China Bucketlist

Shanghai is one of the biggest cities in China and famed for its French architecture and cosmopolitan status. While it is easy to cover the major sights in one day if you really try, it would be a shame not to give Shanghai a proper chance. To be fair, it took me quite a while to put together a good itinerary because the city is big and full of cool things to do!

I have stayed in almost all the Sheraton in most part of the world and I am tempt to mention the best stay was in Sheraton Grand Shanghai Pudong hotel. A suite with king size bed labelled with fluffy pillow from where no one want to snug their nose out.

To the right we had an amazing window view of the Nanpu bridge and local traffic. With night creeping in specially on weekend the whole city alive with John Denver's song resonating in my head, 'and your love in my life is like heaven to me, like the breezes here in old Shanghai'

The bathroom was another spectacular section. It was so vast which felt like but another drawing room. I use to spend half my day circling around the bath tub while on phone. The instagram was not much of craze those days else i would have shot my pics including me smothered in bubble bath overlooking the window and its amazing Shanghai view.

Coming to the lounge every evening was yet another experience. You don't feel alone if your hubby is working a lot. The lounge have many tea options to taste with the view of Oriental pearl towers and Financial district. The evening was another treat to delight your taste buds with choice of dim sums, spring rolls, desserts and drinks. I swear i never had to buy food from outside.

THINGS TO DO

Before you embark on your journey you will need to do the following things.

Install translator app. You will not meet a single English speaking person neither any billboard or restaurants with your English characters. The main streets name are bit difficult to pronounce but after a few errands through the city, you will remember everything. If required learn few Chinese terms like Nihao(hello), Duo shao(how much), Qian(money) to enable you communicate well. You can check for some more Chinese phrases.

The best and cheap mode; faster than Uber, is the Shanghai Metro. Skip the cabs and install shanghai metro map.
It’s essential to get a VPN in China if you need to access Google, Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube – basically, all your usual hangouts. There are many free ones on the market but they aren’t very good. Most people use Express VPN, which costs around 12.75 USD for a month but can get you watching Netflix and using everything at top speed.
Chinese food in China tastes nothing like the Chinese food we’re used to eating in the Western world. A lot of the food is either really bland or really unusually spiced, or made with parts of animals we could never in a million years fathom eating. So make sure you pick the right restaurant without hurting your appetite.
In touristy places many people will try to approach and sell you duplicate luxury products like Rolex watch, Michael Kors bag and Prada shoes at a very very low price. They will lead you to shady place telling you the shops are there. Don't get carried away just avoid buying from them.
Try to avoid young, friendly people wanting to engage in a conversation with you asking you to join them for a cup of tea or coffee. After sampling some tea or coffee, the scammer will hit you with a bill that is much more expensive than it should be and that you were expecting (sometimes into the thousands of RMB). They will not let you leave until you pay and things can get unsafe very quickly.

PUDONG

We start our day with complimentary breakfast at the hotel. Making it quick since we pinned down Pudong to start with. Taking metro from Tangqia station which was at a walking distance from our hotel we got down at Donchang road. Coming out of the station we were appalled with huge array of attractive buildings ahead.

Also know as Lujiazui, Pudong is located directly across from the Bund on the banks of the Huangpu River and it’s home to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Jin Mao Tower, the Shanghai World Financial Center, and the Shanghai Tower. Walk the circular pedestrian walkway from where you can get a great view of the Oriental Pearl Tower here.

IFC MALL

Great place to walk over the street bridge and get a panaroma view of Pudong street with Shanghai building and other towers embracing the surrounding like guardians. We came here twice once for fine dinning experience and second to watch a movie. With lot of international brands available here i was glad to try few Mac cosmetics and perfumes.

NANJING ROAD

You never return from Shanghai without doing two major things: Walking the Great wall of China and visiting the numerous flea markets. Shopping in Shanghai is like being in Paris of the East, where anything you imagine is available here. And to top it you can take the liberty of bargaining in small markets and get yourself stuffs at price as low as 10RMB. Boarding metro from Dongchang we got down at People's Square and walked few distance towards Nanjing road, China's famous shopping street. It is a must see metropolitan destination attracting thousands of fashion seeking shoppers from all over the world.

