5 world cities in 8 days. City 3: Shanghai
In this blog you can read the continuation of my series: 5 world cities in 8 days. Haven't read the other blogs yet? Read these first:
- Inspection trip: 5 global cities in 8 days
- 8 days, 5 world cities. City 1: Singapore
- 5 global cities in 8 days. City 2: Taipei
Shanghai
Seven years ago was the last time I was in Shanghai. It was a chaotic city where the traffic was unregulated and streets were not clean. But when I arrived this year my jaw dropped: what a world city, perfectly organised, clean streets, clean public transport and excellent road network logistics.
Shanghai is rightly one of the pearls of Asia to visit, for example for a lovely inspirational trip. The video below is definitely worth watching for a quick impression.
The Maglev Train
A spectacular start to the journey to the city is the Maglev Train. Departing from Pudong Airport, you travel at a top speed of 431km per hour directly to the city. You then cover no less than 27 kilometres over the magnetic levitation track in just 7-8 minutes.
The city of Shanghai
Shanghai is enormously large and a retail exploration cannot be done without proper preparation. We chose the existing shopping area around Nanjing Road which leads out to The Bund with a wonderful view of Pudong.
Another new shopping area is Huaihai Road. Lovely to see the flagship stores there of brands from Japan (MUJI) alongside the world's 3 biggest sportswear brands: Adidas, Nike and... Under Armour. The latter is exciting, different and will certainly get involved in the battle between Nike and Adidas.
Dining on The Bund
You definitely need to have dinner and drinks at The Bund at least once in the evening. Here, old British and therefore colonial buildings stand along the river with a view of the skyscrapers of Pudong.
But Shanghai is big and dining in The French Concession is also great, here you also imagine yourself in colonial times.
The best hotel in the world: Park Hyatt
As for hotels, there is actually only one hotel in the world where I personally prefer to stay and that is the Park Hyatt in Pudong! Seven years ago we stayed there with a group too and we'll certainly be doing that again! This hotel is an absolute must in terms of ambience, service, quality of the room and bathroom, the food and drink, but certainly also the spa with pool on the 83e (!) floor. And what a view over the city!
This is a hotel where you close the door behind your room with a heavy heart and of which you know one thing for sure: I want to experience that again!
Environmental pollution in Shanghai
Unfortunately, the toll paid for Shanghai's growth is the environment. The smog in the city can genuinely be described as severe, and every day people check the smog meter rather than the thermometer. The cause is the country's coal-fired power stations, which they really need to get rid of quickly. In the timelapse video below, you get a good idea of the smog in Beijing.
The 1,000-year-old Qibao Market
When leaving the city, we won't choose the Maglev back to the airport, but will instead depart from another airport, namely Shanghai Hongqiao. The reason is that on the way to the airport we can then make a lovely stop at the historic Qibao Market (translation: Seven Treasures). The Qibao Market is also well known from the film Mission Impossible III.. Here, people enjoy walks along the canal, traditional houses, gardens, temples and of course lots of small shops and restaurants. A perfect final stop before we fly on to Tokyo!
Finally
Great efforts are being made for the environment in Shanghai, but the city itself is incomparably beautiful and vast. Well worth a visit not only for retail fans, but certainly also for architecture, attending a event, incentive of study trip. We will definitely include Shanghai in the programme! After Shanghai I will visit Tokyo, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, as well as one of the most extraordinary countries to visit!