Shanghai Day 1: Dumplings and People's Square

On a beautiful Saturday morning we got up early (well, vacation early - we were out the door at 9 AM) and headed out for some dumplings (bao) for breakfast and a massive day of walking around Shanghai doing some sightseeing.

The street we took leading to People's Park was lined with little spots to grab dumplings en route.  Each dumpling was 1.5 RMB ($0.32 Canadian!).  We tried a bao with rice and mystery meat that was savoury and delicious, but the real treat was the pork bao.  The sauce was salty and rich with a couple of long, flat noodles included.  We were in heaven!

Brian found a Durian - it didn't smell that bad! 

Once we reached Nanjing Rd. we headed into the park (South of Nanjing Rd which is a giant shopping street, and North of People's Square).  There were tons of umbrellas lining the gardens in the park - evidently from parents trying to set up their sons and daughters for marriage!  The Shanghai marriage market in People's Park has existed since 2004, in which marriage advertisement listings are publicly posted each weekend.^[8]

We found a little area to stop, sit, and eat our dumplings.  After telling my friends Shanghai would be a dumpling tour for me I was pretty happy to start right away!

YUM!  We continued through the park.  I was particularly pleased with the modern architecture in the backdrop of all of this nature.  Shanghai is a really clean, walk-able city.  All we had was a paper map (I had no access to Google since China blocks so many sites), a pen, and the giant street signs in both Chinese and English.  It was really easy to navigate.

You'll notice a theme in the photos from Day 1 - Brian is kind of a monkey - he wanted to climb everything!

This is the former Shanghai Race Club Building.  

A little history lesson c/o Wikipedia: 

The park is built on the grounds of the former Shanghai Race Club, which was established by the British in 1862. It was the leading horse racing track in East Asia, and a popular place for the Chinese and the British for gambling on horse racing. The club building, built in 1933, became a landmark in downtown Shanghai.^[3]

The club's flagpole was considered a great shame for the Chinese, as it was made from the mast of a Chinese warship captured by British and American troops. When the People's Republic of China was founded on 1 October 1949, the new Chinese national flag was hung from the pole.^[4] The new Communist government banned horse racing and gambling, and converted the racecourse into People's Park (the northern half) and People's Square (the southern half) in 1952. Due to its location in the city's center, it became the main spot for political rallies and demonstrations in Shanghai.^[4]

In the winter of 1986–87, the park was the focus of major student protests. Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in the park, and marched to The Bund. They were met by Jiang Zemin, then Communist Party Chief of Shanghai, and demanded democracy and radical political changes.^[5] More than two years later, during the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, tens of thousands of people again gathered in the park and The Bund in a display of solidarity with the protesters in Beijing.^[6]

In the 1990s, major changes were made to the area. The Shanghai Municipal Government was moved to just south of the park from theformer HSBC Building on The Bund. Other additions include the Shanghai Museum, the Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, also south of the park.

The streets of Shanghai are really beautiful!  I had a chance to walk alone on day 2 and took a ton of photos of residential areas.  On Saturday afternoon (Day 1) we checked out the City of God Temple, Yu Yuan ("Yuan" means Gardens), and The Bund.  I'll be posting all about it soon!

Getting to Shanghai

Busan Gimhae International Airport is tiny, but efficient.  I took the subway there, but unlike last time there was a bit of a wait at the China Eastern desk.  The line moved quickly and I was through security pretty quickly too.  There's free wifi and comfy chairs.  I love this airport.  Between my easy experience getting a Chinese Visa in Haeundae (Busan) and the ease of the Busan airport, my trip was starting out just right!

I was asked if I wanted a window or an aisle (choices!) so I took the window seat and asked for it to be as close to the front of the plane as possible.  This was perfect.  Unlike my experience heading home on Peach Airlines, there was a lot of leg room!

Another bonus to flying Shanghai Airlines (via China Eastern) was the bottle of water and dinner provided!  The food wasn't spectacular (airplane food rarely is), but it was a great surprise to have some food and water included on my 2 hour flight.

A friend had suggested taking the Maglev into town.  At a speed over 400 km/ hr it's a 10 minute trip into the city.  The cost was 40 RMB (50 RMB if you don't show your airplane ticket so make sure to hang onto that) which is about $8.  The train goes from Pudong Airport straight to Long Yang Road.  This is the only route, I believe.  Make sure to keep your ticket as, like the subway, you'll need it to exit.

After the Maglev I hopped on the subway on line 1 to People's Square, then transferred to get to Xinzha Road.  I stayed at SOHO International Youth Hostel Shanghai, which is really conveniently located near People's Square, but is a little daunting and tough to find in the dark.  I had grabbed a map at the airport which ended up being a huge help the entire trip since most websites I'm grown accustomed to using are blocked here.  That's a whole other story, but for now I'll just say it's probably not a wise investment to get a Chinese sim card or wifi egg at the Shanghai airport since the only website you can really use is yahoo.

I remember back in 2009 I went to Beijing and regularly took the subway.  Shanghai's Metro system just seems a lot easier and more straightforward.  There are subways all over the place making transit really easy.  There are currently 14 lines but by 2020 there will be 21.  The subway (the world's longest) spans about 550 km currently (isn't that wild?).

When I finally got to Xinzha Rd. station I was a little concerned as to how I'd get to the hostel being that it was pitch black and there were a ton of scooters darting by.  I made it, though, and in a few short minutes I was in my room with 5 roommates and a wooden bunk bed with a poor excuse for a mattress (it may as well have been a comforter).  We had a private bathroom, though, which was exciting!

The hostel was huge and cheap, but my roommates were really disrespectful.  Going to the bathroom and finding out that the toilet paper is entirely soaked through is not my favourite.  My roommates listening to music without headphones at obnoxious hours? Not cool.  The rats (yes, plural) I saw climbing down the wall of the hostel bar my last night freaked me out (I guess that's why they keep the cats around).  Anyway, the hostel was well-located and nothing got stolen so I guess I'm happy!

My first evening in Shanghai was awesome - I met some cool people, but didn't really explore too much.  The next couple of days ended up being wonderfully packed.  I can't wait to tell you all about them!