When you are in Shanghai, behave like the locals: be aggressive, elbow your way around in the crowded streets, and tell the cab driver your destination like you've been there umpteen times even if it's your first trip in Shanghai. These are the wise words given by a friend, and I'm glad I take heed as they are sure survival tips for the first-timer in Shanghai.
In addition, I've also come away with a couple more survival tips: be firm and say "No" to touting peddlers which is a rather annoying and rampant scenario there, and do bring a miniature perfume or deodorant with you at all times, especially when you're travelling on public buses and metro trains. The stale pungent smell of sweaty bodies squeezing you on the streets and public transport can be very uncomfortable.
Garden City
In some ways, Shanghai is similar to Singapore for its many skyscrapers and much greenery. In fact, on the journey from the Pudong International Airport, I'm rather impressed by the scenic view of carefully trimmed shrubs and swaying palm trees on both sides of the road.
Apart from the more polluted air, several parks can be found adorning different parts of the city, namely Fuxing Park, Hongkou Park, Huangpu Park, Renmin Park, and Zhongshan Park. The most popular one is Renmin Park which is centrally located in the heart of the city. Inside the Renmin Park metro station is a mini shopping mall where you can find several small shops selling all kinds of stuff from fashion clothes, trendy accessories to traditional Chinese handicrafts. Near the park is the Renmin Square where the Shanghai Museum sits.
Shopping Paradise
If your main mission in Shanghai is shopping, you would not be disappointed. Just on the stretch of Nanjing Road alone, from Nanjing Dong to Nanjing Xi Roads, you can find several big department stores such as the locally run Hualian Department Store, Shanghai Number One Department Store, New World City, Westgate Plaza, and the plush Itokin Fashion Plaza, which even has designer sofas on every floor for shoppers to rest their tired legs. Most of these department stores are holding big sales to entice tourists and the affluent Shanghainese, so make sure you bring enough credit cards.
Interestingly, there is even a big shopping mall called Bao Da Xiang Shopping Complex that is specially catered for kids and teens. Perhaps, the one-child families in China have inspired enterprising businessmen to come up with this unique but revenue-churning business concept, since parents are more willing to spend on their only child.
Along the more upmarket and sophisticated Huaihai Road is the Shanghai Times Square, which houses international brands like Lane Crawford, Gucci, Calvin Klein and Esprit. There is even a Broadband International Cineplex on the top floor. Other department stores on this stretch include Isetan, Watson, Maison Mode, Parkson Department Store, Printemps, and Sincere Department Store. Except for Watson, shopping at these impressive department stores here can be a luxurious but expensive affair. However, it is widely known that the upper middle class Shanghainese prefer to shop here than any where else in Shanghai.
Another high-end, flashy shopping area is at Xujiahui Commercial Plaza, which is easily accessible by the metro train at the Xujiahui station. There, you will find the Tai Ping Yang Department Store and Shanghai Oriental Shopping Centre, both are foreign invested malls selling international brands and designer labels. Most of these large shopping malls in Shanghai open till 10 at night, so you can shop to your heart's content.
If you are an avid antique collector, there are many specialty shops selling a wide array of antiques like antique furniture, jade, porcelain and ceramic ware, extricately carved chopsticks and traditional Chinese handicrafts ranging from clay figurines and straw-strewn dolls to embroidered clothing and fabrics. Unlike the big department stores, these small shops are usually run by the locals and prices are not fixed, so there is room for bargain. Make sure you slash the prices down to at least 20 percent.
To hunt for your antiques and curios, make your way to the Friendship Store (40 Beijing Dong Road), Shanghai Antiques and Curios Store (218 Guangdong Road), Old Town Embroidery Shop (21 Yuyuan Xin Road), Shanghai Arts and Crafts Jewellery and Jade Ware Store (438 Nanjing Dong Road), Guohua Porcelain Store which is along the same stretch of road (550 Nanjing Dong Road), and Tiehuaxuan Pottery Shop, one of many antique specialty stores at Yu Garden Commercial City.
