Shanghai Gig: a Short Guide to Shanghai

I recently went to Shanghai, thanks to a special discounted fare online which took me five hours to book because the whole Philippines and their grandparents were trying to book at the same time. I call this Shanghai Gig not because I had a comedy gig over there but because I bought a USB Drive with 640 gigs, but I will reveal that incredulous story later. First, I want to help you out with some quick suggestions in case you’re planning a trip to Shanghai.

If you’ve never been to China, you might get overwhelmed when you get to Shanghai. It’s kind of like Hong Kong but with more people and rudeness but less English. I’m not saying that all Chinese people are rude, just the ones in China. I don’t blame them. There are 2 billion of them so they probably don’t have time for niceties, manners, and a good dentist, but at least they use deodorant, unlike some people in Singapore. Before you get on your political high horse, keep in mind that I too am part Chinese (about 1/64th) and have a friend who is ¼ Singaporean.

Like most cities, Shanghai has its charms and its unpleasant side. So let’s start with the charming side. Here are some places that I think are worth seeing since they are unique to this metropolis:

Taikang Lu
The best way to get to Taikang Lu is by taxi. Just tell the cabbie to take you to Taikang Street. Once you get there, it won’t be obvious where the art shops and cafes are located, especially since they’re building a new mall just on the other side of the street. You have to go through one of the little streets to get inside the labyrinth of hip shops and restaurants. It’s like a Chinese Europe except it’s not in Europe, like Europe town inside China (am I making sense?). I liked it because of the quaint shops that sell these artworks, trinkets, clothes, and other little goodies. You can have lunch here or spend the afternoon sipping on some coffee and dessert while you enjoy the crowd and scenery.

Nanjing Road
This street stretches from East to West with the East being the pedestrian part. They blocked off a few blocks for pedestrians, but be careful because there are these mini trains and their version of the “tricycle” that pass through without warning. There are a lot of shops and restaurants along this road as well as half the population of China hanging around and spitting wherever they like. Hotels on Nanjing East put you right in the middle of the action, which is not always a good thing if you want to avoid pesky vendors who smother you as soon as you get out of your hotel. “Hello, you want bag? Shades? Nice lady?”

If you start heading west on this road, you will see some historic buildings, the people’s square, and the more upscale stores. The pedestrian part ends at some point and vehicular traffic starts coming in. The good thing is if you get tired of walking, you can take the subway, which also stretches along Nanjing Road.

Xintiandi
This area is where the French Concession used to be. It feels like walking down a street in Europe, if you ignore the huge Starbucks sign and the Chinese signs. The two things that I liked about this area were the communist museum and Din Tai Fung Restaurant. The museum is quite small but still worth seeing, especially if you want to take a break from capitalism. You can buy some souvenirs such as the Mao watch and some communist cards with some exotic Chinese women or concubines. Afterwards, you can walk over to Din Tai Fung and eat their famous xiaolongpao. Luckily, the restaurant has pictures in their menu, which is always a good thing in China if you’re illiterate but have fingers to point. I wonder, is it possible to have dyslexia in China?

Hengshan Lu
If you want a taste of the nightlife, head on over to Hengshan Lu area. They have restaurants, bars, and these DVD places that sell real Blu-ray discs for a quarter of the price. I tried this hip Japanese restaurant called Haiku that served some of the best sushi and showed some hilarious Japanese videos. Since I’m not much of a drinker, I enjoyed the DVD shop more. I was able to buy Blu-ray movies for around PHP500 – about $5! I know, it’s unbelievable! And they really work as I tried playing them on my PS3. You can’t miss the stores because they have big signs.

Hyatt on the Bund
This hotel is another good place to enjoy a few drinks. It has a nice panoramic view of the city. On the very top floor, there is even an outdoor hot tub, which you can enjoy, if you don’t mind the rest of the customers ogling at you. The bar offers swimming trunks and bathing suits, although clothing is optional but don’t take my word for it. The whole penthouse feels like it came out of a porn movie without the porn of course. I don’t think commies allow that.

Shanghai Science and Technology Museum
The best way to get here is by Rail Transit Line 2 as it stops right at the museum. You can take some photos outside and go inside if you want to kill some time and learn about aliens. The museum has an Imax theater as well. If you have kids with you, they will enjoy this place.

For the adults, you can do some shopping at the metro station where you can buy all the fake goods. Be careful though, especially with the electronics. This is where I got swindled with the USB Drive, which was supposed to have 640GB. They even had one with 880GB but that one was really pushing it. My mind already knew that 640GB on a small USB device was impossible in 2009, but my heart wanted to believe so I shelled out about PHP700 or $12 for what turned out to be an expensive keychain. They’ll even show you the drive has 640 Gigs by sticking it into their laptop, but don’t be fooled. As soon as you get home and try to upload any files onto it, it just doesn’t work. Of course, I was too lazy to go back the next day and give the vendor who sold it to me a karate chop. I guess it’s tourists like me that they victimize because they know I would not come back. At least the Rosseta Stone CD I bought still works.

Qipu Lu
Pronounced “cheap-o-loo” (coz it is), this place is their version of Divisoria or 168. If you’re not Filipino and don’t know Divisoria, just imagine 4 buildings full of fake brand name apparel and anything you can imagine. This shopping center is not glamorous at all and you’ll probably find it annoying that these hard sell guys keep following you around. But you’d be surprised at the good finds you’ll see. I got to buy some nice silk underwear by Calvin Klein and some other brand name shoes that are probably factory overruns. You can probably spend a few hours here if you’re a hardcore shopper.

Jing‘an Temple
If you want to visit a Chinese temple, the Jing’an Temple is convenient since it is accessible via the subway. The train stops in a large department store with a grocery. Up the escalator is the temple. It’s quite small and would probably take you 15 minutes to tour the whole place. At least you can say you spent some spiritual time.

Maglev Train
Although this isn’t really a tourist spot, the Maglev train, short for magnetic levitation, is worth riding. I took it on the way back to the airport and it topped at 431 km/h. It was quite similar to the Shinkansen in Japan. In fact, I tried to shoot a gun inside the Maglev and the bullet remained suspended in midair.

There are other places worth seeing in Shanghai but I didn’t really have much time to explore the places. You can just pick up a guide or ask your hotel concierge what other areas are worth visiting.

Oh, one more thing you need to know:

Bargaining
Unlike in Hong Kong, the walking away style when the vendor doesn’t want to lower his price still works in Shanghai. A good rule of thumb is to haggle down by 80% of their quoted price. They’ll probably get pissed and that’s when you know you’re getting a fair deal. If they don’t want to budge, just walk away and most of the time they’ll chase you and give in.

That’s it. Have fun on your Shanghai trip. The World Expo will be held there in May 2010.