A WEEKEND IN SHANGHAI: JANUARY 2020

A day and a half after returning to Chengdu from my Jiuzhaigou trip, I took a flight to Shanghai. I really don’t know why I decided to go on these trips one straight after the other, because my previous excursions to the glacier and national parks a few days prior, left me feeling utterly exhausted before I had even got to Shanghai! But I persevered and actually had a great time.

The purpose of this trip was not only to see China’s biggest city, but to also visit a friend, Olivia, who I have known since I was at school. She, like me, is a teacher in China and it was really nice to catch up with a friend I haven’t seen in 4 and a half years!

I was only in Shanghai for less than 2 days, so I crammed a bit in, but in all honesty, 2 days is all you need for this city. Unlike most cities in China, Shanghai isn’t really known for its historical features, as Shanghai is the global financial hub of China. Its landscape is particularly impressive, with the Huangpu River running up the middle of the city and the famous Bund lying on the water’s edge. In this post I’ll include a few photos of what I got up to in Shanghai.

Oriental Pearl TV Tower

I arrived in the morning and went straight to my hotel to leave my luggage and made my way to meet my friend. After some classic Sichuan food for lunch, we made our way to the Starry Night Museum near the Bund. It was a little disappointing to start with, but towards the end of this exhibition were many rooms filled with mirrors and lights, making for some fab photo opportunities! Entrance to this museum was 68 RMB (£7.60). After this we headed to Olivia’s apartment in the city where I met one of her house mates and we had some pie and mash, which probably doesn’t sound so exciting but after eating noodles, rice and hotpot for nearly a year now, good old pie and mash was welcomed with open arms! We then went out to Bar Rouge on the Bund to enjoy some free cocktails which I thoroughly regretted in the morning!

Olivia and I in the Starry Night Museum

Starry Night Museum

Pie and mash!!!!

The Bund

After waking up quite sick and hungover the next day, I somehow managed to see a lot! I went to the markets at Yuyuan Gardens, Nanjing Road (a great shopping street) and People’s Park where I visited an art exhibition.