Our trips to Japan and Korea were 6 years apart, but Korea was less than a year ago. With those holidays in my mind, VPNs installed and “thank you” in Mandarin memorised, it was time to explore China. We use Seat Guru to find me the best leg room for my tallness, and unfortunately they let us down for the first time. Luckily I was able to to move into a better seat. I hardly slept on the journey out there, but I’m used to that by now. This was probably the least stressful journey I ever had. Perhaps the Calm app is working.
Our flight was to Beijing, with a short wait before heading on to Shanghai. We landed around 10am and I had the familiar feeling of stumbling onto an unfamiliar metro system and being stared at by the local (and as a bonus, two Germans guys who totally didn’t realise I could understand every tenth word they said). Every station across the country has a security check before you enter. This ranged from putting your bag through a scanner to a full on metal detector search. It felt like overkill to begin with, but soon became routine.
Check-in wasn’t until 2pm, so we had an initial explore of the city, starting through a busy and uninspiring urban shopping area, constantly hassled to buy watches, bags, girls or “anything you want, man”. We then reached The Bund, the city’s signature vista of modern skyscrapers across the Huangpu river. It was a hazy day and I could already feel the beginnings of sunburn.
Then we wondered around the Yuyuan Old Street area, a collection of tourist shops, attractions and food stalls in modern build of old style buildings. By this stage the hunger and the jetlag were really making itself known, so we went to El Willy's. How could you resist with a name like that? It was situated in a grand old building that was also hosting a wedding at the time. A subtly filling tapas meal later, we checked in to our hotel. A recurring theme from recent trips - the bathroom had a glass wall so you could see EVERYTHING. Luckily it also had a modesty blind. It was mid afternoon and over 24 hours of minimal sleep was causing us both to crash bad, but we forced ourselves out again.
We started with a ride on the Maglev train to the international airport. Current restrictions mean it can “only” travel at 300 km/h. I was enjoying hearing a couple next to me speaking in broad Yorkshire tones, only to realise they were actually talking in Chinese and I was in the middle of some Jetlag hallucinations. A pink ice cream gave me a pick me up.
Then we went for a walk through a couple of neighbourhoods before reaching the spectacle of The Bund at night. This is when it comes alive and becomes iconic - stunning views and light displays for miles. I was stopped a few times by groups of locals who wanted to have their photo taken with me. This must be what Trixie Mattel feels like. Back at the hotel my jetlagged brain decided it was a good idea to pour boiling water into a plastic bottle. Time for bed.
You never know how your first night’s sleep is going to go. I SLEPT FOR 11 HOURS!! Feeling amazing, and starting the day on our familiar convenience store breakfast, we went round the corner to Yu Garden. This place summed up my feelings about a lot of Shanghai - “It Was Nice, But…”. A perfectly fine collection of ponds, pergolas and rock formations, it was relatively small for the intensely busy area it sat in, so I didn’t take a lot away from it.
Walking on, our trip to the History Museum was off due to it being closed on Mondays (pro tip: pretty much every place we have been to around the world has most things closed on Mondays). So we spent the next few hours on a huge walking tour, talking in various neighbourhoods and shopping areas ranging from the high end to the low. We paused for our first try of the local speciality - dumplings with vinegar.
I had heard about the air pollution issues before we arrived. An air watch app said it was “dangerous” outside and masks should be worn. Unlike in Japan or Korea, where you were often the odd one out for not wearing a mask, hardly anyone here seemed to bother. I'm not sure if it was the hypochondriac in me, but breathing wasn't as easy as it could have been. It was like someone was constantly sitting on me, and not in a good way.
Reaching the river, passing several massive bridges, we found a newly installed walkway next to abandoned buildings from a 2010 expo - a strange area looking too modern to be not in use but crumbling enough to show it was slowly decaying. Walking along what we thought was a path, we heard shouting. This was a security guard informing us that we were heading for a dead end. This was a little harsh, I thought, and there was a sign showing this fact right in front of us. I tried to take a photo of a weathered mascot statue in front of one of the fenced off buildings, but heard shouting again. It was the same guy (“HEY! BOY!”) who seemed to take issue with me documenting this particular example of urban decay. Remembering where I was, I decided not to argue. There were security guards all along the waterfront, and also positioned pretty much anywhere tourists would go across the country.
