Tipping - Apart from a very...
by JUNLI
Tipping - Apart from a very few restaurants and clubs, tipping is NOT widespread in Shanghai. For instance, texis, no tip is necessary, but, of course, nobody would reject your money if you insist.
Shaking hands - DON'T hug or check-kiss a Chinese before you come to be soul mates. Trying to hug or check-kiss a Chinese lady might be treated as a behavior of a rogue. :-) Shaking hands is the best manner to express your thanks or kindness to Chinese.
Personal Space - Westerners have an unspoken and sacrosanct 1-2 inch halo of private space around them but Chinese don't. Chinese have their definitation of the personal space which is different from the westerners. DON'T except someone to walk out of your path if you are headed on a collision course. And DON'T be surprised if when you are standing a foot from a museum exhibit or notice board someone squeezes into the space between you and the plate glass and blocks out your view.
Lao Wai - This is an amazing new Chinese word we invented these years. Lao means 'old' in Chinese and is a mark of respect; Wei means 'outside' - together they constitute the politest word the Chinese have for 'foreigner'. But if you sometimes hear the exclamation 'lao wai', or alternatively 'Hello, lao wai', there is NO point getting annoyed by it. If you answer by saying hello, they will often as not break into hysterical laughter. To be fair to the urbane Shanghainese, most people who react this way are migrant workers from the countryside.
Shanghai no. 1 and no.2 subways
by sunnywong
Shanghai No 1 Subway is 21.51 km long, running from Xingzhuang to the Railwat Station with 16 stops. No 2 Subway runs from east to west with a total length of 27.3 km, starting from Hongqiao International Airport, passing through Beixinjing industrial and residential area, by Zhongshan Park, turning to Nanjing Road, West, near Jingan Temple, crossing with No 1 Subway at People’s Square, then along Nanjing Road to the Bund and through the Huangpu River to Pudong Lujiazui, along Dongchang Road and ends at Pudong International Airport. There are altogether 12 stops along the line.
Walking along the bund
by trisanna
This was one of the highlights from my trip to Shanghai. I hightly recommend a day and night stroll by the waterfront if you have the time. On the bund side, the buildings are straight out of Batman's gotham city and have a new york city feel to them. Many of the buildings were built in the 1930's around the time the Empire State Building was being contructed. They are beautifully light up at night. The modern pudong side is an interesting clash of light, color, and design. The pearl tower is the colorful centerpiece.
We didn't do this, since we didn't hav emuch time, but one can also take day or dinner boat trips on the Huanpu river. I highly recommend heading to a bar or restaurant on either side for a wonderful view. We had dinner at M on the Bund and it was wonderful.
Xin Tian Di: The place to be seen and heard
by xuessium
Very touristy, but almost the place to be seen and heard in Shanghai. Upmarket restaurants and shops all packed neatly into a square, very very nakedly targeted at visitors to Shanghai. Seat in a cafe al fresco, slurp up that cappucino and chat up a storm. Watch the latest fashion swigger past you. Observe people trying to join the "In" crowd. Painful. Entertaining.
Shanghai---the Paradise of adventurer!
by D_major
Hongkong? Hongkong is so noisy. Tokyo? Not much characteristic. Bangkok, Seoul, all is the countryside.
Shanghai
the best city of entire Asia.
Throughout the past century, Shanghai has had numerous name tags attached to it; the "whore of the East", the "Paris of the Orient" and the "Pearl Of China". Images of Shanghai more than any other Chinese city, are bountiful in the west. A visit here therefore, is naturally tainted to some extent, with a preconception of how the city will be.
As the largest and most prosperous city in the nation, Shanghai is the economic, financial and cultural center of China, where Beijing is the political heart. And this image of Shanghai as a fast and modern metropolis is certainly the one that most visitors take away. Those old preconceptions of Shanghai as the home of crime vice and prostitutes are wiped away, as the city successfully projects an image of itself as young, vibrant and cool
Shanghai is a modern and fast paced city, rich in history and culture and with a wealth of areas and sites just waiting to be explored. One of the nicest aspects of Shanghai is that the crowds here are much more manageable than in a city like Beijing. This is largely because there are no great ancient sites which people flock too. Rather, this is a city to be walked, wandered, explored and discovered in your own time and, in your own style.
What makes Shanghai particularly attractive are the many different styles of architecture and design throughout the city. Shanghai was once divided up into different "Concessions" or districts and the boundaries of these areas still remain today.The famous, Bund was home to the "British Public Park" and this boulevard has a plethora of colonial structures to visit, all reminders of Shanghai's days of decadence. The Japanese and the French Concessions too, are fascinating areas to explore. The French quarter is a particularly charming district to wander, and there are many former residences to look at and discover something about old Shanghai and the people who lived here. The area known as the "Chinese City" is also worthy of a visit. Take a break from the tourists around the Yuyuan and do some serious antique shopping or just lose yourself amidst the old alleys and streets.
But perhaps most of all today, Shanghai is a spectacularly modern city. The pace of development here is unbelievable. Currently, seventeen percent of the world's cranes are in the city and developers boast that the city is changing at a rate incomparable to anywhere else in the world ever. The newest area of the city, Pudong, has just celebrated its 10th anniversary and is almost unrecognizable from the way it was when development began here. Two of the most impressive city structures can be found here, the Jinmao Tower and the Oriental TV Tower.
For any visitor to China, perhaps the most attractive thing about this city is just how fashionable it is. Museums, galleries, restaurants and bars have emerged in the past few years. This cosmopolitan cultural scene which harks back to the heydays of the 1920s and 30s and the new found wealth in the city are helping to reinvent Shanghai as a place with a fabulous and optimistic style and attitude.
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That's us on the far left!
view from outside
famous xiaolongbao
Maglev Train
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