Last May I was in China to visit the Avon R&D Center. Since it was my first time there, I extended my stay for a few days to explore the city before heading back home. Mr. JG followed over the weekend as per my request because I cannot speak Chinese as well as he does. Hahaha! He’s my favorite travel buddy and sometimes translator too. We didn’t have any itinerary and decided to play it by ear because we stayed naman right in the middle of some of the tourist spots. Honestly whenever I travel or visit another country, my priority is to try their food and what they offer that’s not available here back home. Bonus points na lang for me to visit their famous tourist spots. But if I were traveling Europe, tourists spots would be my priority of course!
Anyhow, sharing some photos from our trip. 🙂
We stayed at Sofitel in Nanjing Road. The street is a shopping area that stretches up to 5.5 km. It’s a mix of local & global brands ranging from food, apparel, lifestyle and even home items.
Nanjing Road
The mix of old and modern buildings gives Shanghai its distinct charms.
The Lost Heaven On The Bund
I’m pretty sure this is lamb! I wasn’t able to get the names of the dishes we tried but everything at Lost Heaven was good.
I have a thing for taking photos in a neighborhood or area of the country I’m visiting with signs written in their language. Is it just me or do you do the same?
A view of The Bund from Shanghai Min.
The Bund also called Waitan or Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu is a designated section of Shanghai’s port along the Huang Pu River. It’s a 1.5 kilometer stretch with a view of lined up buildings with various architectural style. You can walk along The Bund, go for a cruise or enjoy the night scene. Whatever you choose, it’s one of the places in Shanghai that boasts of 1800s colonial history.
Shanghai Min
500 Pudong S Rd, LuJiaZui, Pudong Xinqu, Shanghai Shi, China, 200000
+86 400 820 9777
Again, I wasn’t able to get the names of these dishes but we ate lauriat style and out of all the dishes we tried, these three were the ones I enjoyed most.
One of the reasons why I like Chinese food is because of the use of herbs and spices which makes their dishes flavorful.
This particular pork in claypot dish is something I truly enjoyed.
Oriental Pearl Tower
No. 1 Century Avenue, Pudong New Area, Shanghai 200120, China
The view of Oriental Pearl Tower from The Bund. You have an option to have dinner at the tower’s revolving restaurant or just enjoy Shanghai view at the viewing deck. We weren’t able to observe Shanghai from the tower itself so maybe it’s a good excuse to come back and do so next time? 🙂
Like I said you can also book a cruise. There are so tips online on where you can do so. I think there are apps also that offer discounted ones such as Klook or KKDay?
We couldn’t get a decent couple shot at The Bund. Though there were a lot of tourists that day, we didn’t bother a single soul to take our photo. ? That’s why I bought a tripod na for future travels.
When life gives you lemons, you better pray they’re lulu! ?
So when we were in Xintiandi, the first store I saw and visited was Lululemon. I loooooove their clothes and I wish I can afford all of them. ? Thankfully, they have some items on sale and luckily I was able to get a few items in my size.
LULULEMON
No. 1, 123 Nong, Xingye Road, Huangpu District
There are some roads at Xintiandi that are closed for pedestrians to roam freely around. This was one of is so of course I asked Instagram husband to take my photo. ?
LADY M
Treated Mr. JG to Lady M coffee and milles crepe as a welcome treat!
Walked around the area until we finally decided to go for Thai food for dinner.
Simply Thai
59 Madang Rd, XinTianDi, Huangpu Qu, Shanghai Shi, China
We had Tom Yum, a platter of appetizers, pineapple fried rice and pad Thai. We were beyond stuffed!
Zhujiajiao Water Town
This old water town is about 50 km away from the Bund, Shanghai. Mr. JG surprised me by telling me he booked this tour days before his flight. So we explored this side of Shanghai for a day.
This ancient town covering 47 square kilometres has more than 1700 years of history written all over it. Also known as the Pearl Stream, it is the best preserved town out of the four Shanghai has.
Out of all the bridges in town, the Fangsheng Bridge (Setting-fish-free Bridge) is the longest, largest and tallest stone bridge (it has five openings both in Shanghai region) and was built in 1571. On the bridge stands a stone tablet named Dragon Gate Stone, which is engraved with 8 coiling dragons encircling a shining pearl. On top of the bridge are 4 lifelike stone lions. information source
Our tour guide said these stone lions bring good luck and protection. So here’s Mr. JG posing beside it for posterity.
We also walked around Kezhi Garden (aka Ma Family Garden) it is the largest manorial garden & was named after a former host Ma Wenqin.
The theatre where the Ma Family used to watch live performances.
The garden has a bunch of pavilion but this one right near the entrance is one that I like most.
There are more than handful of rooms and pavilions in the garden, each one serving a purpose. The one right behind me I’m not sure what exactly it’s for but it’s got the best view of the tea pavilion which is right across the other side.
The narrow north street. Just a kilometre long, this stretch of Zhujiajiao Ancient Town is lined up with historical buildings and long-established stores. They’ve got a bit of everything from food to home items and of course souvenir pieces.
Can you guess how old these ducks are?!
So as we were looking around we came across this local artist who intricately hand paints the inside of snuff bottles.
Mr. JG got himself a souvenir with his Chinese zodiac sign and name written on it.
Back at The Bund
Shanghai Grandmother
Would you believe this is frog?!
First time to ever eat one. If Mr. JG didn’t tell me what this was, I would’ve thoroughly enjoyed this dish. Shucks! ?
I forget what it’s called but this savoury pork is a staple in most local restaurants in Shanghai. It’s kinda like our very own Adobo save that it’s sweeter.
Pop Bar
7/F, No.3 Waitan, No.3 Zhongshan East 1st Road, Shanghai
On our last night we explored the night scene of Shanghai. We walked aimlessly from our hotel (Sofitel) in Nanjing to The Bund. While we literally went from one bar to another (figuring out which one’s the best and figuring out if our very casual outfits can get us in) we ended up at Pop Bar. Though it was raining that night, we enjoyed our cocktails while overlooking the river.
Our very first trip in a foreign land after having kids. I must say we weren’t used to not being busy attending to small children but we most definitely enjoyed our time together.
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