Gourmet Delight
Food lovers would be glad to know that Shanghai is not only a gourmand's paradise, the local food, especially those selling at small, family-owned eateries are relatively cheap too. You just have to know where to search out the small lanes and narrow streets for these homemade Shanghainese cuisines. However, you would have to make do with cramped space, loud voices and other customers smoking next to you.
If you crave for dim sum, a good place to go is the Zhujiazhuang Bifengtang restaurant which boasts an eye-pleasing decor, quiet ambience and mouth-watering dim sum delicacies. Suitably located near the entrance of Meitha Department Store near Huaihai Road, you can even shed off those after-meal calories by shopping at the stretch of shopping malls along Huaihai Road.
Another great place to search out good foods is at the Nanjing Pedestrain Street (Nanjing Road) where rows of retail shops, department stores and eateries line up on both sides of the walk which is free from traffic, except for cyclists and tourist trams that take you on a sightseeing tour along the famous Nanjing Pedestrain Street.
Fast-food outlets like McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Kentucky Fried Chicken are also springing up in Shanghai in recent years. But if you prefer homemade Shanghainese food, check out the small family eateries that are usually inconspicuously located in the back lanes of the Pedestrain Street. For your own safety, make sure you don't venture there alone at night.
However, the best place for a variety of authentic Shanghainese snacks must be at the Yu Garden, where you can find all kinds of noddles, dumplings and sweet meats to satisfy your tastebuds. Highly recommended is the renowned steamed dumplings or "xiao longbao" at the Nanxiang Steamed Dumpling Shop, where a perpetually long queue testifies to the popularity of the delicacy.
Hotel Stay
Along the Nanjing Pedestrain Street, which is highly popular not only with tourists but also the locals who like to spend their evenings and weekends here, you can also find several hotels for those who want to stay right in the "heartbeat" of the city.
Among them are the five-star Hotel Sofitel Hyland, Ramada Plaza Shanghai, East Asia Hotel, Park Hotel, one of Shanghai's most famous hotels, and the legendary Peace Hotel which opened in 1929 and is touted as the most outstanding Art Deco Hotel of the Far East. Needless to say, these conveniently located hotels are much more expensive than the ones outside this area.
If you do not want to blow your budget on hotel accommodation, yet prefer to stay in the heart of the city, there is the Jinjiang YMCA Hotel (Xizang Nan Road) and Captain's Hostel (Fuzhou Road), which overlooks the Bund. Both hotels offer domitory-style rooms (without bathroom attached) at cheaper rates.
Cruising The Bund
You would not have seen the dazzling beauty of Shanghai if you have not been to the Bund (or known to the locals as "Waitan"). The best time to go there is after eight at night, when the sun is down and the lights are up. Standing at the Bund and overlooking the dazzling neon lights of skyscapers on the other side of the Huangpu River, with the breeze kissing your cheeks, is an experience you have to try at least once.
For a fee ranging from 25 yuan to 50 yuan (depending on the common class cabin or first class cabin which includes tea and snacks), you can take a cruise on the Huangpu River for a beautiful night scene of the Bund. Do bring your own camera as there are touts offering to take your picture and print it on the spot for a fee.
World Of Culture
Another place you should not leave Shanghai without visiting is the Yu Garden Commercial City, also a favourite hangout of the locals on weekends. Although the place has been commercialised to cater to tourists, you can still find some good buys if you bargain hard enough as competition among stores here is intense.
Apart from great bargains, you can see some really traditional Chinese arts and crafts that have become an extinct trade such as handmade clay figurines, straw strewn dolls, and exquisite aluminium paper-cutting craft. These handiworks are a rare sight as you don't find them in other retail outlets and department stores in Shanghai, definitely worth buying back as souvenirs.Here, you can also buy a wide assortment of Shanghainese tidbits ranging from the sweet cakes, savoury barbequed duck tongue and duck neck, to all sorts of sweets and sour plums. You can ask to taste the samples before you buy them, but prices are fixed so you can't bargain.
There are also several department stores and retail shops here. In fact, there are so much to see and shop here that one can easily spend an entire day at the Yu Garden Commercial City. When hunger pangs strike, just head to any of the eateries or restaurants to satisfy your stomach. For the budget conscious, there is an air-conditioned food court that offers value-for-money Shanghainese dishes.
