Last weekend was the Chinese Dragon Festival and a group of interns decided to take the bullet train to Shanghai. We got out of work/Chinese class and took cabs to the railway station at around 3:30 PM to catch our 5:45 PM train. Rush hour took us by surprise and we found ourselves stuck in traffic for an hour, and only arrived to the station at 5pm. We tried issuing the tickets we bought online but for some reason, the workers at the counter could not figure it out. We had half an hour and as the stress level increased it seemed like time was moving faster than usual. Finally, we found a young local who worked at the station and was on his break, and he helped us cut some lines and issue our tickets at 5:40. We sprinted across the packed departure hall and made it to our train with a minute to spare. Needless to say, this weekend started with an adrenaline rush.
When we arrived in Shanghai at midnight, the city welcomed us with another traffic jam on our way to our hostel. Tired but grateful to actually have made it to Shanghai, we crashed at 2am and started exploring the city early in the morning. After an adventurous weekend, I’ve compiled a couple of recommendations for those of you who might want to take a weekend trip to Shanghai. The first tip is to leave early! I also recommend staying in a hostel with good reviews, preferably located by the und. If you are traveling in a small group, it can be a great place to meet other backpackers from all over the world.
If you only have a short amount of time in Shanghai, here are the sites worth visiting:
1.) The Bund – Walk around both during the day and at night. There are a lot of restaurants and cafes along the bund, and really great ice cream. It’s quite a different type of “crowded” than Beijing and has a bigger and more visible expat community, so you are guaranteed to meet some interesting people.
2.) Yu Garden and Yu Market – The largest and most beautiful park in Shanghai. The Market is right by the Gardens and is great if you want to get some souvenirs – don’t be afraid to bargain!
3.) People’s Square – You’ll get to see groups of locals playing this specific card game. I don’t quite know the rules of, but I do know they do enjoy a crowd. There is also a Toni Amusement Park there, but it is not too big. People watching is definitely what tourists come there for.
4.) Nightlife – For going out and nightlife in general, Shanghai is incredible. The options are endless but I’d recommend Muse for clubbing if you live by the Bund. Another favorite of mine is Yong Kang Lu. An entire street of bars and restaurants, it’s a great place to start your night. Again, you’ll see a lot of expats here.
5.)Yang’s Dumplings – Located right by the Pearl Tower, you’ll recognize it by the big pink sign and the huge line. Visit here for a taste of Shanghai dumplings. Definitely the best fried dumplings I’ve ever had.
This is a very short list for a city that has a lot to offer, but our group had an amazing time just wandering around and stumbling upon known and less known gems in the city.
The day after we returned to Beijing we had our last Mandarin class with our beloved teacher Sally. I gave her a sign I made in calligraphy class and a red bracelet I bought in Jerusalem for good luck. She was quite an incredible teacher and we already miss her, but I know I’ll continue taking Chinese in the future because she made it so fun and interesting. We also had to say goodbye to half of the interns we left this month, which was harder than I expected because we became extremely close here after a month. We had our final event at a KTV (karaoke) place nearby which lasted about 5 hours, followed by a lot of tears and hugs.
That’s it for this week, I’m writing this from my hostel in Hong Kong so stay tuned for recommendations for this awesome city next week!
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