Shanghai (part 1)

Day One

Arrived at Changi Airport Terminal One slightly before midnight for my flight GA 896 departing at 0205 hrs. Although already felt sleepy, had to play my itouch games to keep awake inside the transit hall till I got on to the plane.

Garuda Indonesia Airlines

Flight seat wasn't comfortable but I still managed to doze off, except the time when food was served. It was my first time taking Garuda Indonesia airlines and must comment that the food provided wasn't that bad compared to SQ flights. Bread and beverages (left photo below) were served after take-off, and continental breakfast (right photo below) was served prior arrival at Pu Dong International Airport.



Shanghai Maglev trains

Being one of the busiest airports in China, Pu Dong Airport is modern and huge; at least 5 to 10-mins walk is required to reach the Maglev train station, which is located between the two Terminals (left photo below). Cost of single trip was RMB 40 for ordinary seat if shown the boarding pass for that day. Round trips cost RMB 80 for ordinary seats, but have to use it within 7-days. Shanghai Maglev trains are clean and efficient (right photo below); it takes 7-mins from Airport station to Longyang Road station (龙阳路站) of Metro Line 2, covering distance of about 30-km.



Here's the clip captured from my camera to illustrate the speed of 300 km/h (video below):

Shanghai Maglev Museum (上海磁浮交通科技馆)

Located at the ground floor of Longyang Road station (left photo below), this museum (right photo below) opens from 0900 to 1730 hrs and cost RMB 5 if shown Maglev receipt for the day (usual admission charge is RMB 10). If didn't visit this museum, won't know that 'Maglev' actually stands for 'Magnetic Levitation', and the train uses EMS electro-magnetic levitation to propel itself. In other words, the train is 'flying through the air'. Currently only 3 countries in the entire world have put Maglev trains into commercial use; the other 2 countries are Germany and Japan.



Displays inside the museum are interactive and descriptions are in both Chinese and English (photos below), which make easier for visitors to understand those technical terms. Could complete this museum within 10 to 25 mins, depending on the interests you have.



Nanjing hotel (南京饭店)

Nanjing hotel is located beside Nanjing East road Metro station, and it is just 2-mins walk from the nearest exit (left photo below). Shopping street 'Nanjing Road' is just outside the hotel and a convenient store is located opposite the hotel. Booked this hotel through the internet for SGD 135.68 for first two nights, which is much cheaper than the price indicated at their hotel front desk of RMB 360 for a standard room per night. Breakfast was not included, however hotel guests could pay RMB 30 per person for breakfast buffet at the hotel restaurant located at the ground floor.

Most importantly the floor carpet is clean and no odor from the bed sheet. Personally I do like the hard mattress provided (right photo below).



Although a 2-star hotel, basic amenities are provided in the room (photos below).



Shanghai Snack Eatery

Went for my lunch at this Shanghai Snack eatery (上海小吃) located opposite the hotel (left photo below). Ordered a bowl of sweet-sour pork noodles (糖醋肉排面) for RMB 16 and a can of herbal drink for RMB 8 (right photo below). The noodle soup taste normal but the sweet-sour pork is good.
Shanghai Travel Agencies Centre (上海旅游集散中心)

Located below Entrance no. 5 of Hongkou football stadium (虹口足球场), this travel centre can be reached by Metro at the station (虹口足球场站) of its same name (left photo below). Majority of the customers are local Chinese and therefore price is fixed and cheaper than other private travel agencies. Decided to book a 3-days tour of Suzhou and Hangzhou at this centre that cost RMB 678 per person (right photo below). There are also other travel packages available at this centre, click here to find out more.



Yuyuan Commercial city (豫园商城)

It takes about at least 15 to 20 mins walk from the nearest Nanjing East road Metro station to this commercial city. The easiest route is to walk along Henan road (河南路) and turn left when reached the cross road of Fuyou road (福佑路).



Traditional Style Buildings

Lots of buildings are built based on traditional style of Ming and Qing dynasties (photos below). Many shops selling souvenirs can be found along the Shanghai old street (上海老街).



Don't be surprised that western food franchise such as The Coffee Bean (left photo below) or McDonald's (right photo below) can be found there, making it an interesting contrast between Eastern and Western life-style.

Hefenglou (和丰楼)

To taste chinese snacks at Yuyuan commercial city, my recommendation is Hefenglou (left photo below). This is a food-court style where stalls are selling varieties of food from all over China (right photo below). Just need to get the food you need and pay at the counter.



Ordered some dim sum (港式点心) at RMB 12, sweet dumplings (酒酿圆子) at RMB 6 and soup-dumplings (鱼翅灌汤包) at RMB 12 (left photo below). The soup inside the dumpling can be drank using a straw and it taste good but the dumpling skin was too hard to be eaten (right photo below). However, the dim sum and sweet dumplings were average in taste.

