Incomparable China: Urban/Rural & Islands
Mar 18th, 2013, 05:00 PM
#64
Day 17: Shanghai
Ah, the bliss of a day on our own, not that we didn’t enjoy our guides, but we’re independent travelers at heart. We really didn’t want to do a lot of sights, but just wanted to walk around and experience some of Shanghai.
We set off for the Shanghai Museum, about a 30 minute walk west of our hotel and spent maybe two hours there. Then, I wanted to get to the French Concession and just wander around shopping. By now though, my feet were aching, so we did grab a taxi to take us near to Xintiandi so we could sample dumplings at Din Tai Fung. I say “near” because I didn’t have the address written in Chinese characters which is essential if you want to get somewhere specific in a taxi. Even arriving at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon, we had a 30 minute wait at this famous, if expensive, dumpling house located inside a mall. We ordered too much, several portions of pork and hairy crab dumplings, wan ton soup and springs rolls...so the bill came to about $40 for these excellent soup type dumplings and accoutrements.
The shopping around there looked too much like home, so we grabbed another taxi to the more atmospheric Taikang Lu neighborhood, where you wander around narrow, twisty lanes with low hanging electrical wires looking at little boutiques and junky shops crowded with the rest of affluent Shanghainese enjoying their Saturday. I wanted to check out some previously recommended shops like Pling Palang and Pure, but didn’t buy anything...too expensive and nothing called out to me.
So, we started walking back along Sinan Road admiring some of the old mansions, now partially obscured by road construction, and saw Zhou Enlai’s house from the outside. It was starting to get dark ( this is the end of October), so we grabbed a taxi (harder than it sounds because you have to be standing in exactly the right spot) to call it a sightseeing day. Ah, but the seductive lights of the Bund/Pudong still beckoned.
The night began with cocktails in the historic Long Bar of the Waldorf Astoria, a very dark wood, clubby type atmosphere that evoked the 20‘s and we were lucky to get a table near the windows overlooking the river, which is where the well-connected were allowed to sit back in the day. The lobby of the hotel was very elegant.
Tonight, we dined at Mercato on the Bund, which is an Italian restaurant owned by three-starred Michelin chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The atmosphere was very hip & trendy, but the tables were very close together. We had a very thin crust pizza and lobster ravioli, all very good but not exceptional, and an excellent espresso affogato sundae. We were seated in the middle of the room so couldn’t really get the view across to Pudong.
Since we normally live in FL, it’s fun to have a vibrant, exciting city to visit for a change.
Ah, the bliss of a day on our own, not that we didn’t enjoy our guides, but we’re independent travelers at heart. We really didn’t want to do a lot of sights, but just wanted to walk around and experience some of Shanghai.
We set off for the Shanghai Museum, about a 30 minute walk west of our hotel and spent maybe two hours there. Then, I wanted to get to the French Concession and just wander around shopping. By now though, my feet were aching, so we did grab a taxi to take us near to Xintiandi so we could sample dumplings at Din Tai Fung. I say “near” because I didn’t have the address written in Chinese characters which is essential if you want to get somewhere specific in a taxi. Even arriving at 2pm on a Saturday afternoon, we had a 30 minute wait at this famous, if expensive, dumpling house located inside a mall. We ordered too much, several portions of pork and hairy crab dumplings, wan ton soup and springs rolls...so the bill came to about $40 for these excellent soup type dumplings and accoutrements.
The shopping around there looked too much like home, so we grabbed another taxi to the more atmospheric Taikang Lu neighborhood, where you wander around narrow, twisty lanes with low hanging electrical wires looking at little boutiques and junky shops crowded with the rest of affluent Shanghainese enjoying their Saturday. I wanted to check out some previously recommended shops like Pling Palang and Pure, but didn’t buy anything...too expensive and nothing called out to me.
So, we started walking back along Sinan Road admiring some of the old mansions, now partially obscured by road construction, and saw Zhou Enlai’s house from the outside. It was starting to get dark ( this is the end of October), so we grabbed a taxi (harder than it sounds because you have to be standing in exactly the right spot) to call it a sightseeing day. Ah, but the seductive lights of the Bund/Pudong still beckoned.
The night began with cocktails in the historic Long Bar of the Waldorf Astoria, a very dark wood, clubby type atmosphere that evoked the 20‘s and we were lucky to get a table near the windows overlooking the river, which is where the well-connected were allowed to sit back in the day. The lobby of the hotel was very elegant.
Tonight, we dined at Mercato on the Bund, which is an Italian restaurant owned by three-starred Michelin chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The atmosphere was very hip & trendy, but the tables were very close together. We had a very thin crust pizza and lobster ravioli, all very good but not exceptional, and an excellent espresso affogato sundae. We were seated in the middle of the room so couldn’t really get the view across to Pudong.
