Spending a year in Shanghai is by no means enough to extensively explore this wonderful city, its neighborhoods, it’s idiosyncrasies. The first and most natural place to start for first-time visitors is People's Square (Ren Min Guang Chang), a beautiful square downtown Shanghai surrounded by green and some of the city's nicest architecture. In its very heart, a mandatory stop is Shanghai Museum (Shang Hai Bo Wu Guan), a splendid display of Chinese past and present, lifestyle and art, calligraphy and handicraft, in a nutshell, a full immersion in the country's intimate soul. Despite being in the city center, Shanghai Museum doesn't draw the attention it should, and often its visitors are more Chinese than tourists.
The natural continuation from People's Square is the Old City and the Yu Garden (Yu Yuan). This can be a bit of a tourist trap, but it's by all means a must-see for first-timers as, especially in the Yu Garden, typical Chinese architecture and gardening style are beautifully displayed. Inside the Old City there are many shops offering anything from souvenirs to traditional clothes to fancy chopsticks, but tourists should be aware that the first price is “for foreigners”, meaning that if you can pay a tea set 100-150 Yuan at a normal shop, there it can cost 800 Yuan. This being said, you can (and are expected to) bargain the price. It's very easy to get to the Old City by taking subway line 10 and getting off at the Yu Yuan stop. Take exit 1 and after a short walk you will see the crowd. Who is keen on museums can also take a look at the places symbol of the Communist Revolution by visiting the Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China situated at no. 76 Xingye Road, next to the trendy pedestrian area Xintiandi. Attracting millions of visitors every year, the Site represents a fascinating journey into a lesser known part of the country's modern history, with an impressive reproduction of the first meeting in the living room on the first floor. Admission is free.
To get here, take metro line 1 and get off at South Huangpi Rd (Huang Pi Nan Lu). Station. Take exit 2 and walk along South Huangpi Road up to Xingye Road on your right side.
Shanghai's multifaceted society makes it for a very intriguing place to explore. Apart from shopping malls and museums, there's another side of the city that doesn't get all the attention it should. It's the spiritual scene of a world that has suddenly entered modernity but that is proud to cling onto its strong beliefs and the philosophy that made it one of the greatest civilizations.
Also when it comes to temples, visitors will stumble both on proper tourist destinations and in unsung pearls of Chinese culture. Three unmissable sights of this kind are around the city center. The first, easy to find, is Jing'an Temple (Jing An Si), in West Nanjing Road (Nanjing Xi Lu). With a history that dates back to almost 800 years ago, this is one of the main worship areas in Shanghai. It consists of three main halls finely decorated with jade Buddhas and his relics, as well as fresh flowers and the constant scent of incense lit up by the never-ending flow of worshipers. An attentive eye will notice that its traditional architecture is in striking contrast with the high modern-looking buildings and shopping malls that sit just beside. As crowded as Jing'an Temple is the Jade Buddha Temple (Yu Fo Si,) that, as the name suggests, displays two wonderful jade statues of the Buddha. Packed with tourists and worshipers, this temple is a pleasure to visit whether you are a Buddhist or not thanks to its magical atmosphere that makes for an enchanting break from the hassle and bustle of outside modernity. 
A true hidden gem within Shanghai's spirituality is the Confucius Temple (Shang Hai Wen Miao) situated in Wen Miao Road (Wen Miao Lu). Beautiful display of Chinese culture inspired by Confucius' philosophy, the gardening style plentiful of rocks shows the importance nature held in his ideology as well as the influence he had on Chinese civilization. The temple might be a little hard to find as Wen Miao Road is a small alley off the main South Xizang Road (Xi Zang Nan Lu but it's definitely a must. The nearest metro station is Loaximen on line 10.