Standing in the midst of the Yu Garden Commercial City is a zig-zagged bridge called the Bridge of Nine Turnings, which leads to the renowned Huxinting Teahouse, a popular haunt with tourists as well as the locals. You can rest your tired legs here, sip tea and munch some snacks before you continue your tour to the Yu Garden, an exclusively restored classical Chinese garden for those who appreciate Chinese architecture such as intricately carved pavilions and walls, ornamental windows and curiously shaped rocks. However, you have to pay an entrance fee of 30 yuan to view these restored architectural beauty.Coming out of the Yu Garden Commercial City is the famous Old Shanghai Street where you can find centuries old houses and shops, where the locals live and make a living selling all sorts of stuff, from antiques, porcelain ware to hand-painted T-shirts and handmade crafts. Be warned that the touts are rather aggressive here, you'll be pulled into the shops the moment you linger to look at their stuff. So make sure you bargain hard if you really want to buy, or simply walk away if you're not keen.
No City Of Angels
Although Shanghai is undoubtedly a food and shopping paradise, catering for both the budget conscious and the splurger, it is not without flaws. Friendly gestures and a helping hand do not come by easily if you are lost and ask for direction. Touting is a common but annoying problem that could spoil your shopping experience. Even within the big department stores are toilets you would rather hold your bladder than to use.
But what's more disturbing is the frequent sight of beggars (adults and children alike, some of whom are as young as 10 years old) "kow-towing" to passersby for money on the streets and pedestrain walk. especially along Nanjing Road and Huaihai Road, both are upmarket commercial districts. Most of the beggars are able-bodied male adults, with the occasional youths and young children. Ironically, this group of underprivileged forms a distinctive contrast amidst the backdrop of plush shopping malls and skyscrapers in this prosperous city.
Fast Facts
Visa: You can obtain your individual visa from your travel agency or the China Embassy. Those travelling in a group will receive a group visa. If you're travelling on business, you need to apply for a business visa that should be accompanied by an invitation from the host in China, or a letter from your company confirming your business trip.
Currency: The Chinese currency, better known as Renminbi (Rmb), is available in 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 yuan (in notes); and 5, 2 and 1 jiao (in coins). Make sure you check your 100 and 50 yuan notes if you change your currency in China due to the increasing counterfeit problem there.
Credit cards: Most hotels, major departmental stores and restaurants accept international credit cards like Visa, MasterCard and American Express.
Weather: China experiences extremes in climate, ranging from the scorching hot summer to the biting cold winter with plenty of rain and the occasional snowfalls. Summer usually begins in June and ends in August. When I was there in the latter part of August, the weather was unbearably hot and humid with the highest temperature hitting 39 degree celsius. Autumn (from around September to November) is the best time to visit Shanghai as even the day temperature is a cool 23 degree celsius. Winter starts from December to February, and Spring from around March to May.
Mobile phones: If you're a regular visitor to Shanghai, it's advisable to buy a SIM card there, which costs about 30 yuan for the number (more if you want to choose your number) and 50 yuan for the card value. Most, if not all hotels, charge for the use of telephone calls, even if the calls are made within Shanghai.
Language: Most Chinese in Shanghai can speak Putonghua, or the common Mandarin we speak in Singapore. However, alot of them also speak Shanghainese and a minority other Chinese dialects, depending on where they came from.
Transport: Shanghai is easy to get around with its public transport which is very cheap: 1 yuan for non-air conditioned buses and 2 yuan for air-con ones; Metro train (like Singapore's MRT) tickets cost only 2 to 3 yuan at most. But if you're not familiar with the many streets and lanes, you can easily hail a cab from the streets. Cab fare starts at a flat 10 yuan for the first 3 km and subsequent 1 yuan for every km thereafter.
Standard of living: Compared to Singapore, Shanghai's cost of living is slightly lower. Local food (from the small eateries and street foods) is relatively cheap, you can have a large bowl of noodles for just 3 to 5 yuan, which is about S$0.60 to S$1. Public transport is also very cheap (see above). Shopping in the local departmental stores is alot cheaper than in the foreign-invested shopping malls, where famous brands and international labels cost as much as in Singapore.
