Entries about shanghai

I'm currently sat on the China's high speed rail service between Beijing and Shanghai, travelling at approximately 200km/h, speeding home towards Beijing in time for classes tomorrow. I've had a wonderful weekend in Shanghai with Will, which started with a Friday evening spent on this same service. The journey took about 5 hours but was incredibly comfortable, much like being on an aeroplane.

On Saturday we got up and went in search of breakfast. After strolling next to the Bund for a while, we headed into the more urban areas of the city and stumbled across a busy dumpling shop calls Yang's Dumplings. Yang's speciality is 'soup filled dumplings' which were a delicious but messy start to the day. We decided to try and find Shanghai Old Town and slowly but surely, the sky scrapers gave way to much smaller, traditional buildings, the streets became narrower and completely by accident we found ourself bang in the middle of a busy little maze of shops and food stalls. The atmosphere was completely different to the part of Shanghai we had just come from, there was so much noise, so many smells and so much going on it was impossible to know where to look.

We wandered around the streets and found our way to a central area which was absolutely stunning. The older buildings surrounded a lake filled with fish which had a tea house in the middle of it. But in the distance, towering over the rooftops of these buildings, we could see the modern skyscrapers of The Bund. What with the blue skies it was quite a backdrop.

By chance we found our way to the entrance to Yu Gardens, an old and tranquil walled garden filled with small buildings, lakes and rockeries. We strolled along the winding paths for a while before returning to the busy streets and went then in search of some lunch. That night I got to see The Bund in all its glory. The bright lights lit up the sky above it and the river below it and the view was mesmerising. The walkway was a hive of activity and so for dinner we headed away from the crowds to a place called Shanghai Grandmother Restaurant... which sounds interesting but Grandmother served us up some incredible traditional Chinese dishes! We were about to head back to the hotel when we suddenly heard some Jazz coming from a building a little way down the street. It was a 'why not?!' moment and we walked into into a Jazz and Blues night which was buzzing, so naturally, we had a few drinks to soak up the atmosphere.

Today we have had a less busy day, but still managed to see an awful lot! We walked back along The Bund this morning on our way to brunch. It is beautiful during the day too! This afternoon we took the Sightseeing Tunnel under the river to actually look around the Finance District. The tunnel was a weird psychedelic-light-show-underground-cable-car-thing that crossed the river in about 5 minutes. Both of us were a bit confused by the whole experience but the confusion was forgotten immediately by the Finance District which is just incredible. First and foremost, the sheer size of it is breathtaking. It is also completely pristine and you can walk on a pedestrian roundabout above the roads which is a great way to see the different skyscrapers from every angle.

We decided also to pop to People's Park. When we got there it was just chaos. There were so many people and we had no idea what was going on. As we pushed into the crowds, it became clear to Will that we had walked right into a marriage market... So it turns out that parents advertise their offspring who are still single in their late 20s to try and find a compatible spouse. They do it in secret and then the two singletons will "coincidentally" meet at some point and, in theory, will be none the wiser about their parents' meddling. It was quite an event to find ourselves in the middle of!

The weekend has been amazing, it was really cool to just be wandering around the city and to keep finding ourselves in the middle of such varied and vibrant goings on. For the time being it's back to Beijing, but Shanghai, I'll see you soon!

This week was Golden Week, a week in which two Chinese national holidays are celebrated and so I am coming to the end of a week off school. I spent the holiday in Jiading, a northern region of Shanghai where Will lives and works. The week got off to a rather “western” start, during which we visited Decathlon and IKEA to get some flat pack furnishings and a mattress for Will’s flat. (We may or may not have indulged in Swedish meatballs, curried sausage and lamb chops for dinner while we were there…) Our western bubble was popped, however, by the uncomfortable and bumpy ride home in the back of a questionable taxi-van, which smelled strongly of petrol fumes and trundled along Shanghai’s highways at an alarmingly slow rate. Only in China.

The next day we went back to central Shanghai and walked around the area near People’s Park which is very modern with a lot of interesting architecture and we visited the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition which tells the story of Shanghai’s development, with photos and a model of the city which was all lit up. In the evening, we found a bar doing half price mojitos for happy hour and then found ourselves in a heaving shopping street, as many Chinese people also travel during this time. We were looking around a strange shop that sold various food delicacies, including vacuum packed pig heads, when we spotted an exit into a back street that was much quieter and seemed to be full of restaurants. We took the plunge and picked Li Hong’s Restaurant, based on the food we could see people eating inside. Despite some dodgy translations on the menu (Old Vinegar Jellyfish Head, Sixi baked Cardiff, Characteristics of Pork, Halogen Chicken Meat… the list goes on) we ended up with a huge and delicious meal that came to around £13 AND provided lunch for three the next day.

Later in the week we did a little bit more exploring and first stop was Jiading Town. Will lives in Jiading and so introduced me to the town’s charming old quarter, which has a pagoda tower, a lively snack street and a pretty canal running through it. We ate a weird but enjoyable ‘spiced chicken drumstick rice roll’ as we took a stroll down the street and then headed towards the newer part of the town which has a busy high street and large shopping mall. We had an amazing dinner at a teppanyaki restaurant where we watched our food being freshly made.

