Stop no 1: Shanghai, The modern face of China
We flew by Cathay Pacific to Shanghai Pudong airport, for an impromptu 7 days vacation in April. We purchased the air tix just a day before departure, which cost us about SGD700 each.
The legendary “The Bund” 上海外滩 stunning nightview
We stayed at a very oriental-decorated hotel, Golden Tulip Ashar Suites Shanghai Central, decent for the pennies we paid. Our room was a suite, with a “study area” in front leading to the bedroom. We got a high-floor, with good views.
Location-wise, it is near the Nanjing road, which is the CBD area of Shanghai. Spanned by branded stores like Gucci, Bottega, and several other departmental stores are in walking distance. Nanjing road (made up of East Nanjing Road and West Nanjing Road) is basically a super-long stretch of road (like Orchard Road in Singapore). If you want to do some decent shopping, stroll leisurely down the road and you will find a whole range of designer brands to street merchandise. I have to say that prices are pretty steep in Shanghai, designer goods are more expensive in Shanghai than in Singapore.
If you liked walking, and the weather is cooperative, you will find yourself at The Bund. Other popular shopping nearby includes:
-Huaihai Road
-People’s Park
-North Sichuan Road
-JingAn Temple
We went for the River cruise, a ~1hr ride cruising the river上海黄浦江游船.
Shanghai in it’s Splendour.
The next day, we went to Garden of Contentment (Yu Yuan Garden). It is a five-acre garden, an exquisite, quiet sanctuary amidst the buzzing city. There is an entrance fee of less than SGD 10.
Look at the crowd. Crazy shit.
Serenity…
The Yuyuan tourist Mart is just outside. Rows after rows of shophouses selling souvenirs, Chinese goods, Shanghai delicacies…
And of course we mush have the 上海小笼包 (Xiao Long Bao).
This particular resturant is one of the oldest, and is unique in the sense that it caters to 3 different levels of spending power. The first floor, is the takeaway, which sells the cheapest and in bulk Xiaolongbao, for quick fixes. The second floor, which we went, is the eat-in, and they serve better quality Xiaolongbao. The third floor, is the restaurant.
That night, we went to experience the Shanghai nightlife at 上海新天地 Xin Tian Di (akin to Singapore’s Holland Village). The crowd there seems to be mainly expats, executives and foreigners. It features bars with sophisticated, refined live-bands pubs, fine dining restaurants and al fresco bars.
Nice place to chill.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stop no 2: Hang Zhou, the chaste city
It is said that the natural beauty of the West Lake 西湖, is the inspiration of poets and artists.
River cuising the famous scenic West Lake.
I have to say that the air is refreshing here, and the folks, timeless. They are seen strolling one of the many parks in Hang Zhou, doing their morning exercises, having tea in one of the teahouses, carefree….
Hangzhou is well-known for the cultivation of Longjing/Dragonwell Green tea龙井茶, one of the finest and high grade green tea you can find.
Demonstration and explanation of the health-benefits of Longjing tea. Basically the taste is like o-cha japanese green tea. We ended up getting like 1kg of A-grade tea leaves, now sitting in my freezer, and I can only say that they are very persuasive then. Regretful 😦
WuZhen Ancient watertown, a preserved town with hundreds of years of inhabitance that is untainted by modern architectural.
A performance stunt going on
Historical-overload
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stop no 3: Wuxi, A gem amongst the big brothers
Wuxi’s Taihu lake, the fame often diluted by well-know HangZhou’s West lake, is beautiful.
Look at the abundant Sakura in the garden leading up to the lake. Splendid.
We chartered a boat cabin to go out to sea. Look at the ships out fishing. Awesome.
Taihu is a freshwater lake, and famous seafood that came out of it includes the ‘Taihu Lake Three Whites’, including white fish, white shrimp and silverfish. But do not expect anything fanciful, these seafood are in fact very small in size, with not much flesh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Final stop: Su Zhou, Of Gardens and technology
There are dozens of gardens in Su Zhou that were constructed hundreds of years ago, and we went to one representative garden, Couple’s Retreat Garden (藕园). An enchanted garden, with pavilions, rocks and trees.
Guan Qian shopping street, lots of fasinating street food, shopping and place to buy local delicacies to bring home.
One of the world’s largest LED skyscreen is in SuZhou (LED天幕电影) @ SuZhou Times Square. Clear and surreal visual experience. “Bird Nest of Suzhou” (苏州科文中心鸟巢), the smaller version of the one in Beijing, and like esplanade in Singapore.
Alluring streetlights in SuZhou.
Finally, on the last day, we took the Maglev (高铁) from Su Zhou to Shanghai. Merely a 30mins and comfy ride, we reached Shanghai in no time. Never been happier to go home.
xoxo,
singaporenoobmum 