One Day in Shanghai

One of my Chinese friends told me that if you would like to know the latest 50-year's history of China, please go to Shanghai. Thereupon, I decided to stay one day in Shanghai on my way to Suzhou.

My flight arrived at T2 of Pudong Airport early in the morning. This terminal was newly built in 2008 as I know, large and quiet. The whole arrival hall was paved with soft carpet, which was very comfortable. There were clear English directions and some public phones, toilet, cafes and shops set along the way to the baggage claim area. After collecting my baggage, I followed the signs to the shuttle bus station, another 10 minutes' walking. Here, I took the bus No.5 to Shanghai Train Station. Since the bus was departed from T1, only several seats were free when it arrived at T2. Passengers should take luggage on the bus, in the front of which there was a luggage rack.

around people's square

The bus finally stopped at the south square of the train station in one hour. It was not far from the Great Wall Hotel, where I decided to stay one night. When I settled down everything, it was about 11am. My first thing was to purchase a train ticket to Suzhou next day. So, I walked back to the train station and got a bullet train ticket of 26yuan easily.

Just at the train station's square, I took the subway Line 1 to get to the People's Square quickly. My interest was the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center which is just located at the People's Square. It was worthy to spend 30yuan and one hour here to learn the great changes of Shanghai. On B1, there is a street imitating Shanghai's old face in 1930's, when many western buildings were flourishing in this city. I almost thought I have been in an old Shanghai movie.

Exit from this exhibition center, I went to the Shanghai Museum, they were separated by a road. It was easily to recognize this lager museum which has a round top and square base. It was free to visit this Museum, but every traveler should get a free admission ticket firstly. There were 12 exhibitions halls here, storing a large number of treasures. It was helpful that every displayed artwork has English introduction. There was also a young craftsman here to show visitors how to make a beautiful Chinese pottery.

The next must of mine is the famous pedestrian street of Shanghai—Nanjing Road, which is also located in the walking-distance from the Shanghai Museum. In fact, the People's Square is the division of the Nanjing West Road and the Nanjing East Road. The pedestrian street is a section of the Nanjing East Road. As soon as arrived there, I was a bit surprised by so many Chinese and foreign travelers and the various kinds of department stores set along its two sides. You could find the time-honored local brands as well as the world famous Chanel, LV, Gucci, etc., of course many peddlers selling funny gadgets and souvenirs. If you would like to have a rest, the Starbucks, Pizzahut, DQ and BreadTalk should be a nice place. I had no concrete destination here, but only followed the travelers' troop to walk onwards.

the bund of shanghai

The east end of this road is the Bund of the Huangpu River, which was under reconstruction to welcome the Expo. Viewing across the river, there are another two landmarks of Shanghai—the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center. I would like to visit them next time so just took some pictures at the Bund. Finally, I walked along the Nanjing Road back to the People's Square. On the way, I found the Shanghai First Food Mall which was recommended to taste local snacks by others. So, I did it. On the 1st floor, many local products were sold raging from wines, dim sum to the bread and chocolate. On the 2nd floor, cooked food and snacks could be found, such as the Xiao Yang's Fry-Dumpling, where a long line was. Very tasty!
 

 More Shanghai Travel Reviews

1. Shanghai Impression LEOSTAR from United States Jan 4, 2010 00:56

2. From Zhejiang to Shanghai JAMESWONG from China Dec 29, 2009 18:50

3. Shanghai Summer 2009 CHELLYBEAN from CA Jul 14, 2009 02:47