Traveling to Shanghai, and China in general, for the first time isn't easy. The main hindrance is the language. Not many Chinese speak a fluent, or any, English, and Mandarin isn't exactly a language Westerners can pick up easily. It's therefore recommended to bring a small glossary with you so that you can point the characters of the essential stuff you may need. For smartphone users there are some great apps to help you like Jibbigo and Pleco. Going to eat is usually quite straightforward, as most restaurants have their English-version menu, but if you are a complete vegetarian you can find some problems since in Chinese cuisine meat is added about everywhere, to the extent that sometimes they don't consider a meat-based dish if it contains only small pieces of pork or chicken. This is why, if you don't want to eat any kind of meat you will need to tell them first, then specify all the ingredients you don't want:
- I don’t eat meat: Wo bu chi rou
- I don’t want pork: Wo bu yao zhu rou
- I don’t want beef: Wo bu yao niu rou
- I don’t want chicken: Wo bu yao ji
- I don’t want fish: Wo bu yao yu Transport is not a problem, as the wide and well-organized metro lines make it very easy to get around anywhere in the city. It's important to make sure you have an up-to-date subway map in English language instead of the Chinese version, possible to find at the main metro stations. In all stations names are both in Chinese and English. In case you want to take a taxi, they are very cheap and available everywhere, but again, drivers don't speak English, and often they won't understand which road you want to go to, so it's always a good idea to have the destination written in Chinese characters.
The first period in China is a challenge, but once the ice is broken, the country reveals itself as a wonderful destination to be explored, unearthing its hidden gems and fast-paced evolution.
More Articles from Angela:
● Speaking Mandarin - Must Know Expressions - a 6 part series
● The Jade Buddha Temple in Shanghai
● Shanghai's Display of Communism
This guest post was written by Angela Corrias. Angela is a freelance journalist. She specializes in travel writing with the aim to combine her passion for travelling with a socially aware writing. She regularly updates her travel website Chasing The Unexpected.
Visit Shanghai on our 2012 Silk Route Bicycle Expedition.
Uma jornada épica de bicicleta de Istambul (Turquia) a Samarcanda (Uzbequistão), pela lendária Rota da Seda, acaba de entrar na lista das “Viagens de Toda Uma Vida” da revista National Geographic Traveler, o National Geographic Traveler´s Tours of a Lifetime.
A Rota da Seda atrai viajantes dispostos a sair de sua zona de conforto e mergulhar nas descobertas pessoais e culturais de uma travessia continental de um Tour em bicicletas. O Tours of a Lifetime integrará a edição de Maio/Junho de 2010 da National Geographic Traveler, que estará nas bancas em meados de Abril.
Com esses prêmios, a National Geographic Traveller pretende trazer a seus leitores experiências de viagem singulares, autênticas e pessoais, levadas da forma mais sustentável o possível. Receber esse prêmio é uma das maiores honras que uma companhia de Tours pode desejar.
Veja o que eles dizem sobre o processo de seleção...
O processo seletivo foi bastante concorrido e nossa equipe de editores trabalhou duro para encontrar os Tours mais bem guiados, autênticos, inovadores, imersivos e sustentáveis de 2010. “As aventuras que escolhemos são opções para viajantes em busca de mais contexto e significado”, comenta o editor sênior Norie Quintos, chefe do projeto “E além de te guiar até o seu destino, ainda encontraram maneiras louváveis de devolver algo...”
Para aqueles interessados em se juntar a nós, agora em Maio, para a Expedição Rota da Seda, ainda há vagas disponíveis. Basta
clicar aqui ou enviar um e-mail para cristiano@tourdafrique.com.
I glanced up just long enough to vaguely appreciate the view of purple mountains on my left – but they did little to lift my spirit, as my every fiber was engaged in battling a fierce, gusty head wind which also rammed in brutally from the side from time to time. Slip streaming was out of the question as we were all unable to keep our bikes heading in a straight line and we often came close to disappearing down the steep road embankment.
The passing trucks added to the anxiety. The wind currents they created sucked and buffeted us, occasionally pulling riders in so close to the wheels that collision seemed inevitable. Thankfully, this never happened but the feeling of being slammed at random by an unpredictable, invisible force was scary.
My average speed dropped to 8 km per hour. The sky darkened and the temperature started to plummet. Knut stopped suddenly in front of me. “Enough†he said and disappeared over the embankment for a short sleep out of the wind. I marveled at his magical ability to do this.
I sat on the tarmac and glanced at the straight, slightly uphill road ahead. Was I seeing things? There advancing towards me was a distinctly Western looking character pulling a hand cart. When one meets any non Chinese in these parts, it is a happening – and this guy Chris was indeed an unusual one. He explained that he had been studying photography in Beijing for 2 years, and on completion of his course – he decided to walk home and take photos along the way. The catch was he lived in Germany and his journey home would take 3 years! We chatted, exchanged travel stories and bade each other farewell. I amazed at how normal he looked as he jauntily headed off into the distance.
