Wuzhong Lu

Today I shall cover an area called Wuzhong Lu (上海吴中路). I don't think that a person would ordinarily visit this place because there are no skyscrapers, tourist attractions or interesting Chinese cultural events happening here. I am thankful to have had 2 very nice colleagues from Korea that introduced me to Wuzhong Lu. If you haven't guessed yet, it is where the "Korean Town" is in Shanghai. This is where most Koreans have settled, some being Chinese nationale Koreans and some purely from Korea but earning a living in China. This is the most authentic Korean food that you can get here in China and I'd say cheap and tasty compared to Malaysia! Price of a big pot of soup like the one below is only about RMB70 while meat is about RMB30-40. You'd be looking at prices of RM70-80 in Malaysia which is almost a 1:1 comparison while Malaysian currency exchange rate is about 2x the Chinese Yuan.

According to my colleagues though, they are not good enough but heck they taste excellent to my tastebuds. While I was in Shanghai, we did make many trips to Wuzhong Lu and it is somewhere I'd recommend if you are looking to have some good Korean food and to join some Korean locales on a drinking spree. There are many restaurants to choose from so take your time to pick when you are there.

Ping Jiang Road - Suzhou

Me, my girlfriend and my colleagues from Korea decided to visit Suzhou. We traveled to Suzhou with a Chinese friend who stays there and the ride takes about 40 minutes-50 minutes by car with as many as 3 toll booths in between. Apparently, every time when you cross a China district border, you have to pay toll which is somewhat similar to Malaysia, except now Malaysia charges by distance when you travel on the North South Highway. The objective of this travel was mostly to cook and try out my Chinese colleague's cooking so the traveling bit is a bit lacking in this review.

Starting off with a view from my friend's home, this area is actually a Singaporean owned land in Suzhou, China as an investment by the Singaporean government. The streets and decoration are supposed to represent Singapore's own country which in my opinion, has a close resemblance but not entirely the same. However, the place does look nice and clean and it's relatively cheap (RMB150k+ when bought).

After lunch, we made our way to PingJiangLu. This road is famous for its traditional water village look with old chinese style roof tops, doors, buildings and bridges BUT with very modernized coffee shops, eateries and China goods. We were there after dusk so the ambiance was nice with the street well lit. Below is a little something I googled from another site (sorry I can't remember which site) but it is a small history of the area we visited.

"Extended 1,600 meters, the Pingjianglu starts from Huayang Bridge in the north to Yuanqiao Bridge of Ganjianglu. The Pingjianghe River runs through the district, forming the crisscross water network of Suzhou. You could find 13 bridge striding across the river. Bridges are densely distributed here.

The history of the Pingjianglu:  the orginial meaning is "Shiquanli", literally means ten springs road coz in ancient time, 10 wells could be found along this road. The name of Pingjianglu first shown on the 

After a bit of walking, we managed to find a small cozy coffee/tea shop where we enjoyed a pot of tea at RMB40. There is also an excellent live singer there which is worth the visit.

And for those who have not taken the bullet train, the below is China's version of the bullet train, travelling at almost 450km/h maximum. The tickets are RMB36 from Suzhou to HongQiao for an economy seat. The train is clean and there's also a first class seat which we had the privilege of trying out thanks to some guy who stole our seats! 

Shanghai Zoo - Shanghai DongWuYuan (上海动物园)

There wasn't much we could do on a Saturday and after visiting the luxuries of Shanghai city center, me and my missus decided to take a break from the modern city and high rise buildings. After some Google-ing on Shanghai attractions, the Shanghai Zoo (上海动物园) became part of my places to go. Of course, the main objective was to see the Giant Panda and the Red Panda. Only because this is China and China = Giant Panda = China's iconic bear! 

Checking up on other reviews, many other blogs and travel sites have recommended the Shanghai Zoo as a place to spend the whole day in. It was just what we wanted to take a leisure and lazy walk. There are two Zoos in Shanghai, one is Shanghai Wild Animal Park (Entrance Fee: RMB120) situated in Pudong area (ZhangJiang High Tech Park - 张江高科) where you can get there on Metro Line 2 while the other Shanghai Zoo (Entrance Fee: RMB40) is near the HongQiao Airport (上海虹桥国际机场) on Metro Line 10.

