A day in Shanghai Tower 上海之巅 and Wulixiang Shikumen museum 石库门

Shanghai Tower 上海之巅

501 Middle Yincheng Road, Pudong, Shanghai

Shanghai Tower is 632 metres and is 127 floors above ground. It is currently China's tallest and world's second tallest building.

Can't miss the views from the top of the world. 

To access the place, we took a ferry ride from Shanghai bund to experience how the locals cross the rivers. The experience is more authentic as there are more locals than tourist on the ferry. 

We got the normal tickets which provides access to B1F and B118F at RMB 180.

For full access (include B125F) price is RMB220.

Here's a comparison of the world's tallest skyscrapers. You can find this at level B1F Exhibition hall.

The view that when the sun is setting. of course we took a photo of the photo in the building. Doubt we can actually get such vivid colours and clarity. 

After taking in the views we can go redeem complimentary photos at the photo corner. It was pretty hilarious and in a sense pretty bad PR. 

We are told to stand behind a green background and was told they will super imposed nice photos of us at a fee. After we politely declined we were issued our complimentary photo with us and a green background imprinted with shanghai tower building logo. 😂 can't decide if i should laugh or cry upon receiving the complimentary photos. 

Wulixiang Shikumen museum 石库门

No. 25, Lane 181, Taicang road, Shanghai

Open fro 10 am to 10 pm

A old courtyard house unique to Shanghai is found in this very popular area in Shanghai Xin Tian Di. 

The name Shikumen is derived from the chinese meaning of stone gate. This type of courtyard houses are slightly different from its Beijng cousin which is generally called Hutong.

Shikumen emerged earliest in 1870s and was influenced by western style row houses. 

This museum is an authentic recreation of a typical shikumen house and is aptly named wulixang which means "home" in Shanghainese. 

There are 8 exhibit rooms modelled after one household. The sitting room the study room, the elderly's people's room, the masterbedroom, the daughter's room, the son's room, the kitchen and the TingZiJian.

The study room with what we called the study room four treasures. 

Kitchen area using charcoal for fire.

A remodeled study room which is abit more modern. 

All articles on display are all authentic memorabilia from shikumen alleys form 1920s to 1930s. 

The study room facing the main courtyard area. A pretty idyllic place to stare at the sky. 

A good place to venture if you have time to spare in Xing Tian Di area. 

Morning breakfast at Shanghai Starbucks Roastry

The Shanghai Starbucks Roastery is huge. Spanning 30,000 square feet it is made up of 2 levels. 

Coffee and food were served on the first floor. The stations on level one are Main Bar, Pairing Bar and Princi (Bakery) 

Tea and spirits and food are served on the second floor. The stations on level two are Teavana and Long Bar and  of course the newly created station Mixato.

The place is packed on a weekday late morning but seats can still to be found relatively easily.

Starbucks inhouse tea brand Teavana

The journey of the bean - the roasting journey. And its one of the rare places you can buy freshly roasted coffee beans for own consumption.

The food from Princi. The pizza is served warmed but not so for the bread. I requested to for the bread to be heated up but was refused? stating that it has to be served cold. It was only when i insisted that they obliged.

Unusual latte art on my Latte.
And this must be really difficult to make. The more complex and intricate the pattern, the more skills required. So yes, i am impressed.

Checking out the bar Mixato before we go. I was recommended the special blended cocktail named Lemon velvet. In chinese the drink is named 冰川之光 which after translation is Glacier Glow which is a more apt description of the drink. 

Ingredients of the drink is vodka, lemon sorbert, fresh lemon juice, cold brew coffee, hazelnut syrup, topped with sze chuan pepper and served with a a small sparking sidecar.  

Champagne and cocktails do go well together.

Service is impeccable except for the time when i am requested for a hot meal. The person that helped your order is assigned to certain tables so you can't call just any one to order your meal. The process will be so much more seamless if you are paying cashless. You only need to wait for the food to be serve after ordering at your table. 

But we are paying cash, so we need to head to the stations to make payment instead. 