Since we normally live in FL, it’s fun to have a vibrant, exciting city to visit for a change.
Mar 19th, 2013, 03:47 AM
#66
Day 18: Shanghai
This morning we took the ferry across the river to Pudong and walked to the Shanghai World Trade Center (aka the Bottle Opener Building) to take in the view from the world’s highest observation deck on the 100th floor. The smog cooperated and we were able to get a pretty good view of Shanghai from up high. I liked looking at all the tight rows of different colored apartment roofs which reminded me of Monopoly pieces, the intriguing architecture of various skyscrapers, and the curving bend of the Huangpu River....now I just picture 13,000 dead hogs floating down it, courtesy of recent news reports of northern farmers dumping their sick pigs.
We then walked to find the subway station that would take us back close to the French Concession area. While sitting underground at People’s Square, trying to figure out which connecting line to take, the cutest little preppy smiling boy plopped down next to me on the bench and asked in perfect English where we wanted to go. Kevin proceeded to tell us his favorite subject was English, he thought a D was a bad grade, and that he was in 2nd grade. I can’t imagine a similar experience happening to a Chinese tourist in New York....what 2nd grader Anglo-American would speak perfect Mandarin? When his father appeared, Kevin asked him to take our photo with him....too cute.
We found our way to Xintiandi again hoping for a Western lunch....I know, it’s shameless. We came upon Kabb’s, crowded with Sunday brunch outside diners, but it was cooler today, upper 50’s to low 60’s so opted to devour our burger and Mimosa inside. Today, we checked out these shops but only bought a few small items. Then, we walked on to Fuxing Park to observe Sunday in the Park with locals. Such a variety of activities going on, from children rollerblading around a fountain, to adults ballroom dancing in what looked like pajamas, to others practicing their spinning plates routine, playing badminton without nets, and of course, men playing card games or checkers.
I made one final shopping stop at a must-see, Suzhou Cobblers, just off the Bund, which makes handmade silk shoes in cute and colorful Chinese styles and bought a pair of flats.
Tonight, we started the night with cocktails at at the Glamour Bar, below M on the Bund restaurant, with a window view of Pudong and the river. Then, we enjoyed one of the best dinners of our trip at Lost Heaven, which specializes in Yunnan cuisine from the Tea Horse Trail with a dark and exotic decor with heavy wood furniture. We had a Yunnan wild vegetable cake, jicory mushrooms with vegetable salad, spicy cod steamed in banana leaf (too many bones) and simmered vegetables in a Tamarind sauce....all excellent! I sure didn’t experience this quality of food while we were in Yunnan.
This morning we took the ferry across the river to Pudong and walked to the Shanghai World Trade Center (aka the Bottle Opener Building) to take in the view from the world’s highest observation deck on the 100th floor. The smog cooperated and we were able to get a pretty good view of Shanghai from up high. I liked looking at all the tight rows of different colored apartment roofs which reminded me of Monopoly pieces, the intriguing architecture of various skyscrapers, and the curving bend of the Huangpu River....now I just picture 13,000 dead hogs floating down it, courtesy of recent news reports of northern farmers dumping their sick pigs.
We then walked to find the subway station that would take us back close to the French Concession area. While sitting underground at People’s Square, trying to figure out which connecting line to take, the cutest little preppy smiling boy plopped down next to me on the bench and asked in perfect English where we wanted to go. Kevin proceeded to tell us his favorite subject was English, he thought a D was a bad grade, and that he was in 2nd grade. I can’t imagine a similar experience happening to a Chinese tourist in New York....what 2nd grader Anglo-American would speak perfect Mandarin? When his father appeared, Kevin asked him to take our photo with him....too cute.
We found our way to Xintiandi again hoping for a Western lunch....I know, it’s shameless. We came upon Kabb’s, crowded with Sunday brunch outside diners, but it was cooler today, upper 50’s to low 60’s so opted to devour our burger and Mimosa inside. Today, we checked out these shops but only bought a few small items. Then, we walked on to Fuxing Park to observe Sunday in the Park with locals. Such a variety of activities going on, from children rollerblading around a fountain, to adults ballroom dancing in what looked like pajamas, to others practicing their spinning plates routine, playing badminton without nets, and of course, men playing card games or checkers.
I made one final shopping stop at a must-see, Suzhou Cobblers, just off the Bund, which makes handmade silk shoes in cute and colorful Chinese styles and bought a pair of flats.