Continuing along the river I saw the first example of what I’d see in many places - a whole row of shops and bars closed down - not looking that old, but all now out of use, almost definitely ahead of yet another redevelopment. We took a boat across the river to walk among the skyscrapers of Pudong. Seeing the Oriental TV Tower up close made it look like the next generation Transformer of the Berlin TV Tower. And was another example of something we’d never waste money on visiting. A nearby shopping mall had a “Food Opera” in its basement - you put money onto a prepaid card and visit as many stalls as you like. We squeezed in one more walk that evening among the lit up towers before my back gave out.
On the first night of a long haul holiday you pass out from exhaustion. The second night is more telling, and was a less successful sleep. It was an earlier start and the metro was thankfully a little less chaotic. We were going on a day trip, so we went out to Shanghai Hongqiao station. It was intimidatingly enormous and with good reason - it’s the largest railway station in Asia and is part of a hub connected to the international airport. We were heading for Hangzhou (pro tip - you’ll need your passport to purchase any long haul rail journey ticket) but also managed to collect all the tickets for our upcoming train journeys, much to the annoyance of the large queue behind us. On many occasions we queued up for things only to have people push right to the front. The Englishman in me will never be OK with that.
What followed was one of the highlights of the entire holiday. Walking from the staton and fuelling up on more 7-11 treats, we spent the day walking around the entirety of West Lake. After the smog of Shanghai it was literal breath of fresh air, and we were treated to clear skies and pleasant sunshine, with various detours to temples, gardens and pavilions. It was incredibly soothing. I didn’t think I’d have the stamina to walk around the whole thing, but we did. The best parts were where you were free from the onslaught of bikes and mini taxis. Heading back to the station we finally had a Chinese dinner in a chain restaurant.
Returning to Shanghai and in the mood for a beer, we searched for the Boxing Cat Brewery (amazing name and logo). Unfortunately it was closed for refurbishment, but Daga brew pub next door gave us a pleasant wheat beer. On the way back to the hotel we stocked up on snacks for our first big train journey, tomorrow we were moving on.
China Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
Our flight was to Beijing, with a short wait before heading on to Shanghai. We landed around 10am and I had the familiar feeling of stumbling onto an unfamiliar metro system and being stared at by the local (and as a bonus, two Germans guys who totally didn’t realise I could understand every tenth word they said). Every station across the country has a security check before you enter. This ranged from putting your bag through a scanner to a full on metal detector search. It felt like overkill to begin with, but soon became routine.
Check-in wasn’t until 2pm, so we had an initial explore of the city, starting through a busy and uninspiring urban shopping area, constantly hassled to buy watches, bags, girls or “anything you want, man”. We then reached The Bund, the city’s signature vista of modern skyscrapers across the Huangpu river. It was a hazy day and I could already feel the beginnings of sunburn.
Then we wondered around the Yuyuan Old Street area, a collection of tourist shops, attractions and food stalls in modern build of old style buildings. By this stage the hunger and the jetlag were really making itself known, so we went to El Willy's. How could you resist with a name like that? It was situated in a grand old building that was also hosting a wedding at the time. A subtly filling tapas meal later, we checked in to our hotel. A recurring theme from recent trips - the bathroom had a glass wall so you could see EVERYTHING. Luckily it also had a modesty blind. It was mid afternoon and over 24 hours of minimal sleep was causing us both to crash bad, but we forced ourselves out again.
We started with a ride on the Maglev train to the international airport. Current restrictions mean it can “only” travel at 300 km/h. I was enjoying hearing a couple next to me speaking in broad Yorkshire tones, only to realise they were actually talking in Chinese and I was in the middle of some Jetlag hallucinations. A pink ice cream gave me a pick me up.
