We arrived to Shanghai by morning flight from Xi An where we stayed just for 1 night to visit famous Terracotta Warriors. It takes quite some time to get to the city center from Pudong international airport. The most exciting and the fastest option to get to the city is by Maglev train which goes 430 km per hour. Unfortunately by the time we got to the station it changed for just 300 km/h so I advise you to check the exact times when it runs 430 km/h.
There are some impressive facts I didn’t know about Shanghai before coming there. It is the most populous city proper in the world with a population of more than 24 million. It is the world’s busiest container hub. Maglev train is the world’s fastest train.
After 4 days in China I wasn’t surprised at all when we found out that neither of 3 receptionist in 4 star hotel in Shanghai spoke English. Thankfully we had Wi-Fi and could use the most important app in China which is Translator. Although we were in the same situation many times, we always managed to understand each other and get what we wanted.
Our first steps in Shanghai went to Yuyuan Old Street. It has a beautiful old architecture and it is filled with shops, restaurants, food stalls and cafes. As all tourists attraction in China this was no exception and it was well-packed by people. It is quite a good place to eat you just have to know where so you don’t pay too much. However, there is another tourist attraction that is very worth it. Of course you have to pay an entrance fee like everywhere in China, Yuyuan garden is no exception. It is the only surviving Ming Dynasty garden in Shanghai. It is full of trees, temples, rock walls and although it is very small compare to other Chinese parks it is very beautiful and peaceful.
If you search Shanghai in Google you will find the same photo in 99 out of 100 photos. I am talking about Shanghai’s famous financial center skyline. This is one of the best known skylines in the world and coming to this financial capital you have to see it at least in the night. To be able to experience these great views you have to visit The Bund. It is a mile-long waterfront promenade with 52 buildings of different architecture standing on the side. These old building have restricted height and often are referred to as “the museum of building”. But more breathtaking view is across the river Yangtze where you can see an amazing Shanghai’s financial district skyline. Definitely worth coming during night…
Once we took enough pictures we headed to Nanjing road. It is the most famous shopping street in Shanghai bustling with life. I don’t recommend to go there for lunch or dinner because I found it to be very expensive compared to other parts of the city. The most interesting thing on this street was a 4-stories high shopping mall dedicated fairly to food. The rest was just shops like all over the world.
Our second day in Shanghai we visited few more places and decided to buy all the presents for friends and family because we knew that shopping in our next 2 destinations were not going to be anywhere close to those in Shanghai. It doesn’t take much effort neither time to find some shops offering basically everything for a bargain. Before coming to China I was even persuading my girlfriend that we don’t need a big luggage and we took just 1 medium size bag for both of us. In Shanghai I already knew I was wrong. There is just so many stupid thing to buy… You don’t even need them but you buy them anyway.
Our last tourist attraction was Shanghai’s financial center filled with skyscrapers from which one stands above all of them. World financial center is world’s fifth highest building. Area under these iron giants is very well organized for pedestrians. There are above ground walkways which make it very easy to get where you need without stepping on the road. We headed to a Lujiazui Central Greenland. It is a small park where we enjoyed amazing views of Shanghai’s skyscrapers surrounding us. The best thing was that there were almost no tourists. It was our great escape from bustling city and great contrast between nature and concrete.
