Shanghai was one of the first trips we took outside of Beijing when we moved to China. Having not had a summer holiday or our honeymoon yet (that would come later) we treated ourselves to a fancy hotel in the Xintiandi district and travelled in style on the high speed train. I couldn’t help but love Shanghai. It has all the bright lights, fancy cocktails and shops you could wish for in a modern, cosmopolitan Asian city. There were also little streets with great restaurants and cute cafes (you all know how much I love my cute cafes) in the Tianzifang area. The well-known French Concession area was, of course, charming. I even bought my own Qipao (Chinese style tight dress) there. Although I admit I’m yet to wear it!
At just over 4 hours on the high speed train, Shanghai was an easy get-a-way from Beijing. Over 4 days we relaxed, shopped, ate and checked out sites such as the famous Bund area and the Confucius Temple. One of the highlights was surely sipping cocktails in Cloud Bar on the 87th floor of the Grand Hyatt. Nothing like a bit of old school glamour and some delicious drinks while taking in the amazing view!
I came away half wondering why I hadn’t moved to Shanghai instead of Beijing. It had all the modern amenities you could want and even the taxi drivers seemed friendlier! But that’s a feeling I don’t have anymore. I’ve grown to love Beijing and definitely see it as my China home town. I’m a real Beijinger now! In Beijing you can have it all: the endless world-famous historical sites, the hutong alleyways, the fancy, expensive cocktails and more. But I would still totally wear an I <3 Shanghai T-shirt (don’t tell my i <3 Beijing T-shirt that) and it is definitely a place I would love to go back to for a long weekend. Even just for the cocktails in the sky!
Ps- I now (finally!) have a Facebook page! Click here to like my page and follow along. Don’t forget my other favourite social media Instagram too!
Ps-ps- I haven’t forgotten about all the other millions of adventures I had in the Tibetan areas of China or Indonesia over the summer- I just like to mix it up a bit 🙂
Where’s your favourite place for a long weekend? And who wants me to do a “fashun” show in my unworn qipao (I completely forgot about it last Spring Festival/Chinese New Year)?