Busy, fast-changing, unreachable. That is the impression we perceived of Shanghai when we visited in 2008. When I first wrote about Shanghai, I debated for a long time whether or not to publish this story because I felt like a lot of things have become outdated already. The city is constantly under transformation, both culturally and physically, so if we visited today, the feeling would be completely different. In the end, I decided to share the story anyway. After all, it describes my personal experience at that time and also gives insight on how different Shanghai was, as little as 7 years ago.

Shanghai was the most prosperous city in the East Asia in the early 1920’s, and still is, until this day, the main economic hub of China. It is the home of some 24 million people, making it the most populated city in all of China, propelling it to the top ranks of largest cities of the world such as Tokyo, New Delhi and New York city.

Many districts of the city were made concessions to the French, English and even Russian powers in the 1900’s. The architecture in downtown Shanghai greatly reflects that, with an incredible mixture of traditional Chinese buildings and romantic constructions that have a distinct European flair. To that are added contemporary and even futuristic masterpieces when the World Expo took place in 2010.

We weren’t blessed with very good weather during our visit. On days that were not rainy, the smog was so dense that we could feel the dust on our skin after a short walk outside. It does not help that everywhere you go, you are surrounded by millions of people, breathing the same air they breathe, walking the same steps they walk.

Nevertheless, apart from being full of people, Shanghai is also a city full of cultural vibe, grand museums, great restaurants and fantastic shopping. Take a stroll on Nanjing road to satisfy both your architectural cravings and shopaholic needs.

How to we got there:

Since 2010, there is a bullet train (300km/h) that connects Shanghai and Beijing in a little under 5 hours. The price is about 100 CAD for a second class seat. When we travelled in 2008, this high speed line was not functional yet, but we were not disappointed. We had to occasion to experience the sleeper train, which travels overnight and brings you to Shanghai the next morning. The total travelling time is close to 10 hours, but saves you from one hotel night! We opted for a four-bunk cabin, which turned out to be extremely cozy. Apart from the two of us, there was only one other passenger, a young chinese man, who stuck to his laptop pretty much the whole way. I would recommend the lower bunk for practicality, as you won’t need to ask permission to step on the lower passenger’s bunk to climb up and down. The price for one bunk bed was about 120 CAD, the upper ones are a little cheaper.

There are two cars that are considered communal areas, hosting the restaurant and the bar. Watch out for the washrooms! Although pretty decent at the beginning of the trip, with so many users overnight, we definitely had a nasty surprise the next morning…

More info on train tickets here.

For our stay in Shanghai, we tried a new kind of accommodation: serviced apartments. More details to come! Thank you for reading!