Shanghai

Likes & Dislikes

Likes

1. Simply walking and watching people on the East Nanjing pedestrian street

2. Admiring the Huangpu River and the Pudong skyline (on the other side) in the evening from the Bund

3. The public transport system and its 16 metro lines are easy to use as there are indication signs in English everywhere

4. Excellent public safety

5. Seeing one of the most dynamically developing metropolises in the world

6. The atmosphere in the small, old blocks of houses surrounded by high-rise buildings

7. Many good quality restaurants

8. The lovely buildings of the French Quarter (Old French Concession)

9. Shanghai is more enjoyable, open-minded and vibrant that Beijing

10. The stylish locals, especially the 20-35 year-old youths

11. We were lucky the skies were clear the day we went up to the Shanghai Tower

12. Taking the Maglev (magnetic levitation train) from the airport to the edge of the city center was an amazing experience

Dislikes

1. Being stuck in traffic in the taxi during rush hour, the merciless jostling to get in and out of the metro

2. Very humid in the summer

3. Drivers, motorcyclists and pedestrians - everybody just ignores traffic regulations

4. Spitting and throwing trash on the street (granted, it’s even worse in Beijing)

5. Surprisingly expensive, even when compared to Tokyo or Hong Kong

6. Smog, polluted air, water, even food

7. The Internet restrictions

8. There are not as many must-see tourist sights as in Beijing

9. Taxi drivers around the Bund have to be pushed into using the taximeter

10. The tourist rip-off tricks in nightclubs, the prostitutes and their bullshit pick-up lines inviting single male tourists for a massage

11. Expensive entry fee to the Shanghai Tower

12. Avoid the Old Town on weekends – too much crowd

13. The grey housing estates

Opinions

Shanghai - Bund

“We loved Shanghai, but unfortunately we never managed to feel as warmly about the Chinese. Still, at least the residents of Shanghai seemed much more polite than those of Beijing. There were some slobs among the domestic tourists.

There were a lot of things we liked, but particularly the old shops and restaurants in the narrow alleyways around Taikang Road. Cultured, and also quite romantic. You have to get off the no. 9 metro at Daquqiao station, from where you’ll find the entrance to this fascinating district. There’s a section for grocery shopping too, but it isn’t as interesting. Don’t miss out on this labyrinth – you won’t regret it!

It’s also easy to visit this area if you’re in the French Concession district. It’s within easy walking distance of Middle Fixing Road.

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Shanghai is much livelier and more dynamic, and has a much freer atmosphere than Beijing. In character it feels closer to the megacities of South-East Asia. Shanghai is pleasanter, greener, cleaner, and more livable than Beijing. Probably pleasanter than any Chinese city except Hong Kong.

Taxis are also cheap, though a bit more expensive than in Beijing. The subway system is very practical, you can use it to reach any part of town, and it’s also cheap.

There’s a huge contrast in Shanghai between the hyper-consumerist, luxury high-tech life of the elite, and the run-down traditional Chinese world.

What didn’t we like? There were just too many people on the Nanjing Road and the Bund, and as Europeans we were inundated within minutes with offers from street sellers and ‘masseurs’. The super-modern districts were too shiny to be attractive, and it’s unpleasant the way everything revolves around consumption. The malls are enormous, but that sort of thing doesn’t really appeal to me, and there were so many luxury shops that they too became boring.

The tourist places are interesting, but feel a bit plastic. Many of these attractions were built in the last decade, and lack authenticity – most feel designed to squeeze money out of foreign and domestic tourists.
(Andy, 2015)

I went with some local friends to check out the party scene (which is large and diverse). On the top floors of skyscrapers there are exclusive, snobbish, absurdly expensive places you can only go to if you’re elegantly dressed, and a surprising proportion of their guests are the Americans and Europeans who work in Shanghai. Then there are the real Chinese places, and the underground places, especially in the old French Concession. These underground places aren’t so different from their European equivalents – a little more exotic, maybe, but the music is more or less the same. (Andy, 2015)

Practicals