I bought a 3 day metro pass upon arriving at Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station. My hotel in Shanghai was Les Suites Orient. It is situated along the bund, and each room offers either a city view or a bund view. I booked a studio room with a city view, since it is cheaper and I wouldn't be staring out of the window all the time. Moreover, I was mere minutes away from gawking at the historical buildings on the bund and towering skyscrapers at Pudong. When I checked in, I was delighted to know that I was upgraded to a suite for free. That was the first time in my life. Now when will I get an upgrade to a business class flight? I gave the receptionist a composed "thank you", but when I stepped into the room I was videoing the entire suite and photographing the living room, the bedroom, and the bathroom, as if for the gallery on their website.
After exploring every nook and cranny of the suite, I was out in search for food. There was still daylight and it was the first of many times I would amble on the bund as I made my way to East Nanjing Road, the pedestrian street. I took pictures of the long stretch of the bund while facing north, facing south, and at different sections. I also took individual shots of several buildings on the bund and some in groups, and of course the renowned, stunning Pudong skyline. And each time I felt like a certain angle was better, I would capture that view again. I was really obsessed. Views at the bund were ravishing: looking at the eastern and western side of Huangpu River gives totally different landscapes. Preservation at Puxi lets you look back into the past while development at Pudong shows the present and perhaps even give a glimpse into the future, because some skyscrapers are so distinctive and novel in architecture. After my obsession died down a little, I continued my journey looking for some old Shanghai snacks. The shop is quite deep into the pedestrian street, and the walk from my hotel to reach it is pretty long. However, the spectacular views along the way and the cool breeze in the 21 degree celsius weather made it totally manageable.
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| First sight of the Bund |
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| Skyline of Pudong |
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| East Nanjing Road |
I was hooked on snapping pictures again at East Nanjing Road. Soon, I reached Shen Da Cheng. Established in 1875, it has a restaurant and a take-away window for traditional snacks, which include a tubular dough with sesame filling, red bean soup with an assortment of other grains, and a pastry stuffed with a pork meatball. I actually find it hard to describe them. Tried my best. Fun fact: they actually call the meatball pastry "Fresh Pork Mooncake", which has a flaky crust and does not draw any association nor similarity to the mooncakes we eat here in Singapore. Traveling widens one's horizons isn't it? Oh, the Chinese are actually able to use wechat to make payments at many merchant stores. I wish my wechat had the wallet function. Heard that Samsung pay tried to break into the Chinese market but failed due to the overwhelming and prevalent usage of wechat pay and Alipay.
The snacks were not my dinner. I went to La Creperie to have French crepes for a change of taste. Ordered 2 sweet crepes and 1 savoury one. Man, they were the best I've eaten in my life. I don't really like the taste of alcohol but ordered a flaming crepe by mistake. Stupid me should have guessed alcohol was drizzled on the crepe that's why it could be ignited. But it was my fault, nothing wrong with the food. After the satisfying dinner, I traced my route back to the hotel, which meant passing by East Nanjing Road and the bund again. I repeated my shots done in the day, since night had fallen. So once again, crazy mode on.
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| La Delfi, La Creperie |
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| The Bund by night |
Les Suites Orient is a splendid hotel and an absolute bargain for such a classy accommodation on Shanghai's world famous promenade. But if I were to pick a weakness, it would be their breakfast, as selection was rather limited. I would appreciate more fruits, for instance. In comparison, my hotel in Suzhou - Hotel Soul Suzhou, was crazy with their breakfast selection. Thumbs up for that. However, the dining area offers views of the street below and some of the taller skyscrapers loom in the background. Quite relaxing to engage in people watching while you dine. I was intending to get yoghurt and the meatball pastry from another old establishment on East Nanjing Road. You might have guessed it - I walked the same route as the previous day, marking the third time I strolled on the bund. This morning, I took a shot with the Charging Bull near the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank (which happens to be my favourite building out of the dozens) as there were too many people the day before.
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| With the Charging Bull. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank in the background. |
Next, I was headed for Yu Garden. An admission ticket is only needed if you want to enter the garden. If you do not wish to pay for that, you can walk around the vicinity as there are many streets full of shops and restaurants. I was reluctant to enter another garden by then, but I'd rather spend 40RMB than to regret later, because I have so many destinations in mind I don't know when I will ever return to Shanghai. After seeing the gardens in Suzhou, it was hard for me to be swept by astonishment again, but at least Yu Garden is still pretty, and has its share of distinctive features as well. One of which is the "Liang Yi Xuan". I've forgotten if there is an official English translation but it means a pavilion which you can have the best of both worlds. Indeed, when you sit inside, turn to the left and you'll see a stream, turn to the right and you'll see the rockery, both features framed within intricate Chinese-styled windows.
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| An area near Yu Garden |
It was time to taste the highly raved Yang's Dumplings and Jia Jia Tang Bao. I went to Huanghe Road as each has a branch there, opposite each other. So the main difference between the two is that the former is pan-fried while the latter is steamed. Fillings vary slightly, but the classic is of course pork alone. I love Yang's Dumplings. Broth spurts if your teeth apply too big a pressure at the center of the bun, and oozes if you nibble the skin at the side. Skin was not too thick, just nice to contain the piping hot meat and broth within. The side which had come in contact with the pan was of course crispy, and added an additional layer of texture to the bun. The xiaolongbaos I ate at Jia Jia somewhat lacked in the amount of broth, but the filling (pork with crab roe) was tasty. As Park Hotel was nearby, I dropped by the deli to grab a pack of their signature butterfly-shaped pastry. It was not a coincidence; I planned it well. Pardon my self-praise. And I must say, the pastry was probably handmade by angels. It was simple and unpretentious but so fragrant and crusty. The buttery, sugary coating was not overly sweet, just nice to leave you wanting bite after bite.