The Zoo was exceptionally big and they do have many animals such as fishes, reptiles, mammals, birds (including huge vulchers, owls, eagles!), monkeys and even gorillas! There are also bumper cars and pony rides for the children. There was also a lake in the middle where there are swans, goose and ducks flying freely. The weird thing though is that there is a pet area where dogs are part of the Zoo exhibits which did not seem very right to us. Some of these dogs look quite pitiful but to some, it may seem as normal.

To sum it up, below are some of the pros and cons of the Zoo

Pros:

1. Many animals
2. Big area with a lake
3. Giant Pandas / Red Panda
4. Reasonably priced
5. The Gorilla!
6. Amusement for the kids

Cons:

1. There weren't any animal shows
2. The people there could feed the animals freely although there were no feeding signs
3. Some exhibits/areas were closed
4. Some areas were not photographer friendly as there were reflections/cages that didn't make pictures look that good

People's Square - Nanjing Road - LuJiaZui - Shanghai

You can't really prove to anybody you have been to Shanghai if you have not been to People's Square, Nanjing road or LuJiaZui. These are places not to be missed and it is where most people congregate (locals and foreigners) be it for shopping, lunch, dinner or just taking a walk and getting lost in the Shanghai streets. Seeing these places is what experiencing Shanghai is all about and you have to be there to actually experience it yourself. The financial district in LuJiaZui is very modern with high rise buildings comparable to New York and the likes. I didn't venture far here as the area is big so I just came out to get a picture then went on my way.

LuJiaZui

East Nanjing

East Nanjing

Oriental Pearl Tower

The View Around People's Square

The View Around People's Square

Cheng Huang Miao - Shanghai

You can get to Cheng Huang Miao by Line 8 and stopping at Yuyuan Gardens. Cheng Huang Miao is huge and you will find that this is the best place to shop for souvenirs, jades, some electronics and clothes. Like other places in China, do not forget to bargain though. There are also many restaurants here in the strees of Cheng Huang Miao for when you are hungry also serving the infamous Shanghai dumplings (Xiao Long Pao). Don't forget to bring your camera along as you would want to take picture of the pavilions and teahouses in the vicinity. This place is usually crowded so do be careful when you are maneuvering yourself in the area.

Jinjiang Xujing Hotel - Shanghai

Just to give you an idea of where I am staying in Shanghai, below is a map that I looked up in Google map. As you can see, point A is where I am staying JinJiang Xujing Hotel on JingHua Lu. It takes about ~30 minutes to get to People's Square (Point B) by car and about 45 minutes by Metro from XuJingDongZhan - Xujing East Metro Stop Line 2. I usually travel by Metro anyway but in order to reach the metro I have to take a cab because it's about 4-5km from my hotel (I walked once, it took me 45 minutes!)

Xujing is a small town in the outskirts of Shanghai where there aren't many tall buildings. However, there is a bustling street market on JingHuaLu every night where the locals would set up their own stalls and start selling goods such as scarfs, sweaters, shoes, ear mufflers, jackets, thermal underwear and variety of food such as nuts, stick food (vegetable, sausages, octopus, squid, meatball, fishball), sweet potato and chinese Pao.

Personally, Xujing Town and JingHuaLu is not too shabby to me. I bought a thick jacket and thermal wear in this street for a good bargain which was sufficient to keep me warm even in the negative temperature. However, because of the distance of Xujing to town, I don't make many trips downtown.

Snow in Shanghai 1 week after arrival

I was shocked on being sent to China on an assignment for 3 months as it was last minute and I wasn't given much of an option. I was however delighted that I would be flying to Shanghai as I've never been there before and is apparently very modernised from what I have read in most travel blogs, books and TV programs.

The experience became more memorable as I was greeted with snow a week after I have arrived! From where I come from, Malaysia, there are only sunny spells and rain as we are smack right on the equator so you can imagine what a 'jakun' I was for seeing snowflakes again after having experienced it in UK previously - almost 5-6 years ago.

These are some photos I have taken at Xujing Town at where I work!