Shanghai trip

Shanghai lies north east of Hangzhou directly on the coast and an hour and a half’s train journey away. Going by train is much to be preferred over the bus journey which we did on our first landing at the Shanghai Airport in February. It is an hour shorter, is almost half the price (56 yuan as against 100 yuan for the bus), and is much more comfortable and no hassle. You can reserve a seat and not have to fight the crowds. The train we traveled on is called the “bullet train” both, I think, for its looks and its speed. It seats 3 and 2 across like the interior of a plane, but with considerably more shoulder and legroom. It speeds along at around 140 to 150 kph and gets up to 170 kph on certain stretches. It has obviously a newish track as there was virtually no track noise, just smoothness and quiet. And, thank heavens, no music or TV and ads like we have to endure on all the local buses in Hangzhou. It has a great feature inside the “cabin” – it continuously displays the speed of the train, and the outside and inside temperature as you speed along, and whether the toilet is free. It would be nice if all the trains in China were so new and advanced, but apparently they are not.




Pictures of train interior and Jacky at the engine front.

We were interested to see what the countryside along the 210 kms. between Hangzhou and Shanghai looked like, our first foray into the countryside. Unfortunately, it is built up all along the way with urban buildings, and virtually no trees. We saw a few sections where there was some market gardening going on, but otherwise, just good old urban sprawl. We also wondered whether we would see clear skies with objects in the distance in sharp definition as we left urban Hangzhou, but the gray mist of pollution prevailed the whole way – and into Shanghai. A clear bright sky we have not seen since we came here. So a visit to the country is still in the future.

We arrived at the Shanghai station, and made our way to their subway to get to the city centre and the features we wanted to visit, and check in at our hotel. The subway is also very modern, very extensive, and crowded, but no more, I would say than London. It is also easy to get around as all the directions are in English as well as Chinese (as are the announcements of the station you are arriving at) and the map of the stations is like the London Underground. And cheap. The 6 stops we traveled on cost us 4 yuan, 75 cents!

We had a bit of a saga about our hotel booking and our travel agent had to find us another hotel, but once that had been resolved (at double the price!), we set off straight to the famous “Bund”, the waterfront sweep of buildings and promenade that the Lonely Planet describes as “symbolic of Shanghai”. By this I think they mean the city is popping with modernity and development, and go-gettedness. Standing on the promenade, you look across at the skyscrapers on the other bank (of the river that Shanghai sits on as it widens to the sea), and are reminded somewhat of New York, but to my mind, none of the buildings are spectacular or of amazing architectural design. But it still is a sight not to be missed. We planned to cross to this side the next day and go up one of the towers to take in the full scope of the city but the fog descended shrouding the tops of the buildings and making the journey pointless. Another time.

Picture of the view from the Bund across to the towers.

Shanghai is famous for its two shopping streets, Nanjing Street which has been made into a wide and long pedestrian concourse which was packed with people going in both directions. Some of the famous European clothing brand shops are there as well as a multitude of local brands and shops. Plenty for you to spend your money on. And riven with touts (both male and female) anxious to sell you a knock-off Rolex watch or Gucci bag at knock-off prices. We resisted all sales pitches! Here also we saw more than the usual one or two “whiteys”, but overwhelmingly, the place was crammed with Chinese. The other street is called Huaihai Street, further from the main drag but it is narrow and thick with traffic, and nothing much out of the ordinary. What was extraordinary, though, was a mall nearby called Plaza 66 that contained all the really exclusive fashion names from New York, London, Paris, Milan in shops with beautifully arranged display windows (where “less is more”, to quote that enigmatic saying) and set out in the most amazing interior design of 6 levels with an oval entrance atrium of superb size and arrangement with the 6 levels circling the oval on 3 sides and a cathedral-type roof making it spacious and very peaceful. Nothing like a bit of money to produce magnificent architectural design and function. It also contained a glassed-off coffee shop where the moneyed were taking their deserved leisure, as we enviously overlooked them from level 2! We had to stick to Starbucks, ever-present, as always!


Picture of Nanjing Street as pedestrian concourse.

Picture of Plaza66 atrium.

But so far, all we had really seen in Shanghai was “modern urban”, found duplicated all over the world in large cities. Nothing particularly Chinese but more to follow........