Shanghai Part 2: The Hai Life

Although I was only in Shanghai 5 days, I've already decided that I will most definitely be heading back for another trip at some point. I only have great things to say about the city! But, it was so big that I feel as though I merely scratched the surface of what it had to offer. 

One of my absolute highlights was my last full day in Shanghai, where we lived what I like to call 'the hai life'.

My day began with a lovely little gift given to me by a girl called Donna who was staying in my hostel dorm room. Sometimes Chinese people get a bit of a reputation as being stand-offish or rude but for the most part, I can say that they don't adhere to this stereotype. Case in point would be the girls I met in my dorm room. Once we got to understanding that I couldn't actually speak Chinese, we exchanged attempted conversation in broken Chinese and English. Despite knowing we couldn't really communicate, Donna and her friend (who didn't have an English name), were determined to get my WeChat details before we all departed from Shanghai. On my last morning in the hostel, Donna approached my bunk just as I woke up to tell me that she'd been to a local snack shop and bought me some treats to share with my friends. It was the best way to wake up!

 (Donna, what a babe!)

Having ticked off experiencing some culture off my Shanghai to do list, the only thing left to do was see Shanghai from above. I was determined to head up at least one of the crazy tall skyscrapers. I wasn't particularly fussed about which one, it just had to be one of them.

 (Spoilt for choice with the Shanghai Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center and Jin Mao Tower)

After a bit of um-ing and ah-ing, we decided we were happy to pay the pricey entrance fee to get up to the observation deck of the Oriental Pearl Tower. However, when we were hit with the news that the queue to get in was two hours long, we were suddenly less keen.

Some of us had read that there was a bar as part of the Grand Hyatt Hotel which was at the top of Jin Mao Tower. It seemed like a good deal to try get to the bar and bypass any kind of entrance fee. I'd actually done a very similar thing when I was in Tokyo in the summer. So for anyone looking to see big cities from a height, I recommend hunting down your closest Hyatt chain hotel and heading to the bar for a great view and a drink.

The interior of Jin Mao Tower was absolutely insane. You could look directly down the centre of the tower from 87 floors up. I'm not really that afraid of heights but even I had to admit that looking down made me quite nervous. See here for the full effect. 

 

We had to go through a bit of a maze to get to Cloud 9 bar on the top floor. There was a minimum spend at the bar and the cocktails were pricey but I still contend that it was completely worth it. We got there just before sunset so it was pretty amazing to watch the sun go down on Shanghai and see all the city lights come up one by one. With a strong long island ice tea in my hand and some great company, it was a great way to spend my final evening in Shanghai!

(Oriental Pearl Tower light show)

I had an early flight back to Tianjin to catch the following morning, but it didn't stop me partying just one more time with everyone and staying up until silly o'clock. That night, we headed to Kartel rooftop bar which was pretty nice from what I remember. They had a free flow beer wristband deal which was, in hindsight, perhaps not the best decision I could have made considering my early flight. In the end, I headed to the airport with Tom running on just an hours sleep and getting on the plane genuinely felt like a hallucination. Needless to say, I got some well earned rest when I got back to Tianjin, ready to start my 6 back-to-back lessons day of teaching the following day. Still, I had absolutely no regrets - I had a blast!

Shanghai Part 1: Shanghai Shenanigans

At the beginning of October, we were given a week off from work to celebrate Golden Week. We were warned by former ELAs that plane or train tickets could sell out pretty quickly because every man and his dog travels during national holidays. Luckily, the people I had made friends with during training camp were on the ball with booking flights and hostels in advance before things sold out or got too expensive.

I was looking forward to a little break from teaching and to seeing all my friends to catch up and let off a little steam. In search of recommendations of must see things, I told a few of my students that I would be headed to Shanghai.

“Teacher, it’ll be very busy! Busier than Beijing!” they warned. And they were not wrong.

Perhaps I was lulled into a false sense of security when I got to Tianjin airport. I was pleasantly surprised at how empty the airport was. Although this was technically my first experience of it, I think I can safely say that travelling during any national holiday in China is crazy. Herds of people pile themselves onto subway carriages. People queue in front of tourist attractions for hours.

Of course, we adopted the ‘when on holiday’ mentality and found ourselves doing just those things…

(The Bund)

First things first, no trip to Shanghai would have been complete without a visit to the Bund and a cheeky photo in front of Shanghai’s iconic skyline. The trouble was the thousands of tourists with the same idea, making a photo without the corner of some random person’s head sneaking its way in nearly impossible. This was about as close as I got:

(Still clearly loving life though)

One of my favourite parts of our city break was the visit to the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre. Located in the basement of what looks like a block of housing flats, it is a place easy to overlook. But if you’re a bit of a history buff or are just looking for a way to get a snapshot of how influential Mao was though, the propaganda museum is a must see.

(Room B-OC, President Apartment, 868 Huashan Lu)

The museum took me right back to my GCSE history days. It reminded me of when you were given a propaganda poster and asked to analyse the imagery for meaning, relating it to contemporary historical events. I can’t say I have any background in Chinese history, but it’s something I’m looking to discover more about whilst I’m here for the year. The original propaganda posters were really striking. It was intriguing to see how the styles changed over the years, as well as how the Chinese perceived huge historical events in the western world like the 1960s social movements in America. It's not really an aspect you really consider when you think about China, so well worth checking it out if you're into history. 

(Taking sneaky photos of some of the posters)

Continuing our exploration of the cultural aspects Shanghai had to offer, one night we ended up at a bar called JZ Club playing live jazz. It was great to see some live music! The main composer (the pianist of the ensemble) was a bit of an oddball. Between each song, he'd attempt to charm the audience by explaining his creative influences when it came to composing. Strangely enough, he admitted that one jaunty number was inspired by a Christian prayer. So there you have it folks, Christian jazz is apparently a thing!

The lead saxophonist also looked suspiciously like Ai Wei Wei, or even a long lost son of his. Was Ai Weiwei really in the UK promoting his latest exhibit at the Royal Academy? We had a sneaking suspicion that this was not the case. Clearly, he moonlighted as an underground jazz saxophonist...

(Ai Weiwei taking centre stage at JZ Club)

I was also really pleased to see some art in Shanghai too. As many of my friends know, one of my favourite things to do is to visit art galleries – the Saatchi Gallery being one of my favourite places ever. We took a taxi to the m50 Art District on Moganshan Road and explored the many warehouse spaces there.

The work on show ranged from some pretty abstract pieces, the kind that you step back and wonder if it really is 'art'. Others were right up my street in terms of the type of art I like looking at. Some of my favourites, below.

(Continuous Movement collection by Song Xi) 

(#Selfie as part of the Noir Blanc exhibition at the Island6 Studio, home of the Liudao Art Collective)

For a 5 day city break, we managed to fit in a fair bit of cultural sightseeing. I can't help but feel like I merely scratched the surface though and I can imagine I'll definitely head back to Shanghai again at some point to explore even more.