Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

The last two nights Pops explored the Shanghai Nightlife. Xintiandi (New Heaven and Earth) is an affluent car-free shopping, eating and entertainment district. The district is composed of an area of reconstituted traditional mid-19th century shikumen ("stone gate") houses on narrow alleys, and some adjoining houses which now serve as book stores, cafes and restaurants, and shopping malls. Most of the cafes and restaurants feature both indoor and outdoor seating. Xintiandi has an active nightlife on weekdays as well as weekends, though it is a more quite setting than loud music and dance places. It is considered one of the first lifestyle centers in China.

Xintiandi is the locatoin of the first congress of the Communist Party of China and is now preserved at the Museum of the First National congress of the Communist Party. Also nearby are the Shikumen Open House Museum an the site of the Provisional Government of the Republic or Korea when Korea was a Japanese colony. 

Now it is a place full of restaurants, bars and places to shop. We ate dinner at the Paulaner Brauhaus from Munich and had some traditional German food. After that we walked around checking out the shops before ending up at TMSK to have a few drinks and listen to the music. We sat outside which most bars and restaurants have outdoor seating. 

Last night we wanted to watch the Liverpool/Manchester City match and found out where the local Liverpool fan club hangs out. We went to the Shanghai Brewery in the French Concession are of Shanghai. Shanghai is a very large city made up of distinct sections. It's amazing to see how many expats you see and to also see how much fun they are having living in shanghai. I want to talk more about that in another post.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

Today is Saturday here and we went to the Yuyuan Garden. There you will find thousands of shops and places to eat. If you can't find a present there to bring home it doesn't exist. I ended up buying a hand carved stamp for the children with their names in English and Chinese. Each stamp has a figure depicting the year they were born. One is a rabbit and the other a snake.

The cool thing about the area around Yuyuan Garden is the architecture. It was built during the Ming Dynasty and is very beautiful. The garden itself charges an entrance fee but the rest of the area is free. Inside the garden you will see a 4 meter high rock of jade. It is considered one of the top 3 rocks in China.

I would say this is one of the top attractions in Shanghai. It is easy to get there and is located on the Bund side of the river. Our taxi from Pudong was 20 yuan.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

After work today we decided to have a drink before dinner. I can think of no better place to have a drink and enjoy the view of Shanghai than the Cloud 9 Bar in the Grand Hyatt Hotel in the Jin Mao Tower.

The Cloud 9 Bar is located on the 87th floor of the Jin Mao Tower and is part of the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The hotel itself is pretty high as the lobby is located on the 54th floor and the hotel goes up from there. Once inside the bar you can enjoy 360 degree views of Shanghai.

The journey itself is an adventure as it takes 3 elevators to get there. They have a happy hour, all tables have a view and you can order food to go with your drink.

Take the time to see for yourself. The Jin Mao Tower is located in Pudong, close to the Pearl Tower.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

It's a beautiful day here in Shanghai. The view from my room is a lot different during the day. From my room I can see across the river to the Bund. I counted at least 7 high rises going up in the Bund area.

Today is a work day but this weekend I'll be able to do some exploring.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

I made it to Shanghai and am checked in to the hotel. I have a great room on the 11th floor overlooking the river. I think I'm due for a quick trip to the bar and then call it a night. The picture from my room didn't turn out great but I'll try again in the morning with less glare.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

I'm on my way to China. Drove from Sacramento to San Francisco and dropped the car off again at Skypark. I love Skypark as I can just drive up leave the car and board the shuttle for my terminal. They park the car for you and retrieve it when you come back. This takes some of the hassle out of flying.

I am currently in Seattle waiting for my connecting flight. My flight to Shanghai is 13 hours and will get me into Shanghai at about 6pm tomorrow Shanghai time which is 3am Pacific time. Because of that and they offer movies on demand I'll stay awake the entire trip. After checking into the hotel, telling everyone back home I made it safe and a trip to the bar it should be around 10pm and I will sleep great and will be ready for a full day on Friday.

Pops' China Travel Guide, Shanghai April 2014

Pudong Showing Shangri La Hotel in Middle

Well, I received my VISA today and so I am set for the trip on April 9th. The VISA process using CBIT took about one week. I now have everything complete except packing my bag which I'll start this weekend.

1. VISA application is complete and back from CBIT
2. Flight and hotel is booked
3. Reservation at Skypark at SFO is complete
4. Reservations and itinerary have been printed out
5. Printed destinations in both English and Chinese to give to taxi drivers 

I also found something useful from a previous trip to Shanghai. The Sofitel Hotel I stayed at handed out a three fold business card when you checked in that had the address and name of the hotel in both English and Chinese. It also included a map and three other sections divided into sightseeing, shopping and nightlife. All with names in both English and Chinese. This is in the size of a typical business card. Ask your hotel when you check in, they may have something similar. 

Because exchanging currency outside of the hotel is sometimes tricky in China I am taking some cash but will be using ATMs if I need money. Before you leave let your bank know you will be in China. Otherwise they may deny the transaction. 

I'll be staying at the Shangri La Hotel in Pudong. The pictures above are of Pudong. The hotel can be seen in the middle of the bottom picture.

I'll send updates when I get there on the 10th.