Local Snacks

Another popular local snack (left photo below) is the Nanxiang dumpling restaurant (南翔馒头店), which is famous for its 'xiaolong bao' (小笼包). To know how tasty the dumplings are, just need to look at the long queue outside its takeaway counter. To avoid the queue, do proceed to 2nd floor of the restaurant. Other local snack stores (right photo below) and tea houses can easily be found inside this commercial city.

Nine-turn Bridge (九曲桥)

One major attraction to look out for is this Nine-turn bridge (photos below). Also known as Zigzag bridge, it is one of the features of Chinese Gardens, where the bridge is designed to turn several times, so one can enjoy viewing different scenes. This bridge is appeared in most tour magazines and had became an icon of Yuyuan commercial city.

Food Souvenirs

Bought some food souvenirs from a century old shop (left photo below), which include a pack of 'five-fragrance' beans (奶油五香豆) for RMB 6 and a box of 'Pear juice sugar candy' (犁膏糖) for RMB 10 (right photo below).

City God Temple of Shanghai (上海城隍庙)

The City God Temple of Shanghai originated as the Jinshan God Temple, dedicated to the spirit of Jinshan (金山), an island off the coast of Shanghai. It was converted into a City God Temple in 1403, during the Yongle era of the Ming dynasty. During the Qing Dynasty, the temple grew popular. Residents of the old city as well as nearby areas visited the temple to pray for good fortune and peace. The popularity of the temple also led to many businesses to be set up in the area, turning the surrounding streets into a busy marketplace.

Visitors would first enter through the archway (left photo below), then under a ceremonial gate before reaching the main temple hall (right photo below).



The main deity of this temple is Huo Guang (霍光) who was a Chinese military general and politician who served as the dominant state official of the Western Han dynasty from 87 B.C. until his death in 68 B.C. (left photo below). The temple is located inside the Yuyuan commercial city and admission was RMB 5 (right photo below).



Yu Garden (豫园)

Yu Garden was first established in 1559 as a private garden created by Pan Yunduan (潘允端), who spent almost 20 years building a garden to please his father Pan En (潘恩), a high-ranking official in the Ming Dynasty, during his father's old age. Over the years, the gardens fell into disrepair until about 1760 when bought by merchants, and it suffered extensive damage during the 19th century. During the Taiping Rebellion, the gardens were occupied by imperial troops, and damaged again by the Japanese in 1942. The buildings were then repaired by the Shanghai government from 1956-1961, opened to the public in 1961, and declared as a national monument in 1982.

Garden Layout

There are two entrances to Yu Garden, and its side entrance is beautifully decorated with stone carvings (left photo below). The garden occupies an area of 2-hectares, and is divided into six general areas. Each area is separated from the others by "dragon walls" with undulating gray tiled ridges, each terminating in a dragon's head (right photo below).



The garden is constructed in Suzhou style with landscapes mimicking natural scenery of rocks, hills and rivers with strategically located pavilions and pagodas (photos below).



Pavilions of different style are located throughout the garden. The Kuailou Pavilion (快楼) is built at the Eastern side of the garden (left photo below) while Pavilion of Listening to Billows (听涛阁) is situated besides the Jade Water Corridor (积玉水廊) (right photo below).

Special Exhibition

Was lucky that a special exhibition 'Historical Traces - Exhibition of Imperial Seals of Qing Dynasty at Palace Museum'. These relics were from Beijing Palace Museum and was on loan display in Yu Garden during my visit.

Was an eye-opening that these imperial seals can be made from different materials such as wood, jade, precious stones and even gold (photos below).





What captured my attention was the imperial edict, which began with the eight words: "奉天承运 皇帝诏曰", just like what I saw in those movies (left photo below). Other more important edicts were inscribed onto those jade plates in Manchurian and Chinese (right photo below).

This garden is considered to be one of the best gardens in the region. Admission cost to this garden was RMB 40 (below photo). Opening hours from 0800 to 1700 hrs daily.


Babela's kitchen (巴贝拉)

Had dinner at this Babela's kitchen located at one of its outlets at Hongyi Plaza (宏伊园) along Nanjing East road (left photo below). Ordered a mushroom soup at RMB 12 (right photo below), spaghetti at RMB 12 (bottom left photo) and a cup of cappuccino at RMB 8 (bottom right photo). The spaghetti was slightly salty but the soup and cappuccino were good.





Nanjing Pedestrian street (南京路步行街)

Walked along the Nanjing Pedestrian street (sections of Nanjing East road) after dinner. Located at this street are most of Shanghai's oldest and largest department stores, as well as a variety of domestic retail outlets, and some traditional eateries with a long history. Nanjing Road is currently the world's longest shopping district, around 6 km long, with neon lights decorating the neo-classical buildings along the street (photos below). This street is also famed to be "China's No. 1 shopping street".



Interestingly I found their local brand Li-Ning sports store occupying 4-storey of a building (left photo below), whereas Nike or Adidas only occupied one storey. Perhaps this local brand is more popular in China. Also from a huge poster outside a shopping mall, seems like Taiwanese artists like Jay Chou, Angela and Wilber are popular in Shanghai too (right photo below).