Though we had lot of trouble communicating I was using their calculator to show the price i want to deal in. Math is surely a universal language!

It was fun in haggling and bargaining which remind me of Indian local markets where i never failed to spark an argument with vegetable vendors.

For temple lovers you can take metro from People's square to Jing'an temple station. Hardly two minutes walk from the station this temple is worth looking around. Because we were little exhausted and hungry our belly was yelling, lunch, lunch, lunch. We skipped the metro this time, instead hop in Uber for Tianzifang market.

TIANZIFANG

Our close friend had recommend a famous Indian restaurant here, Lotus land and we decided to give it a try. You can reach here by metro too the nearest station being Dupaqiao. The ambiance really gave us a feel of not feeling alien in foreign land. With friendly host and menu we choose prawn biryani and masala chai.

Once we were satiated and exit the door with a satisfying burp we were energetic enough to explore the market now.

The most famous Shikumen area in Shanghai, Tianzifang is a cluster of 200 odd shops and restaurants clustered in the maze-like streets of an old residential neighborhood-turn-tourist-district. Comprising of multitude of restaurants, bars, cafes, art studios, and boutique stores it is also known as Taikang Road which was once a part of French concession. For art lovers you will fall in love with every lane in this market.

THE BUND

In the evening we took Line 2 to the Bund, symbol of Shanghai famous for European style buildings, overlooking the Huangpu river is the most touristy place. You can come here for fancy dinning experience with some very good bars. A great number of designer brands are dotted along the Bund including, Giorgio Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Cartier, Ermenegildo Zegna, Prada with a number of domestic brand shops offering anything from handcrafted silk slippers to porcelain tableware and antique woods. Bund18 and Three on the Bund are some examples of developments that offer a classy shopping experience. Subway is also a good choice, fast and convenient.

Without a doubt, one of the highlights to visit to Shanghai is seeing the city skyline all lit up at night.

There are lots of rooftop bars that offer great dining options with view. We tried M on the bund, where I celebrated my 29th birthday. I could clearly enjoy the night view from the large old fashioned window. We had crabs and pasta along with red wine to go followed lately by a dessert and a candle to be blown.

To make the most of the nightlife I will suggest to go on a cruise along the Huang Pu River and The Bund, which is the waterway that runs through the city. The cruises are cheap (around $6 or so) and you can buy tickets from the booths at the southern end of the Bund promenade and enjoy the Shanghai skyline with gleaming Huanpu river flowing below.

DAY 2

YUYUAN MARKET

If you want to see the more traditional side of Shanghai, visit the Yuyuan Market which is full of little alleyways dotted with fishmongers and local markets. A few minutes walking distance from Yuyuan Garden station you will start seeing a lot of red around the area. The color red represents an evil-free condition, stands for happiness, good fortune and protection. It’s also the reason why red colors is in most of the important Chinese occasions. In this market you will find lots of traditional items, crafts, tea etc. At night it’s very colorful everything lit up in true Chinese style.

Inside the market is the Yuyuan or Yu Garden, which is the perfect embodiment of Chinese architectural style. Yu Garden was built 400 years ago by a private owner, Pan Yunduan, for his parents to spend their remaining days in peace.

LONGHUA TEMPLE

From Yuyuan we took metro to South Shanxi road and change here for Longhua station.Being a bit religious and lot of curiosity in Buddhism i made it a priority to visit the Longhua Temple. Dedicated to the Maitreya Buddha, it is the oldest temple in Shanghai. Its main attraction is the Evening Bell-Striking Ceremony on 31st December. Welcoming the New Year in the melodious, heavenly sound of the bell is an interesting and memorable experience. In late spring Longhua temple becomes a beautiful sight with peach blossoms.

TEA TASTING

We toast the evening in traditional way with Tea Tasting. So we asked a common friend of ours for recommendation and went for local tea experience. Located two miles from People's Square, the name of the stall which i couldn't remember, we were greeted by a lady dressed in Kimono. She made us sit in a tiny room with variety of tea jars kept on display infront of us. We had more than five types of tea that evening with immense history behind each flavor.

