extra time, and if you have kids.
Jade Buddha Temple: This is in the northern part of Shanghai, a taxi can get you there easily. It's crowded during holidays and fetivals, otherwise a serene oasis in a bustling mega city. The life-size buddha came from Burma and is made of white jade, quite a sight to behold.
Parks: These are the best places to sit and people-watch the locals even if it's only for 20 minutes. The Renmin (people's) Park is big, my favorites are in the french concession, which have leafy trees and nice landscaping. Those include the Fuxi Park, Xiangyang Park and the Jingan Park across from the temple with the same name.
Boat rides: A boat ride at night on the river gives thrills to travelers of all ages. The highrises featuere mind boggling neon billboards, and colored searchlights light up the sky. If you don't have time for a boat ride, do walk along the Bund at night.
Taikang Antiques Market: On Sinan Road, treat it more as a place to stroll than to shop. The neat stores are housed in old shikumen houses similar to Xingtiandi, but not as precious and dolled up for the ultimate commercial consumption.
Shanghai Ocean Aquarium: It is a huge and well-designed place with an enormous amount of sea life. Kids will be delighted for hours and not want to leave.
Shanghai Science and Technology Museum: Another great attraction for kids, the hands-on exhibits are creative and educational, including nature and technoland.
Jan 7th, 2008, 12:30 AM
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Thanks so much for the info. I am going 1-11 March starting in beijing, then Xian and Shanghai for the last 3 days. Its all work but we have some free time on this trip between fairs. I am staying just beside the shanghai stadium the the regal east asia hotel. Not my first choice but it is near the fairs. I usually stay at the JC mandarin on Nan jing Rd. Its just ok in the rooms but handy for our offices and I can get a pizza across the road when I am hungry for some more western food. I ate only Chinese food for 10 days and was missing some western style food that is not from the hotel. Every country makes their own Pizza on the room service menu and its never that nice....I always go down a few pounds from eating more healthy chinese food!
The market we went to was the Is the Feng Xiang gift market. Its ok and harder on my own...one girl was wrecking my head as she kept pulling my arm to bring me back in and I thought its not worth the haggling. I get tired going alone haggling. When an Irish group go we tend to do better as we haggle as a group and have fun with the traders and they always end up with a sale from one of us. I also do not want to Drag my Chinese friend all over as she is wonderful aand we get Chinese prices when she buys something as well (they hate me when I buy the same item as its not a big profit. Poor woman was fuming in the pearl market when she took me to a place she bought a cute sweater as she had to charge the same price (4 euro!)
Thanks for the tailor I wil check it out. What types of items do you have made here? I can bring my friend with me. I had a stunning QiPao made and velvet shoulder cape at QinYi in the shqnghai centre. It cost me a packet but is so stunning and I love it. I had 3 fittings and it is perfect and good quality but I paid for that
I will look up the box in my room the bedding came in. It was really lovely design and quality. They also were making feather duvets in the back room. Its not far from the french concession and near a H&M shop. I will have a look at the map.
Any other tips or interesing places to go in the evenings would be great. We will be in a group of Irish people as we do this trip each year. We were at the opening of ireland week in Shanghai and brought along to make up the numbers. It was lovely as they had irtish music and dancing outdoors (We froze!) and one of the ladies in ou5r group actually knew the two musicians from Ireland....small world!
The market we went to was the Is the Feng Xiang gift market. Its ok and harder on my own...one girl was wrecking my head as she kept pulling my arm to bring me back in and I thought its not worth the haggling. I get tired going alone haggling. When an Irish group go we tend to do better as we haggle as a group and have fun with the traders and they always end up with a sale from one of us. I also do not want to Drag my Chinese friend all over as she is wonderful aand we get Chinese prices when she buys something as well (they hate me when I buy the same item as its not a big profit. Poor woman was fuming in the pearl market when she took me to a place she bought a cute sweater as she had to charge the same price (4 euro!)
Thanks for the tailor I wil check it out. What types of items do you have made here? I can bring my friend with me. I had a stunning QiPao made and velvet shoulder cape at QinYi in the shqnghai centre. It cost me a packet but is so stunning and I love it. I had 3 fittings and it is perfect and good quality but I paid for that
I will look up the box in my room the bedding came in. It was really lovely design and quality. They also were making feather duvets in the back room. Its not far from the french concession and near a H&M shop. I will have a look at the map.
Any other tips or interesing places to go in the evenings would be great. We will be in a group of Irish people as we do this trip each year. We were at the opening of ireland week in Shanghai and brought along to make up the numbers. It was lovely as they had irtish music and dancing outdoors (We froze!) and one of the ladies in ou5r group actually knew the two musicians from Ireland....small world!
Jan 8th, 2008, 11:46 AM
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I have several qipao's that are decades old my DM gave me so I have enough. I usually get blouses, jackets, pants and skirts made, all with samples I bring from the US, also had a trench coat copied.
I don't go out a lot in the evenings except for dinners, after that I watch chinese TV with my family/relatives. Isn't O'Malley's Pub the "IT" place for Irish expats?
I don't go out a lot in the evenings except for dinners, after that I watch chinese TV with my family/relatives. Isn't O'Malley's Pub the "IT" place for Irish expats?