Overall, it is a interesting experience in a cafe where you observed coffee being roasted and dizzying array of displays all the while enjoying a good hearty breakfast. 

Shanghai Bund - A transition from day to night

The iconic Shanghai bund 外滩 is a must see in Shanghai. 

It is a representation of bygone heydays of the past as a powerful center of foreign influence in Shanghai. 




The buildings fronting the Huangpu river are clearly distinct opposites.
With art-deco and western style buildings lining one side of river while on the opposite are modern high rise buildings with the most distinct being the Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower (the tallest building in Shanghai at present moment).






The night and day scenes of the Shanghai bund is also dramatically different. 
If time permits it will be good to enjoy the views of the day and night. But of course, the night views offers the spectacular light show along the waterfront from 7 pm till late. 

Round up the night with live jazz music at the Peace Hotel Old Jazz Bar. Reservations must be made in advance. This place is highly popular and reservations are difficult. We are lucky to make some last minute reservation for 10 pm when we are walking around Shanghai Bund. 

Music was great with a lady belting out old time favourite songs from Teresa Deng or performing solo saxophone pieces. A really great way to end the night.   

Ancient towns: Zhu Jia Jiao Watertown and Qi Bao Old street

Zhu Jia Jiao

China, Shanghai, Qingpu, Xinfeng Rd, 美周路36号 邮政编码: 201713

Set between Dianshan Lake and Dian Mountain, it is a famed ancient town labeled as Shanghai's Venice. History for this place dates back 1,700 year. Getting there is relatively easy from Shanghai city. I stayed near Yu Garden and all we need is to switch to Line 17 at Zhu Jia Jiao Station and walking to the watertown. We choose the lazy option, taking the rickshaw to the place. 

I spent the day wandering through the old streets and crossing the numerous bridges. 

Donghu Street - Yong feng bridge

Daxin Street - Zhong guan yin bridge

Great North Street - Qi jia bridge, Cheng huang bridge, Lang bridge, Tai an bridge, Fengsheng bridge (Biggest and longest)

Xijing Street - Yong quan street, Zhong long street, Yong an street

Resting on the boat  after long walks in the town, we decide to take boat ride to the next destination. But this is a very short boat ride ride, maybe 5 minutes. 

Entry to town is free but separate charges apply for eight scenic spots (Shanghai Quan Hua Art Gallery, Tibetan Culture, Qing Dynasty Post Office, City God Temple, Yuanjin Buddhist Temple, Handicraft Exhibition Hall, Humanistic Museum and Kezhi Garden)

Above is the exterior of Old Qing Post office.

We spent most of our time at Jiang Nan Di Yi Cha Lou 江南第一茶楼 (Best teahouse in Jiang Nan) and it has the best view of Fang Sheng Bridge. 

The snacks given by the tea house. 

Each person will need to order a bottle of tea for the lakeside view.

Sunset at this place is really beautiful. Stay on for it if you can. 

I will label this as the highlight of the Shanghai trip as i immensely enjoyed my day roaming through the  old streets of yesteryear

Qi Bao Old Street

Qingnian Road, Minhang District, Shanghai, China

Qibao (七宝) is an old water town located about 20 kilometers from downtown Shanghai which has a very popular food street.  Qibao means, “Seven Treasures” in Chinese and the legend is there were seven of them around the area such as a Gold Lotus Scripture, a magic tree, and a golden chicken to name a few.

The water town is extremely small if you compare it to Zhu Jia Jiao but if you are short for time and want to visit a water town this is the closest you can get. 

The old town is from the Song Dynasty and the temples, gardens and most architecture has been preserved from Ming and Qing dynasties. 

The narrow pedestrian streets are packed tight with shops. We visited here for supper. Thankfully, old famous dumpling shop is still open when we arrive at 9 pm but not for long. 

The dumplings come in different flavours. The identifier for the flavour lies in its shape. The soup base is plain water (apparently this is the norm here in Shanghai). Thumbs up for taste.