Shanghai #2

Shanghai is all about beautiful contrasts between old and new, messy and clean, chaotic and organized, calm and busy, ambitious and friendly… And it’s definitely one of my most favorite layover destination! You just need to know these five addresses in order to enjoy this vibrant city fully: fake market, traditional tea house, the best massage spa, extraordinary cocktail bar and one secret place…

Us flight attendants have some common criteria for a good layover: easy flight, easy going passengers, long layover, good and cheap massage, good food, good night life, interesting things to do and see. Because Chinese passengers usually just ask for a hot water and they don’t speak English well to be able to complain, Shanghai meets all the criteria! 

Let’s start with something that most of cabin crew is obsessed about – shopping! China is famous all over the world for their ‘fake markets’ with exact and precise copies of luxurious brands. In China you can easily get proper Chanel bag, LV scarf or Rolex watch for a few dollars and you won’t see a difference – just in price. Many of these pieces were stolen right from the table of their original factories or sent to ‘fake market’ because they showed some (almost invisible) failure in manufacture. Even though I’m not a shopping girl and I rather support smaller, ethical and fair trade, I have to admit that once I didn’t resist the quality I saw with my own eyes, and got one Chanel ‘boyfriend’ bag (never worn till now)! In Shanghai you can find many markets like this but the best and biggest one is with no doubt AP Plaza XinYang Market just 2 min walk from Shanghai Science & Technology Museum. It is located underground in metro line 2’s Science & Technology Museum station exactly. The northern part of AP Plaza is a maze of stalls, touts and greedy salespeople out to rip-off unsuspecting tourists with fake, fake and FAKE goods. The visibly fake pieces are those you will see in shopping windows, the pieces you want in your wardrobe are well hidden for the customers who take it seriously. Ask for those! As a general rule of thumb, offer 10 % of the original asking price, and settle for somewhere between 10% and 30%. Bargain hard, carry cash (even though some of the stalls are ready for your credit cards, as well), and be prepared to walk away from a bunch of stalls before settling on a price. Have a fun and good luck!

After hard bargaining you will need to fix your back. Chinese traditional medicine is the oldest in the world and in contrast with western one it focuses on healing real deep cause of pain not just removing the pain. Chinese invented very sophisticated needle acupuncture (I tried facial one – it was better than botox) so I trust them in massage as well. I’ve tried Balinese massage in Bali, Malaysian in Kuala Lumpur, Thai in Bangkok or Phuket, Vietnamese in Ho Chi Minh but the best one I ever had was the one in Shanghai. Our crew hotel – Ramada Plaza (Pudong Shanghai) has a great location for that. Juts right on the same Bi Yun street there are several spas – most of them open till 1-2 am! My most favorite is a simple looking spa with the name JOY. Right there I’ve had the best 2 hours of quality full body massage for very low price! Btw. If you aren’t a fan of Chinese cuisine on the same street you can find couple of really good international restaurants – Italian with an Italian chef, Mexican or Irish.

For the night life you need to go to the area called Bund. It is the one with the most iconic skyline. Lots of cabin crew like to end up in a popular club called Bar Rouge but I have even better option for you. For an unmissable view of the Shanghai skyline at sunset (and the best pictures ever), the Vue Bar at Hyatt on the Bund is the place you want to be. A magnificent bar on the 32nd floor equipped with a hot tube on the terrace is chic and fun. Just don’t forget to take your chick swimwear! 🙂 And it’s not expensive! Entrance fee is 100 Yen and it includes one welcome drink from the menu (which can be even the glass of Champaign)! Get there at 6 pm when they open to get the best seat in the house (people are usually coming later in the night) and enjoy beautiful sunset view with a champaign cocktail in your hand. Cool house beats will be the backdrop to your sundowner drink. Btw. Ladies, Thursday is your night. For the price of 100 Yen you will get two drinks and dim sum as well! 

Yu or Yuyuan Garden (means Garden of Happiness) is an extensive Chinese Garden located beside the City God Temple in the Old City of Shanghai. It’s a most known traditional sight of the city and ‘must see’ tourist attraction. Also the oasis peace in the middle of busy Shanghai. It abuts the Yuyuan Tourist Mart, the Huxinting Teahouse and the You Garden Bazaar. All this area of Old City looks like it doesn’t belong to the rest of very modern and ambitious Shanghai. You can find here lot of shops with traditional Chinese craft or food. When I showed an interest in a performed process of tea selection, I somehow ended up following one Chinese lady to the teahouse on the rooftop with a beautiful view. Me and my colleague were the only two people drinking our tea there. It was very refreshing escape from busy downside. Btw., Chinese green teas are those of best quality in the world with the longest tradition. 

The area in Shanghai covered by the French Concession during The Second World War has nowadays specific and ultra cool vibes. Something what you wouldn’t expect in Chinese city! It’s not that well known by international tourists yet what is kind of mystery for me because this French looking area is very cool. Actually, it’s very interesting mix of French and Chinese design. Foreign architecture, cool coffeeshops and bars together with crazy Chinese souvenirs, traditional decoration and a smell of dumplings, noodles and hot dogs on sticks (very Chinese top street snack) make extraordinary combination with irresistible atmosphere. If you ever are in Shanghai and want to visit this place, don’t ask about French District or French Concession, nobody will get what are you looking for. Ask for Tian Zi Fang. These are three magic words which can take you to a completely different world as soon as you say them loud inside a taxi. This is how the Chinese know it. The area is spreading just in front of the exit 1 at Dapuqiao metro station (line no. 9).

If you need a break from noodles and dumplings come to Kommune for avocado on sour dough toast and detox juices. This bustling brunch spot in the heart of Tian Zi Fang is something special. Outrageously sized coffee mugs and bright psychedelic wall prints will make you feel like you’re attending the Mad Hatter’s tea party. 

If you have some extra time, be sure to visit the Natural History Museum in Jing’an Park – one of the world’s largest of its kind, full of moving dinosaurs, skeletons and stuffed animals. You will learn a lot about the origin of our planet and its inhabitants. The most fantastic museum I’ve ever seen! 

Another great reason to pick Shanghai as your next destination is this beautiful Venice of China, located only 2 and half hours of driving from Shanghai. You need to save a day for this trip but it’s definitely worth it. I wrote about it in detail in my post under the title ‘Zhouzhuang – Chinese Venice’. Check it out. 

Whenever I’m in China, I feel like a celebrity. Random people in the streets stop me and ask me to take picture with them like I was somebody famous! One guy I met in Tian Zi Fang explained me that Chinese love foreigners because they don’t see them very often in their country. And even though Chinese people usually barely speak English, so we have to communicate through translator apps in our mobiles, they always try to exchange the contact and make new friendships. Problem is, that social media we usually use for communication like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger are blocked in China and in return we don’t know their hi-tech apps. It takes time to start to like Chinese. They look like they don’t have a taste and style (but they are obsessed with European brands) or proper manners and they do these horrible sounds on the board of plane but they’re very friendly, easy-going and humble people!