晚上好
Welcome to our last stop in China, Shanghai! The economic capital of this vast country is densely packed with skyscrapers, traffic and of course people. Shanghai is a pleasant enough city, but it’s not really a place for tourists. However, we decided to stay here for a week so Mike and Wendy could catch up on some work.
Nanjing Road
The infamous shopping street situated centrally in the city stretches from East to West. It’s populated with many tourists from around the world and the pedestrianised street is surrounded by large mall/department stores from high street brands to high-end products.
The Bund
One of the must-sees is The Bund skyline, which is best seen in the evening when all the lights are on. It’s a pretty skyline and you can have a nice evening stroll along here.
Jin Mao Tower
One of the most famous buildings in Shanghai is the Jin Mao Tower. It was built in 1999 and has 88 floors. There’s an observation deck and also a skywalk to walk along the outside for any brave soles out there. Inside, there’s offices, shops and the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The lobby is on the 54th floor and they have a bar; cloud 9 on the 87th floor. We decided to go here to get a good look of the view. You have to pay an entrance fee (for non-guests) of 150RMB per person, which you can use towards drinks/food at the bar. We highly recommend the tiramisu and cheesecake!
Disney Resort
One of the best days we had was at Disney. We are a bunch of big kids, so this was always going to be on the list. It’s a new resort which only opened in the summer of last year. It’s similar to all the other resorts around the world and as we went in December it was nice and Christmassy. We went mid-week, so it wasn’t too busy (for China) and the longest ride only took an hour to wait. If you download the app, you can also get access to fast pass tickets for free, which helped cut the queues down. Alongside the rides, there are of course shows but we didn’t see any as they were all in Chinese. The best thrill-seeking ride is Tron and The Pirates of the Carribean was also really good. As the queues weren’t too long, Wendy also had time to meet one of her idols. ?
Jewish Refugees Museum
This museum was an unexpected surprise as we didn’t know that Jews (let alone so many) had migrated to China during WW2. The museum is easily accessible by the metro and only costs 20RB to enter. The museum consists of 2 main parts. One building is the museum which houses all the information regarding the refugees in China with artefacts/ video diaries etc. Signs and videos are in both Chinese and English. The front of the museum holds more general information about WW2 and the story of Ann Frank.
This was a really interesting/eye-opening museum as it turns out China was the only country who did not refuse Jews and approximately 25,000 people migrated to this foreign land to escape the holocaust. Much of this was due to H Feng Shan who has been dubbed the ‘Chinese Schindler’. He was working in Vienna as the consul general and helped grant thousands of visas for the Jewish people who were fleeing their war torn country. The refugees settled in the Hongkou district by the Ohel Moshe Synagogue, where the replica museum is built today.
Radisson Blu New World
We decided to stay in the Radisson as it is centrally located and we wanted a slightly bigger room so we could have space to work. It’s a really nice hotel as you expect with a good gym/large pool. One of the highlights is the skydome bar, on the 45th floor which overlooks Nanjing road and on to the bund in the distance.
There’s also a revolving restaurant on the 43rd floor with the same great views. Wendy had her belated birthday celebrations here. Unfortunately, it was slightly ruined by an annoying family who had 3 kids. The kids were super loud, singing and shouting yet neither the parents nor the staff said anything. The kids then decided it was a good idea to run around the restaurant. Some diners started to complain and Wendy told them to stop running. The waiter eventually spoke to the family as other diners were complaining. Luckily, they were also leaving too. Nevertheless, it was a lovely evening with good food.
Food
One of our favourite restaurants is Morton’s Steakhouse. This is an American chain that serves good size steaks and the best mac and cheese ever.
Well China, it’s been a fun-filled three weeks. Now, it’s time to go somewhere hot and sunny. Bali, I hope you are ready for us!