City of Shanghai
Shanghai is the most populous and cosmopolitan city in China.
Personally I find that Shanghai is a very interesting city, I really like this city because there are so many things to see and do in Shanghai, it is also a city full of contrasts, especially architectural ones.
The choice of hotel in Shanghai is essential, because walking is the best way for me to discover Shanghai.
Personally I stayed at the SSAW Boutique Hotel Shanghai Bund, this hotel is very well located on the edge of the old and the modern city, it is very clean, modern and very well placed geographically with a very good breakfast lunch.
Affordable prices it takes about between 80 to 100 euros per night. See the link.
Going around
First of all the thing to avoid the most in Shanghai is to drive anything, a car, a motorbike or even a bicycle, because the traffic in Shanghai is absolutely terrible.
For those who find traffic in Paris a nightmare, Shanghai is 10 times worse.
In Shanghai the interpretation of the highway code is really very personal to everyone, do not rely on red lights to cross a street, always keep an eye out for a possible car, moped or even a bicycle, the rule in Shanghai is that there are no rules.
The best way to visit Shanghai is still on foot, public transport or even taxis which are very affordable.
The Maglev
For speed lovers there is the very high speed train which leaves from the financial district of Shanghai to the airport covering 30kms in 7 minutes with a top speed of 431km/h.
I couldn’t resist trying it, in terms of sensations to be honest you absolutely don’t feel that you are at 431km/h, it’s just for the record. But it’s worth it for the fun of trying.
S’orienter
Malgré la taille de la ville de plus de 26 millions d’habitants, s’orienter à Shanghai est très facile.
Au nord il y a NANJING West and East en rouge sur la carte et le ZHONGSHAN East road (le Bund) en vert et à l’ouest il y a la french concession.
what to see in Shanghai
There are so many things to see in Shanghai that you would have to stay almost a month, but having only stayed a week, you had to make choices, but I definitely intend to go there return to complete the Shanghai tour.
First of all there is old Shanghai and its absolutely super interesting and really typical markets, you can find everything there, from crayfish to 100-year-old eggs, including live eels, live chickens and everything kind of fish and you can even find clothes there.
Personally, I love these typical markets where you can find anything and everything.
The old Shanghai and the markets
The Jiuxiaochang street
This street is really very interesting, it is not very far from the YU garden, in fact I recommend taking it to get to the YU garden. It can be seen day and night. There are also jewelry stores, stone stores (quartz or jade), electronics etc…. it’s kind of a big mess.
The architecture of the buildings is absolutely very interesting and at night it gives another perspective of this typical Chinese architecture.
The Bund
The bund (ZHONGSHAN east number 1) is located east of Shanghai between Nanjing east road and Renmin road along the Huangpu river.
The Bund dates from the colonial period of the West in China, which began with the English at the time of the Opium Wars, in the 1860s until the 1930s.
There are 52 buildings, with different architectural styles specific to each period in the history of the colonizing countries.
These buildings housed or still house banks, hotels, offices etc…..
The Pudong
Pudong is on the other side of the Huangpu River. Famous for its famous tower called the Oriental Pearl, with its 468 meters high the tower houses a hotel with 20 rooms, a panoramic restaurant and of course a 118 meter antenna for television and radio programs.
Construction of the tower began in 1991 and ended in 1994, between 1994 and 2007 the tower was the tallest structure in China.
Pudong means literally, east of the banks of the Huangpu River, originally there were farms, sheds and ports, in 1993 the Chinese government decided to develop an economic zone, it this is how Pudong became the business district of Shanghai, it is also in Pudong that the Shanghai Stock Exchange is located.
Eating in Shanghai
The cuisine in Shanghai is completely different from the cuisine in northern China such as Beijing.
From the 19th century, Shanghai cuisine underwent a lot of outside influence, particularly European, the use of dairy products is one of them.
Shanghai cuisine is also different in its cooking methods, much more simmered dishes (European influence) such as lion’s heads which are large balls of minced pork and simmered for several hours with cabbage .
Since the climate in Shanghai is much more humid than in Beijing, rice is the staple food in Shanghai and the region.
Shanghai Museum
For those interested in art in all its glory, The Shanghai Museum is an unmissable place worthy of the Louvres museum, first of all the architecture of the building is really modern and contrasts with the different collections inside. As often in China, the form of the museum was not chosen by chance. The round shape symbolizes heaven and the square symbolizes earth.
The museum is located in the people’s square, its opening hours are as follows 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., be careful, we only let you in until 4 p.m., closed on Mondays. There is even a restaurant inside.
It can be accessed by Renmin square metro.
This museum is so fascinating that I advise you to plan the day to visit it, personally I spent the day there, there are more than 120,000 exhibits, ranging from pottery to calligraphy through ceramics and antique supply, from the Neolithic period to the Qing dynasty, that is, more than 5000 years of history.
I took a lot of photos, here are a few.
The French concession
The former French concession dates from the French colonial era in the 19th century, at the time the concession began at the edge of the old town up to HAIG (HUASHAN) avenue, it included shops, cafes and the residents were mainly Russians and Chinese, so why is it called French Concession? that’s because it was run by the French.
The concession had its own electricity network, its own judicial system and even its own police, moreover one of its senior officers HUANG JINRONG was also one of the leaders of the green gang which controlled the opium traffic between 1892 and 1925.
Now the concession is basically on HUAIHAI Street, with boutiques, candy stores, hairdressers, cafes and bars.
The European architecture of the concession stands in contrast to the rest of the city of Shanghai, when you walk around the concession you have the impression of being in Europe.