SUSHI IN DINNER

For dinner we picked up Sun in Aqua restaurant located in the Bund. We could not just leave Shanghai without tasting their signature meal. While the ambiance really gave us luxury feel the service super grand. We had the sushi sample platter and hot sake for the night.

BAR ROUGUE
We end the night with some hard rock vibes in Bar rouge.

DAY 3

TRAIN TO BEIJING

No introduction need to be given for the high speed bullet train in China. We traveled to Beijing from Shanghai in just 4.5hrs with an average speed of 480km/hr. The speed though have been reduced to 300km/hr today. We are lucky to ride the fastest train in life.

GREAT WALL OF CHINA

The Great Wall of China is one of the greatest sights in the world — the longest wall in the world, an awe-inspiring feat of ancient defensive architecture. Its winding path over rugged country and steep mountains takes in some great scenery. The "Long Wall" has a long history — more than 2,300 years. It was built in different areas by different states/dynasties to protect different territorial borders. There are basically four roads to start climbing the wall. some choose to hike some take short route. You can check in detail our trip here.

FORBIDDEN PALACE

Constructed in 1420, during the early Ming Dynasty, it is China's best-preserved imperial palace, and the largest ancient palatial structure in the with grand halls and walls displaying the essence of traditional Chinese architecture.

In ancient times, the emperor was said to be a son of Heaven, and therefore Heaven’s supreme power was bestowed upon him. The emperors’ residence was built leading north, as an earthly foil to the heavenly Purple Palace, i.e. the North Star, though to be home to the Celestial Emperor.

Considered a divine place, it was certainly forbidden to ordinary people and that is why the Forbidden City is so named.

WANGFUZING SNACK STREET

This market i had pinned on my google map just to have a look at all sort of food people can eat here. I had no intention to dine here but just ventured inside to discover a different world of food. They had food stalls selling skewered scorpions, sea horses and star fishes.

Skewered sugar-coated haws are sold alluring eaters in and out. Pineapple rice and cakes were other main dishes here. You don't need a guide to discover this market. You can walk here alone comfortably with many eye opener food stalls.

You will find many souvenir stores also with miniature dolls worth buying and creating collections.

PEKING DUCK IN DINNER

Ani's ex-colleague who happened to be a resident in Beijing; insist to take us for dinner to give us the taste of China's core food, Peking Duck. Like no China trip is ever complete without climbing the China wall, it is also incomplete without tasting its signature dish. The Sijiminfu roast duck restaurant welcomed us with fresh dates laid on a plate of ice cubes(to preserve its colour) and a menu big enough to cover me up.

Minutes later the chef brought the hot roast duck to our table where he slice the roasted duck into more than 100 thin flakes, with crispy skin. I was about to thrust my fork in it when his collegue stopped me, 'this is not how you eat'.

He took pride in displaying the method taking one of the pancakes provided, spreading it with plum sauce, small slices of spring onions, sugar for sweetness and then pieces of duck. Rolling it up he hand it to me, 'here you go'. That remind me of Indian Kissan ketchup parantha roll ad.

--OTHER THINGS TO DO--

With that in mind, here are a couple of activities I highly recommend for soaking up the city’s culture and atmosphere

-The Shanghai Museum, located in People’s Square, is excellent if you want to learn about traditional ceramics, furniture, jade, coins, paintings and so on.

-Visit pet market in Dongtai-Lu-Market in Shanghai

-Shop in Xintiandi market in Shanghai. Once part of the French Concession, Shanghai Xintiandi is an area offering historical and cultural style, the integration of Chinese and Western urban tourist attractions, it is the symbol of the modern “Shikumen” construction, a popular building style of the 1800’s Shanghai. The area is divided into a north and south section by Xingye Lu and in the north you’ll find more historical buildings hosting many international cuisine restaurants and in the south a modern recreation of Shikumen style offering shopping, boutiques and dining.

-Adopt a pet from pets market. Just opposite the Dongtai Lu antiques market is the famous street lined up many local pet markets. From earth worms to insects, from cats till dogs, from birds till fish i guess it got worldwide option to adopt them or buy them. You can get down at Laoximen station and walk up straight to reach the place.

It is restricted not only to pets but also had a whole stock of decorative terrarium, wax agave, dessert rose and many succulent plants to be bought and delight your indoor space.