Tonight, we started the night with cocktails at at the Glamour Bar, below M on the Bund restaurant, with a window view of Pudong and the river. Then, we enjoyed one of the best dinners of our trip at Lost Heaven, which specializes in Yunnan cuisine from the Tea Horse Trail with a dark and exotic decor with heavy wood furniture. We had a Yunnan wild vegetable cake, jicory mushrooms with vegetable salad, spicy cod steamed in banana leaf (too many bones) and simmered vegetables in a Tamarind sauce....all excellent! I sure didn’t experience this quality of food while we were in Yunnan.
Mar 19th, 2013, 09:50 AM
#68
Shanghainese & dgunbug, Thanks for still reading!
Day 18: Tongli & Suzhou
Bob, our guide, picked us up at 9a for the 1 1/2 hour drive to the historic water town of Tongli. We wandered through the old streets, up and down the small stone bridges, and snapped many photos in this charming, small town. Then, we got on a little wooden boat and a woman poled us through the narrow canals...very atmospheric.
A set lunch was served in an ancient, wooden tea house...a delicious pork shoulder dish that the town is known for (the few non-fatty pieces were so tender and flavorful), grilled shrimp, chicken and peanut stir fry, a Chinese celery dish, a cabbage stir fry, tasty thin bread sprinkled with sesame seeds, and for dessert, a dish of longan fruit, which you easily peel to reveal a lychee or grape-like fruit center. I should mention that all of the lunches we had when touring with China Highlights were included in the price and most were very good and featured local food.
After lunch, we drove another 45 minutes to Suzhou, today a large city with 6 million people. We were handed off to a rickshaw driver and I didn’t like the first 1/4 of the ride because it was through busy city traffic (almost got hit by a bus) until we could turn off onto the old town lanes. I actually would have preferred to walk along this street because there appeared to be some interesting crafts and clothing shops. There were also several models being photographed, and our rickshaw driver actually knocked down a young woman with a huge camera lens who I think stepped back and he clipped her. He asked if she was OK, but it still looked like a bad fall.
About 40 minutes later, we met up with Bob at the entrance to the acclaimed Humble Administrator’s Garden, a huge complex with different rockeries, pools, crooked bridges and pavilions that’s a UNESCO heritage site and considered to be the finest garden in southern China. It was originally built in the 1500’s. My favorite spot was a building with windows of various shades of blue colored glass. The garden was pretty crowded and seemed to have several high school tour groups. I think Bob told them my husband was a US rock star (well, he was wearing a hoodie) because a lot of giggling girls suddenly wanted to have their picture taken with him...he loved the attention! It took about 2 hours to drive back to Shanghai and we returned at 5:30. Although I enjoyed the day, I could’ve skipped the time spent driving and spent more time in Shanghai.
For our final night in Shanghai, we ate at Mr. & Mrs. Bund, a French restaurant with a hip & trendy vibe...the wine list is brought out on an I-pad. We requested and received a window table so we could again enjoy the evening light show. I never tired of watching the side of the Citibank building constantly changing it’s colorful images, or the Pearl TV tower that looks like something out of the Jetson’s morphing into different shapes and colors, or the tourist river boats changing from blue to pink to green to pirate ship or wedding cake. Inside the restaurant, several birthdays caused the lights to dim, a disco birthday song to play and sparking candles carried out by the wait staff. Our food was excellent: tuna mousse in a can as an amuse bouche, French bread, scallops, pork chops, and Chocolate Liegeois ice cream. Truly, a great end to a fun Shanghai experience.
My regrets...that I didn’t discover where the interesting shopping was...and I don’t mean high-end designer shops which were rampant. That my husband didn’t find a cricket basket, which he read about in “Years of Red Dust” by Qiu Xiaolong, a recommended book of short stories about life in Shanghai from1949-1990’s. He was bemused by the whole concept of cricket fighting matches. We might have found one in the streets around Yuyuan Garden, but we skipped the garden because of visiting the one in Suzhou.
I'll post the link to photos from Shanghai shortly.
Next: A vacation from our vacation... Sanya, Hainan Island
Day 18: Tongli & Suzhou
Bob, our guide, picked us up at 9a for the 1 1/2 hour drive to the historic water town of Tongli. We wandered through the old streets, up and down the small stone bridges, and snapped many photos in this charming, small town. Then, we got on a little wooden boat and a woman poled us through the narrow canals...very atmospheric.
A set lunch was served in an ancient, wooden tea house...a delicious pork shoulder dish that the town is known for (the few non-fatty pieces were so tender and flavorful), grilled shrimp, chicken and peanut stir fry, a Chinese celery dish, a cabbage stir fry, tasty thin bread sprinkled with sesame seeds, and for dessert, a dish of longan fruit, which you easily peel to reveal a lychee or grape-like fruit center. I should mention that all of the lunches we had when touring with China Highlights were included in the price and most were very good and featured local food.
