Hey guys,
just wanted to report back from my little weekend trip to Shanghai. The one thing, which was noticeable above everything else: the Chinese do like Christmas. A lot of lights, cheesy Christmas music in every mall, people taking pictures in front of christmas trees and all the christmas kitch you can dream of.
But the best thing was: I had authentic German Lebkuchen and now I am the right mood for the upcoming festival.

Click to enlarge.

If you ever wanted to go to Shanghai, maybe here are some tips for you:

The most useful thing to know for Shanghai is “the magic number”. It was introduced  for the foreign guests, expected at the Expo and for people to experience one of the biggest cities in the world. It is a free of charge, english speaking help service, where you can direct all your questions. If you call 962288, and press the 1, a lovely voice will ask you where you want to go. You can tell them in English and hand it over to the taxi driver. Then you wait for a nudge or a grunt, just to know your call was a success.

If you want to pound the most touristy spots, you just can take the Subway Line 2 (the green one). First we have Zhongshan Park in the west. There is a gigantic mall with 9 floors of everything! Although the Station name is Zhongshan Park I haven’t really found the park.

Next up would be Jing’an Temple Station. Here you can find a newly reonovated, traditional temple in the middle of the city. The interesting thing about this is that the modern city with its skyscrapers and futuristic buildings, lies in direct contrast with this ancient looking temple right in the middle of the 13 million metropolis.

Hereafter you can hop on the subway again an drive to people’s square, the center of Shanghai. On it’s outer border, there are a lot of smaller shops, along with some western buildings and the always present skyscrapers. In the middle is a park where you can relax and sit in a nice atmosphere.

Then you could visit the Bund. It is Shanghais street of old colonial-era buildings and the first port of call for many visitors. Surprisingly there are no Metro stations in the Bund. The closest you can get is the Nanjing Dong Lu stop. From there however, you can take the bus number 20 (departing from Zhongshan Park) and eventually you will get there.

Of course Shanghai has a vibrant night life, but this you have to experience for yourself.

So I wish you all of you a good time until Christmas day and we may meet in China at some point.

Cheers, Simon.