Then we went for a walk through a couple of neighbourhoods before reaching the spectacle of The Bund at night. This is when it comes alive and becomes iconic - stunning views and light displays for miles. I was stopped a few times by groups of locals who wanted to have their photo taken with me. This must be what Trixie Mattel feels like. Back at the hotel my jetlagged brain decided it was a good idea to pour boiling water into a plastic bottle. Time for bed.
You never know how your first night’s sleep is going to go. I SLEPT FOR 11 HOURS!! Feeling amazing, and starting the day on our familiar convenience store breakfast, we went round the corner to Yu Garden. This place summed up my feelings about a lot of Shanghai - “It Was Nice, But…”. A perfectly fine collection of ponds, pergolas and rock formations, it was relatively small for the intensely busy area it sat in, so I didn’t take a lot away from it.
Walking on, our trip to the History Museum was off due to it being closed on Mondays (pro tip: pretty much every place we have been to around the world has most things closed on Mondays). So we spent the next few hours on a huge walking tour, talking in various neighbourhoods and shopping areas ranging from the high end to the low. We paused for our first try of the local speciality - dumplings with vinegar.
I had heard about the air pollution issues before we arrived. An air watch app said it was “dangerous” outside and masks should be worn. Unlike in Japan or Korea, where you were often the odd one out for not wearing a mask, hardly anyone here seemed to bother. I'm not sure if it was the hypochondriac in me, but breathing wasn't as easy as it could have been. It was like someone was constantly sitting on me, and not in a good way.
Reaching the river, passing several massive bridges, we found a newly installed walkway next to abandoned buildings from a 2010 expo - a strange area looking too modern to be not in use but crumbling enough to show it was slowly decaying. Walking along what we thought was a path, we heard shouting. This was a security guard informing us that we were heading for a dead end. This was a little harsh, I thought, and there was a sign showing this fact right in front of us. I tried to take a photo of a weathered mascot statue in front of one of the fenced off buildings, but heard shouting again. It was the same guy (“HEY! BOY!”) who seemed to take issue with me documenting this particular example of urban decay. Remembering where I was, I decided not to argue. There were security guards all along the waterfront, and also positioned pretty much anywhere tourists would go across the country.
Continuing along the river I saw the first example of what I’d see in many places - a whole row of shops and bars closed down - not looking that old, but all now out of use, almost definitely ahead of yet another redevelopment. We took a boat across the river to walk among the skyscrapers of Pudong. Seeing the Oriental TV Tower up close made it look like the next generation Transformer of the Berlin TV Tower. And was another example of something we’d never waste money on visiting. A nearby shopping mall had a “Food Opera” in its basement - you put money onto a prepaid card and visit as many stalls as you like. We squeezed in one more walk that evening among the lit up towers before my back gave out.
On the first night of a long haul holiday you pass out from exhaustion. The second night is more telling, and was a less successful sleep. It was an earlier start and the metro was thankfully a little less chaotic. We were going on a day trip, so we went out to Shanghai Hongqiao station. It was intimidatingly enormous and with good reason - it’s the largest railway station in Asia and is part of a hub connected to the international airport. We were heading for Hangzhou (pro tip - you’ll need your passport to purchase any long haul rail journey ticket) but also managed to collect all the tickets for our upcoming train journeys, much to the annoyance of the large queue behind us. On many occasions we queued up for things only to have people push right to the front. The Englishman in me will never be OK with that.
What followed was one of the highlights of the entire holiday. Walking from the staton and fuelling up on more 7-11 treats, we spent the day walking around the entirety of West Lake. After the smog of Shanghai it was literal breath of fresh air, and we were treated to clear skies and pleasant sunshine, with various detours to temples, gardens and pavilions. It was incredibly soothing. I didn’t think I’d have the stamina to walk around the whole thing, but we did. The best parts were where you were free from the onslaught of bikes and mini taxis. Heading back to the station we finally had a Chinese dinner in a chain restaurant.
Returning to Shanghai and in the mood for a beer, we searched for the Boxing Cat Brewery (amazing name and logo). Unfortunately it was closed for refurbishment, but Daga brew pub next door gave us a pleasant wheat beer. On the way back to the hotel we stocked up on snacks for our first big train journey, tomorrow we were moving on.
China Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
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