We also spent an action packed eight hours in Suzhou, a city which is often described as ‘The Venice of the East’ and is also famous for its gardens. Starting at Tiger Hilll, a historic monument site, whose base is filled with street vendors, food stalls and canals, we then taxi-ed across the city to The Humble Administrator’s Garden, which really was not humble in any way shape or form, but rather one of the most extravagant gardens imaginable… however, it was a beautiful place to walk around. Finally we visited the old pedestrianised shopping and snack streets which run alongside one of Suzhou’s many canals. By this time it was dark and so the streets, bridges and canals were lit up which made the place seem really magical. As we headed back towards the train station, we crossed a road and the atmosphere changed in an instant. Suddenly, the small buildings disappeared and modern multi-storey buildings replaced them; bright UV shop signs filled the space above the street and we could see brands such as Tiffany & Co. on street corners - what a contrast!

Finally, we spent an afternoon in Nanxiang, a small ancient town in Jiading Distric, which is supposedly the birthplace of China’s xiaolongbao: steamed, soup-filled dumplings which are very tasty and often very messy. Nanxiang resembled a smaller Suzhou and absolutely packed, however we found Tan Gardens in a peaceful side street which were unexpectedly beautiful. They were much humbler than the Humble Administrator’s (!), but they also had a very different feel, with many restored buildings you could look around. We obviously had to try some xiaolongbao, and decided the best place to do so was the restaurant attached to the xiaolongbao museum. We also tried various other street delicacies as and when we spotted them along the narrow streets, before returning to Jiading Town for dinner and drinks with some of the other teachers in the area.

Despite the week being fairly slow paced, we did manage to experience a fair amount of Shanghai’s surrounding areas, which I really enjoyed. The break also gave us a chance to think ahead to what we want to do during the long Spring Festival holiday at the beginning of next year, which is exciting. I am kind of looking forward to getting back to school but I’m also apprehensive because between now and Spring Festival there is no more time off… so let’s see what 15 weeks of solid teaching does to me!

I’m currently on a (very loud) train back from Shanghai, where I have spent the weekend with Will and some friends who are visiting from the UK on their way to Bali. I arrived earlier than expected on Friday night - early enough to catch the last subway up to Jiading for the night, which was a pleasant surprise. We headed straight from the subway to a bar to have a couple of very strong drinks with some of the other teachers in Jiading.

Matt and Abby were due to arrive some time early evening on Saturday, so Will and I headed into Shanghai centre. We made a quick detour to People’s park, where the marriage market was once again in full swing. We grabbed some delicious cold noodles and then jumped back on the subway and went to check into the hotel we were staying in. The hotel was in a rather central location, so we decided to check out 1933 Millfun while we were waiting for the others to arrive. 1933 Millfun is… weird. It was, in 1933, Asia’s largest abattoir. It has now been restored into a strange commercial hub ／ photo shoot destination. It was really tricky to navigate and we must have gone round in several circles on our way up to the sixth floor and back down.

I’m glad we had the opportunity to see something different in SH but it really is a strange place. Possibly one of my favourite parts was seeing a young girl wearing a minion balloon suit, image to follow:

We decided to go back to the hotel and wait for Matt and Abby to arrive. In the end, they were much later than expected but were in pretty good spirits when they finally arrived. We gave them some time to freshen up and then headed straight for the subway. First stop was West Nanjing road for some quick and tasty noodles. We then walked absolute miles! We walked all the way down to People’s Square, East Nanjing Road and arrived at The Bund. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the lights were still on, despite how late it was. After the night’s adventuring, we were all slacking and so headed back to the hotel so we could all rest before today.

Up relatively bright and early on Sunday, our main priority was to get a good, cheap breakfast. Cue JIAN BING （煎饼）. This Beijing snack is a type of savoury Chinese crepe, made with pancake mix, an extra egg, coriander, onions, red bean sauce, optional chilli and a cracker. We found a hole in the wall selling them at 5rmb each, an absolute steal, also absolutely delicious.

Determined to show Matt and Abby as much as we could before lunch, we strolled through the french concession and checked Xintiandi and Tianzifang off the list. These two areas are a little over a mile apart from each other but they really couldn’t be more different. Xintiandi is restored ancient style streets. Pedestrianised and very glam, the area attracts loads of western tourist for its chic bars and sophisticated vibes. Tianzifang is more gritty. Also pedestrianised, these alleys are packed full of trinket stores and stalls selling the latest food and drink crazes. This week it was super fries (extremely long chips) and drinks sold in a blood bag, because, why not?

I think these two areas give a really good visual insight into the different characteristics you can find in China. On the one hand, you have very developed and modern areas which are very aesthetic, and on the other hand, you have raw, urban china which is charming in its own way.

For lunch we went towards Jing’an, as the temple was also on the day’s itinerary. After a quick look around a huge mall, we decided to sample one of my favourite shanghainese delicacies, Yang’s Dumplings. It’s quite a fun meal to eat, especially the first time you do so, because these dumplings are filled with soup, which usually means it gets MESSY. Different to Xiao Long Bao, they’re pan fried, so slightly dough-ier and slightly oilier. Still, they’re absolutely one of my favourite foods in China and are also a bargain, so I was very happy to pass on this Chinese treasure to our friends.

Unfortunately, having left my luggage at the hotel, and with my looming departure, after lunch I left the others to continue exploring Shanghai. This weekend has gone ridiculously fast, I hardly feel like I’ve had chance to catch my breath and I do not feel ready for school tomorrow, AT ALL. This week is going to be an easy one however, exams are starting which means quiet classes. There is also the Gaokao at the end of the week (A-Levels Equivalent) , which means the school goes into lockdown, so I have Friday off. So on Thursday I’ll be back in Shanghai for a long weekend! I guess I’d better start working on the itinerary for my LAST TRIP TO SHANGHAI BEFORE I LEAVE CHINA… Unbelievable!