Asia Adventure 2012: Qingdao to Shanghai

Go drove us to the Qingdao Liuting International Airport. Everything went quite smoothly and before you knew it we were at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport. Our Guide, Ben and Driver, Mr. Wu, were there to meet us.

A tour was scheduled for today and it started in a must-see Shanghai attraction, the Bund. Basically, it is a riverfront walk along the west bank of the Huangpu River. There are buildings of more classic design on the west side and an amazing skyline of modern and impressive skyscrapers across the river. At the northern most point is a gun-shaped Monument to the People’s Heros and that’s where it intersects with the Suzhou River. Most people have seen pictures of the Bund which is famous for brilliant light displays on the buildings after dark and it is noteworthy to know that the Bund was only open to tourists as of May 2010 (I think that may have coincided with the Expo).

We stopped for lunch at Din Tai Fung restaurant which was not included in the tour, so we got to order from the menu and have just enough food to satisfy our appetites. The complex in which the restaurant is located is actually a collection of 10 restaurants.

Literally right across the street was the Shanghai Old Cheng Huang Temple Snack Square, another very popular tourist attraction. The 1,500 square meters is filled with traditional specialty snacks from all over China as well as tea houses, and souvenir shops. At one location we enjoyed watching a young fellow making cookies using a tradition method; hot iron pan in which a lid filled with hot coals created an oven-like environment when placed on the pan. Many cookies were handily coated with seeds using a tricky flipping method in a large shallow basket before finding their way into the pot. That was the only snack we enjoyed because we really weren’t too hungry after just eating lunch.

On the same grounds is the Yuyuan Garden, a 400 year old classical Chinese garden with many hall, chambers, gates, goldfish filled ponds, and really interesting doorways. One feature is a gigantic dragon perched along a long stone wall and another is a lion statue marred with WW2 gunshots. We enjoyed walking around this wonderful garden despite the crowds. I can’t imagine how crazy it is during peak tourist season.

By 2pm we were checking in to the JinJiang Hotel which was located in a very trendy area full of high end shops, kind of like Yorkville. This hotel was host to many global leaders when they first came to visit China after it opened up a few decades ago. We had some time to settle in and relax before our evening adventure.

In the evening we went to the “ERA Intersection of Time show” at the Shanghai Circus World. The building was completed in 1999 and is one of the top 10 Shanghai attractions combining circus, acrobatic, magic, dancing and music performances. Our driver got to park right outside the front doors and we had excellent seats. Acrobats simultaneously jump through small and large hoops, some of which are impossibly high, a motorcyclist enters a large metal cage and goes round-and-round, and upside down before more and more motorcyclists join in until there are 8 motorcyclists racing at high speed in that small space. What precise timing they must have! Of course, there was much more, but I don’t want to spoil all the fun in case you find yourself at the show one day. Another interesting point is that the show was developed by a Cirque expert from Canada, so that’s our claim to fame!

view from the Bund; building with two sphere-shaped section is call "the Pearl" and the tallest building in Shanghai (so far) is the one that looks like a bottle opener. Currently the new building under construction will dwarf it.