After lunch, we drove another 45 minutes to Suzhou, today a large city with 6 million people. We were handed off to a rickshaw driver and I didn’t like the first 1/4 of the ride because it was through busy city traffic (almost got hit by a bus) until we could turn off onto the old town lanes. I actually would have preferred to walk along this street because there appeared to be some interesting crafts and clothing shops. There were also several models being photographed, and our rickshaw driver actually knocked down a young woman with a huge camera lens who I think stepped back and he clipped her. He asked if she was OK, but it still looked like a bad fall.
About 40 minutes later, we met up with Bob at the entrance to the acclaimed Humble Administrator’s Garden, a huge complex with different rockeries, pools, crooked bridges and pavilions that’s a UNESCO heritage site and considered to be the finest garden in southern China. It was originally built in the 1500’s. My favorite spot was a building with windows of various shades of blue colored glass. The garden was pretty crowded and seemed to have several high school tour groups. I think Bob told them my husband was a US rock star (well, he was wearing a hoodie) because a lot of giggling girls suddenly wanted to have their picture taken with him...he loved the attention! It took about 2 hours to drive back to Shanghai and we returned at 5:30. Although I enjoyed the day, I could’ve skipped the time spent driving and spent more time in Shanghai.
For our final night in Shanghai, we ate at Mr. & Mrs. Bund, a French restaurant with a hip & trendy vibe...the wine list is brought out on an I-pad. We requested and received a window table so we could again enjoy the evening light show. I never tired of watching the side of the Citibank building constantly changing it’s colorful images, or the Pearl TV tower that looks like something out of the Jetson’s morphing into different shapes and colors, or the tourist river boats changing from blue to pink to green to pirate ship or wedding cake. Inside the restaurant, several birthdays caused the lights to dim, a disco birthday song to play and sparking candles carried out by the wait staff. Our food was excellent: tuna mousse in a can as an amuse bouche, French bread, scallops, pork chops, and Chocolate Liegeois ice cream. Truly, a great end to a fun Shanghai experience.
My regrets...that I didn’t discover where the interesting shopping was...and I don’t mean high-end designer shops which were rampant. That my husband didn’t find a cricket basket, which he read about in “Years of Red Dust” by Qiu Xiaolong, a recommended book of short stories about life in Shanghai from1949-1990’s. He was bemused by the whole concept of cricket fighting matches. We might have found one in the streets around Yuyuan Garden, but we skipped the garden because of visiting the one in Suzhou.
I'll post the link to photos from Shanghai shortly.
Next: A vacation from our vacation... Sanya, Hainan Island
Mar 19th, 2013, 06:34 PM
#69
One question I've been meaning to ask others who've been to China...did you find that the transaction fees for ATM debit cards were unusually high compared to other countries? it seemed like it to me.
Mar 19th, 2013, 07:56 PM
#71
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Don't know that they were especially high, but entrance fees to most places were very high for foreigners. Lucky that my husband turned 70 just before getting to china as he was able to enter most attractions free of charge!
Mar 20th, 2013, 06:27 AM
#72
Here's the link to photos from Shanghai, Tongli and Suzhou.
http://barefootbeach.smugmug.com/Tra...8515577_hnrgsC
http://barefootbeach.smugmug.com/Tra...8515577_hnrgsC
Mar 21st, 2013, 01:00 PM
#75
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Lovely photos. For interesting shopping, I don't know what you are interested in, there is not much bargain shopping anymore, you pay less but get poor quality, the city is filled with middle-class who live well.
Mar 21st, 2013, 07:21 PM
#76
JuliannPM,
I posted some remarks on your question about Beijing.
Shanghainese, I think part of the problem was that I wasn't in a shopping mood...but I love my silk flats from Suzhou Cobblers!
Thanks too for recommending that book "Life & Death in Shanghai", which I'm only now reading...it's so hard to reconcile what happened then with the people that we met today. I couldn't help but look at others who are slightly older than me and wonder...were you one of the Red Guards that carried out such destruction?
I posted some remarks on your question about Beijing.
Shanghainese, I think part of the problem was that I wasn't in a shopping mood...but I love my silk flats from Suzhou Cobblers!
Thanks too for recommending that book "Life & Death in Shanghai", which I'm only now reading...it's so hard to reconcile what happened then with the people that we met today. I couldn't help but look at others who are slightly older than me and wonder...were you one of the Red Guards that carried out such destruction?
Mar 22nd, 2013, 03:21 PM
#78
that's true...teenagers are generally too immature to think logically and for themselves and are very susceptible to having their unbridled energy and raging hormones used as pawns in carrying out political leaders' twisted agendas.
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