This encounter was the turning point for me. Every inch I was now riding – he had walked.
The campsite was approaching as my hands and feet were losing all feeling. But not before I spied another anomaly to make me smile. For reasons unknown, the road builders of this desert highway decided to erect a series of life size animals along the way. Initially, I thought they were animals of the area – camels, bulls, but then the giraffe and kangaroos appeared. They are all painted a startling white by the road line painters- and the final specimen to make my day was a dinosaur!
Perhaps the wind is always such an evil force to contend with along this stretch of road that these bizarre animals ensure that no-one suffers a sense of humour failure!
Camping that night was yet another ordeal as the wind never abated. The racket of flapping fly sheets was thunderous – and caused Mike to comment that he felt like he was trying to sleep in a subway tunnel.
Dawn broke weakly. We crawled out of our tents. The wind was still pumping. And we still had 4 more days of 140 km each day. Would we survive?
Joan Louwrens
Our riders awoke to a crisp temperatures today, but at least it was a bit warmer than yesterday! With the light at the end of the tunnel in sight, most riders were up and out of the hotel and on the road early this morning, continuing the battle with the myriad of vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians and animals, that make up the local traffic.
Everyone seemed in good spirits arriving at lunch after a quick 80km, and were treated to French toast in addition to the usual lunch truck fare. Some riders even felt that the air quality had ‘slightly’ improved today! For the afternoon it was a flat, busy ride through little towns until reaching Baoding, our stop for tonight…and a nice hotel with lots of hot water and free internet in the rooms!
The African Routes boys have been kept on their toes the last while - traffic has been challenging, to say the least; and just finding somewhere to park the trucks has been an ongoing struggle in each city. As for doing any maintenance, well, just forget it!
At dinner we celebrated Chuck’s birthday, and discussed plans for our arrival in Beijing. It is hard to believe that the end of the Silk Route Bicycle Expedition is only two days away!
What is the best way to get though one of China’s biggest cities? When we began cycling underneath the grand archway of Xi’an’s city wall—I had my answer…straight though the middle.
Like an amorphous school of fish, we swim through the city. We engulf unsuspecting pedestrians and cyclists, leaving them befuddled in our wake. Predators attempt to agitate the shoal from all angles, requiring one of us to distract the danger until the rest are safe. All the while, flurries of fingers fall from handlebars, highlighting the next pothole, crack, or rock for those behind. We make for a ravishing creature.
As we pedal, thousands of years of Chinese history pass. The terra-cotta army of Qin Shi Huang, the museum of Chinese writing and calligraphy, and the Wild Goose Pagoda are a few of the many historical fingerprints. Xi’an served as the capital during the Tang Dynasty--the “Golden Years†of China. As we traversed from West to East, we view Xi’an as the terminus of our adventure along the Silk Route. Gone are the minarets of Samarqand and the melting mud walls of Merv. Replacing them are the hum of neon lights and the green glow of Starbucks. Signaling our exit from the ancient and entrance into the familiar and ordinary.
As our days dwindle in China, many of us are rethinking our assumptions about this country. Some pictured millions of people, wading in rice paddies, wearing the stereotypical conical straw hat. Many riders grew up during the Mao era, a time when China’s progress looked rather grim. While others had the chance to visit the country after it was reopened in 1978…when wai guo ren were truly a novelty.
China is dynamic and impossible to describe entirely. How can one begin to compare the skyscrapers of Beijing to a mud hut in Gansu province? We have the pleasure of experiencing both these extremes, and everything in-between, walking away with an uncommon impression of China. These impressions manifest through anecdotes, explaining in minutes, where a university professor may explain in weeks.
Robert Ball recently had a ‘China Learning Experience’ during a ride. “We tried to enter the expressway and were stopped at the toll booth,†he begins. The tollbooth attendant pointed to a sign with a list of pictures: no horses, no carts, no carriages, no motorcycles, and no bicycles. Having no choice, the small group took the less attractive side road and battled a gusting headwind for nearly two hours. Having had enough, the riders slithered underneath six strands of barbed wire and clambered up a 12-foot embankment to reach the expressway. The next 100 km were spent on the prohibited expressway, with police passing periodically, but not harassing them in the least. “A month ago I would have assumed immediate deportation for this,†ends Robert.
