In 2016, I wrote about leading a trip to Beijing, China. This year, I was invited by my dear friend, Queena who led a student-trip to China in 2018. This time Shanghai and Xi’an were also on the itinerary!
Our first stop (after a layover in Toronto) on our journey to China was Shanghai. Before the trip, the only things I really knew about Shanghai were that it is the most populated city in the world and that it is more of an international city than Beijing. I didn’t have many expectations, but after traveling there, I was certainly impressed! I will say, if you are interested in a trip about the history of China, I’d stick to Beijing or Xi’an. Shanghai should definitely be on your radar if you want to visit a bustling, growing, and modern metropolitan.
We arrived in the evening, and our tour guide gave us the option to do a night boat cruise on the Huangpu River with views of the skyline. Most people in the group decided to go to sleep after many hours of travel, but I decided to push through to do the boat cruise, and I am SO GLAD that I did. It was one of the highlights of my entire trip to China. If you go to Shanghai and the weather is favorable, even if you see the Bund (a waterfront area in Shanghai) during the day, do the boat trip at night.
The hotel in Shanghai was also the nicest we stayed in while in China. It was newer and modern as most areas in Shanghai are. The Holiday Inn Express Shanghai Jinsha had a full breakfast (American and Chinese food), the rooms were clean and there was air conditioning! Ask about A/C when booking your travel to China, especially in the spring/summer months. The hotel would run you about $45 a night which is a great price!
That first morning we went to the Yu Garden Pedestrian Street. It was really neat to experience the food and shopping, but it was extremely crowded. We got lunch (noodles for days!) and an ice cream cone, and many in our group decided to do some shopping (I was holding out for the markets in Beijing). We later visited a silk factory/shop and the Jade Buddha Temple.
Another major highlight for this city was taking the elevators (too tall for just one elevator so there were two!) up the Shanghai Tower and experiencing the view. It was incredible to see what a city of 26 million looks like from over 100 stories up. I was told to go into the last stall of the women’s bathroom and this is what I found – WOW!
I called it “The Bathroom in the Sky”
We ended our afternoon/evening walking along the Bund in the day and shopping around the Shanghai Times Square. Overall, we did a lot in 1.5 days, but I could have spent much more time. This means, I’ll have to go back to Shanghai someday (hopefully before my $200, 10-year Visa expires!). Xi tien for now!
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