My Spring Festival Extravaganza - Part 3

The final stop on our journey was the so-called ‘Paris of the East’: Shànghăi! It certainly did not disappoint! We didn’t have a huge list of sights we wanted to see, unlike Běijīng and to a lesser extent Xī’ān, so we were quite content to just wander around for a few days enjoying a new city. Unfortunately, what with it being Spring Festival and therefore insanely busy, we weren’t able to go via train to Shànghăi so we had to fly. Not all bad of course, quick and easy – despite a little (or a lotta) lighter trouble…

I have to say, I LOVED Shànghăi! It was everything I was expecting: bright lights, cosmopolitan demographic, beautiful (European-looking yay!) architecture in places, incredible skylines – the works! It goes without saying that this is definitely a city worth a visit, and I wish we could have stayed longer than a few days! 

Our first evening was spent wandering the area near our hostel which happened to be East Nanjing Road – where the first shopping centres in China were opened in the 1920s. According to Lonely Planet, Shànghăi’s reputation as the country’s most fashionable city was partly created here, once known as Nanking Road. For some reason there were an excessive amount of people selling detachable rollerblades whenever we walked through. Whatever.

East Nanjing Road at night

We began our first day with a walking tour of the Bund. The Bund was once Shànghăi’s Wall Street being home to the most powerful banks and trading houses in the city (Thanks again Lonely Planet!). Now however, it’s known for its fancy restaurants, bars and boutiques with kick-ass views of the Pŭdōng district of Shànghăi (see below!).

A couple of pictures from the stone carvings
from the Monument for People's Heroes on the Bund

My brother and I in front of the Pŭdōng skyline

Top left: Union Church dating to 1885;
top right: Bank of China building, commissioned in 1936;
bottom left: Bund - fancy shops; bottom right: more Bund

Fresco above the entrance to the former home of
the North China Daily News, which ran from 1864 to 1951.
Spot the mistake? 

I think it was the next day, and again we were just wandering, and we ended up at a VERY crowded area – I can’t remember where it was sorry! Here’s a few pics of Spring Festival decorations for you to enjoy though!

One of the highlights of Shànghăi for me, and one of sights I wanted to see was the World Financial Centre. Like Hong Kong, I really REALLY wanted that night-time skyline photo, and one of the best places to get it is the 100^th floor of this building. It was insanely, ear-poppingly high but what a view! Like my HK experience, it was foggy in Shànghăi too, but luckily not too bad as to mean it was a wasted journey.

Nifty little model of the city!

 

From top left to bottom right: shows the various
stages of the city being lit up

The last place I fo sho wanted to visit while in Shànghăi was the French Concession. It once housed the bulk of the city’s revolutionaries, gangsters, writers and prostitutes, but now is known for its architecture and many-a restaurant and cute little shop – great for souvenirs! Quite maze-like and deceptively large, the area we visited was Tiánzĭfáng and had loads of little boutiques selling everything under the sun. I loved walking around the area! So cute and felt like I wasn’t even in China anymore! Bliss.

The French Concession

I'll leave you with this:
one of the freakiest things I've ever seen.
Why? Just why?

 So... there you have it! My whole Chinese New Year holiday. I can’t tell you how happy I am I got the chance to leave Fúzhōu, experience more of China, be a tourist for a while and see my brother. It’s a trip I’ll never forget and just made me want to see more of this crazy world we live in! You only live once after all right? 

I bid you adieu!

xoxo