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| Yang's Dumplings (Xiao Yang Sheng Jian) |
I visited Shanghai Museum, which I thought is a really fine one. It has over 10 galleries, with mammoth collections of everything you can relate to Chinese Art. It was like stepping into a time machine and scenes of ancient China I have seen on television just automatically ran across my mind like a carefully edited clip. I started to imagine people using those artifacts, like gathering around a large food vessel laden with food during their mealtime. I visited most of the galleries but left a few untouched as I was simply too dazzled by the amount of displays. After I left the museum, I was in search of the busy intersection of roads and found it without much difficulty. There are 5 different layers of the grand and meticulously planned and engineered expressways. At the heart of the intersection stands a Nine-dragon Pillar, which has an interesting folklore to explain its existence. I could not believe I was marveling at roads. I very much wanted to get a picture of the intersection from above but I could not find any means for to me to clamber up and I didn't have a drone. But the picture taken at the second level was already good enough, in my opinion.
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| A vessel in the gallery of bronze, Shanghai Museum |
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| Chengdu Bei Lu and Yan'an Lu intersection |
One of my objectives in China was to buy 2 apparels from a 361 degrees store. 361 degrees is a Chinese sporting brand and I have an unexplained fondness for it, perhaps because of the logo (actually just the digits 361 with the degree symbol), or perhaps because of the tagline "An Extra Degree of Passion". I thought there was one at Nanjing Road but it there was construction going on at the supposed address. I made the extra effort to take the metro and walk about 1km to the nearest store I could find just to get the apparels even though I had nothing else to do in that area. I was so afraid that I would make a wasted trip but luckily I was rewarded. For the last stop of the day, I went to Xintiandi, probably a popular hangout spot for expatriates. You get to see hints of old Shikumen buildings of the olden Shanghai while a cloak of refurbishment veils the little district. I found nothing much to do here, but had satisfying Thai fare at Simply Thai.
Last day in Shanghai and the sense of unwillingness to leave started to kick in first thing in the morning. First destination was 1933 Laochangfang. It used to be an abattoir, but has since been converted into a complex of shops and workstations. Fun fact: the corridors have varying lengths so as to separate the animals into different sizes when the complex functioned as a slaughterhouse. The network of corridors, ramps, and staircases conjure a beautiful mess. As a result of this complexity, there are many different angles, shadows, and degrees of lighting, which is probably why it would likely be popular with amateurish to professional photographers to spend time there. I had lunch at Lin Long Fang, situated at Jianguo East Road. It is an unassuming looking little eatery tucked away in an old neighbourhood but man, the noodles tossed in scallion oil and the xiaolongbaos were heavenly.
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| 1933 Laochangfang |
I chanced upon schoolchildren doing exercises at the courtyard of the school. It was an angelic and cute sight so I stopped in my tracks to take a picture of them while peering through the school gate. After much walking, I was at Sinan Mansions, where a hotel is situated, together with several dining options and retail outlets. The colonial buildings are pretty; it was as if I was in a charming European town. I was wondering why there were orange leaves when it was nearing the end of Spring but they complemented the orange tiled roofs well. It was a pity that the former residence of Zhou Enlai, the first premier of China, was under maintenance though. I made my way to Tianzifang. It is a hangout so much better than Xintiandi. It has the Shikumen buildings, bars, and restaurants that Xintiandi has, and offers much more. There are street food vendors that offer cheaper alternatives to fill your tummy and also many souvenir shops. If I have to stay in Shanghai for an extended period, I reckon I would frequent Tianzifang.
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| Sinan Mansions |
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| Tianzifang |
I had an early dinner at Lan Ting Can Ting. I was glad I arrived early when I saw patrons emerging at an alarming rate at the small restaurant that only has around 8 tables. I was in for some Shanghai cuisine and had researched beforehand on the recommended dishes, so it did not take long for me to look at the menu and start ordering like a pro. However, the food, although very affordable, were seriously nothing spectacular. As my flight back to Singapore was at 2am, I had a couple of hours more to spare. I decided to watch "Guardians of the Galaxy 2". It was in 3D, and my very first 3D movie. It was annoying that the uncivilized guy behind me kept kicking my chair but after I switched to another seat, the movie experience became enjoyable. I love Yondu's telekinetic arrow - one of the coolest weapons hands down. For the remaining time, I walked on the bund again, this time at a more leisure pace and with the deepest appreciation as I was no longer spamming the capture button on the camera. 4 times - the number of times I walked on the bund in a single trip to Shanghai.
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| Pudong skyline by night |
After chilling at the hotel lounge a while longer, the hotel staff helped to call for a cab to Pudong Airport. While waiting, we exchanged a conversation and realised that he, together with many other locals (according to him), perceive Singapore to be a haven with affordable healthcare, transport efficiency, and cleanliness. China could be a mega Singapore or even better since they have the resources and bigger land mass, if its population hadn't been so big. Cab arrived and time to bid farewell. Looking forward to the next trip to China.
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