Cycling through XinJiang and Gansu, brought spectacular vistas, marred only by the passing coal trucks. Now the trucks have delivered their payloads and are causing much more harmful effects. More than half the riders don their facemasks every morning, with the other half wishing they had brought one. When we arrived in China, we were appalled by the amount of hawking and spitting in public places. Now, due to the declining quality of air, many of us are hawking and spitting in much the same way.
It’s unsettling to blow one’s nose and see nothing but black mucus in the tissue paper. Soot takes residence along our eyelids and when a cold wind blows, ebony tears stream towards our ears. A typical day finds us passing several thermal power plants and burning trash in a drainage ditch. Days are shorter, terrain flat, but we battle manmade conditions.
China recently overtook the United States as the number one air polluter in the world. Additionally, China has 16 of the world’s 20 most polluted cities. Our original route to Beijing was deliberately changed due to the city of Linfen, Shanxi—recently deemed the most polluted city in the world. It is said, coal dust in the air is so thick that cars must use headlights during the day.
As our bodies experience repercussions of environmental denigration, we cannot help but meditate on greater cause and effects. While we are cycling, we are helping rather than hurting.
Yes, it’s true! We completed a ride that was less than 100km, just by a whisker. But for a tired group who averaged about 150km each day, those numbers are basically a ‘rest day of riding’. Other than a few turns (the most we have had all week) the riders had a nice, easy, flat and rather chilly ride into the town of Kuqa today. The desert type landscape was replaced by bustling villages surrounded by poplar trees, corn rows, cotton fields and once again we had to negotiate donkey carts, pedestrians, motorcycles and the increase in traffic. The best part of the day was waking up in desert camp to a golden sunrise across the plains and of course, eggs and porridge! So the Buddhist influenced town of Kuqa awaits the riders and once settled into Hotel Qici, they can head off and enjoy, Chinese food, sights and some well earned rest from their bikes!
A beautiful, crisp, clear dawn greeted us in Aksu today. After a simple breakfast of steamed dumplings the riders took the road out of the city and churned past the multitude of small villages flanked by lush green trees and vegetation, dodging people, cars, trucks, dogs and donkeys before hitting the open road. The landscape turned into a desert and the rugged sandstone ridges rose up towards the bright blue sky. Sounds nice? Well, it was and although for the first 50km, the traffic was rather manic,when the landscape turned, the pace eased and the riders relaxed with many coming in with a tired, but happy look on their faces. Lunch consisted of noodles, pasta salad, sweet bread and hot drinks (as much as you wanted) so it was a long term affair with many deciding to take their time and enjoy the warm sunshine. A sweet little flu bug has descended onto the group, so riders are hanging out with croaky voices and chesty coughs but nothing too serious. As the day wore on, the desert camp appeared on the flats, just past a large power station (mmmmmm, sounds lovely doesn’t it?) but 300m off the road, on a flat with an awesome view of the mountains, we are enjoying the scenery, soaking up the atmosphere, relaxing under a Chinese sunset and swatting mosquitoes. It seems eons ago that we were in Kashgar enjoying a rest day but tomorrow, yet another rest day is upon us……the town of Kucha, a mere 100km down the road……down the flat road so everyone is hoping for a tailwind to get us there quick so they can enjoy a good rest after 5 days of averaging 150kms plus!
From our beautiful and scenic high camp in Kyrgyzstan, the riders headed uphill towards a high pass before descending into the border town of Irkistan, some 17km away, and our border crossing into China. It should not be placed on your top 10 places to visit but if you ever find yourself there waiting for the checkpoint to open then the local cafe serves the best eggs in Kyrgyzstan. The riders sheltered there from the cold eating eggs, drinking chai and spending their Kyrgyz money on chocolate, coke, beer and vodka. When the checkpoint opened, we only had to compete with 100 trucks waiting to cross so the going was slow but once through we were off to the Chinese border crossing/immigration. The Chinese, well known for their precision, wasted not a moment in herding us through the hall, having us fill out our papers and meticulously checking the trucks out, all wearing their green border guard uniforms. The process, expected to be slow and tough, was over in an hour or so and once on the other side the riders celebrated with beer and green tea. A short 50km ride into camp followed and the scenery was what impressed us most. That and the double humped camels that we finally encountered. The campsite was a true bush camp on a rocky river bed beneath enormous sandstone mountains. The best thing was the sun does not go down until after 9pm. Welcome to China and some of the most inspiring scenery on our trip so far!
