We had a super fun trip in China this June holiday. We were in Suzhou and Shanghai from 27th May to 4th June. This 8 days journey left us with some of the happiest and craziest memories. The trip includes attending lecture, having school immersion, going on shopping sprees, seeing exhibitions, sightseeing, having delicious meals in high class restaurant and many more. It was an awesome trip, there were some awesome places and some not-so-awesome places. Now, let us share with you some of the places you 100%, guarantee, no doubt, have to visit when you're in China, and some places you shouldn't consider in your checklist.
SUZHOU 苏州
No. 1 Silk Factory in Suzhou 苏州第一丝绸厂
Type: Exhibition
Coming very very soon...
Shanghai Yitel Hotel 上海徐家汇八万人体育和颐酒店
Type: Hotel
Rating:
Comments:
Yitel
was the hotel that we stayed at during our stay at Shanghai. As the
total number of people who went was an odd number, my room was the only
room where 3 people had to cram in it. However, the size of the room was
the same as the rest, and as an extra bed had to be fit into our
already small room, we barely had space to walk to the end of the room
and had to squeeze to make our way there. Yitel is suitable and
comfortable for a two people stay, however, if 3 people are going, I
strongly reccommend you to not be cheapskate and think you can squeeze
into a 2 people's room. You are just making your life miserable by doing
so. :c The bathroom was nice in the sense that it looks clean. However,
theres a bad thing about it. The light works by sensor. Whats so bad
about that? It saves energy, right? WRONG. It gets so annoying that I
actually wanted to use a torchlight when I showered. Dont you find it
annoying that when you're halfway through showering then the light
suddenly turns off? It surely is annoying. Also, there was this glass
panel at the area where we showered that was covered by blinds, but
despite pulling the blinds to the end already, from the outside some
part of you still can be seen. It was horrible. Terribly traumatising
especially since we stayed with our classmates. However, some things
that i really liked about the hotel was that the basic toiletries such
as toothbrush and toothpaste were provided. Generally, I still enjoyed
my stay there pretty much because what we needed was given and the
service of the people there is good. I hope this was helpful to you, see
ya soon. <3
xoxo,
Ling Bo.
Nanjing Road 南京路
Shanghai World Expo 世博纪念展
Haidilao 海底捞
Type: Restaurant
Ratings:
The HaiDiLao at Shanghai is a famous steamboat restaurant. The food there is mouthwatering and filling. The food was more blend, unlike the other restaurants who had a stronger taste. There were a wide range of food to choose from, from vegetable to meat to mushrooms etc. There was also a booth to get free flow watermelon and honeydew. Also, there were a wide variety of sauces for us to choose and mix from. While waiting for our food and soup to be served, we were given complimentary snacks and drinks, which could be refilled as well. Other than the food, the service there is good as well. The staffs wore smiles on their faces and listen patiently to what we needed. Hot towels were provided while waiting for the food. While eating, the chef displayed his culinary skills by rubbing and pulling noodles in front of us. Many of us were amazed by how the noodles would not break no matter how thin it was stretched of how high it was thrown into the air. However, the soup was overly blend and we had to add salt on our own. My overall rating is a 4.5 and i would definitely visit again if i have the chance. I would also recommend it to my friends and relative because i feel that its a DIE DIE MUST TRY in China.
Done by: Loo Yan Hui
Type: Shopping District
Rating:
Rating:
Comments:
Nanjing is sure a must-go place when you visit Shanghai. As you might
have already heard, yes the clothes there are more expensive then what
we have here in Singapore. AND THAT IS REALLY BAD. cries. But anyways,
if you decided to visit there still, go for the food. Yes, there are
plenty of food of different variations. There is even this food
paradise. It's like a shopping mall selling only FOOD. How great is
that, right? Like ohmygard I can't even. Xuchen really enjoyed his 羊肉串
when I enjoyed an ice-cream. There are food ranging from dried food
packed in vacuum bags to freshly prepared and grilled stuffs. Enough
about food, if you're wondering about the clothes there, let me tell you
more. We went into many different shops and explored the prices. phew..
no joke. D: the prices ranged from a few hundred to a few thousand rmb
even. How can we students afford that? We just ended up getting food,
and food, and food. In a nutshell, if you're not planning on spending
lots of money at Nanjing Road, I don't recommend you to shop for
clothes. JUST GO FOR FOOD LIKE YEY FOOD IS AWESOME. I guess that's about
it from me.
Toodles!
Ling Bo.
Type: Exhibition
Rating:
Comments:
We went to the World Expo early in the morning, expecting a mile-long queue, but we were proved wrong upon reaching. There was not a single visitor in sight at the gate, and the decoration of the entrance was not as grand as predicted. I we hadn't been told beforehand, we would think we're sightseeing at a factory. Inside the Expo, the visitors besides us are rare sights. We couldn't get a tour guide at first, so the first half an hour of our time was spent loitering around on the 1st floor of the 3 story museum. And then our teacher came telling us they found us a tour guide. Thinking we could learn more about the museum, we went to the guide and started the tour. Man, we were so wrong. The tour guide dragged and pulled us around like the museum was on fire and he had to run but we're slowing him down. He briefly, very very briefly rattled about selected exhibitions in volume and pace not meant for human ears. So basically, he ushered us to a location, murmured facts he seemed to have read for the 1001th time, and them rushed to another exhibition and ushered us to go to him, rinse, repeat. And then when we finished exploring the second floor, the tour guide saw his colleague and talk to him in alienish Chinese, then he turned to us and told us to explore the rest of the Expo by ourselves and walked of. And so I realized that I've wasted my time walking around and glancing at mysterious exhibitions while learning nothing. But I have to say, the free and easy part of our visit was at least better. We saw extremely weird and creepy things like this 5 meter tall sculpture of a baby that totally looked like the enlarged version of a doll in horror movies. And then there's this hall where there's compartments containing exotic costumes. The light would dim and black out from time to time and when it turned back on again we would see a different costume, we later realize this is a gimmick played using multiple mirror and lights shining at different angle. That's about all for the visit. We saw a few cool stuff, but then, since the tour guide is so helpful in educating us, we didn't learn much from the trip.
~ Xuchen :D
Chenghuangmiao 城隍庙
Type: Shopping District
Rating:
Comments:
Chenghuangmiao was to be our last chance for our shopping spree. Contrary to what the name suggest, Chenghuangmiao wasn't really a temple, or at least not only a temple. Chenghuangmiao is a part of a huge shopping district, selling many many traditional Chinese handicrafts, food and specialties. Many of the thing we saw here was unique to China and was never seen before. There were numerous stalls selling little hand-made art pieces like glass figurines of animals, Chinese knots, traditional fans, chinese instruments and many more. The food there was also very special and most not found in Singapore. They generally taste good, a little unhealthy but still quite safe. But, you should think twice before buying fried food, the stall could have used the oil for the billionth time, and when you eat the things cooked in these oil, the after taste tasted like petrol, literally. My favorite shop in Chenghuangmiao is this franchise store selling everything panda. There were panda watches, panda caps, panda key chains, panda luggage tags etc. If you love panda as much as me, this would be heaven to you. By the end of the trip, I was carrying bags and bags of native good and souvenirs. Chenghuangmiao is honestly one of the best shopping street in Shanghai.
~Xuchen :]
Comments:
Chenghuangmiao was to be our last chance for our shopping spree. Contrary to what the name suggest, Chenghuangmiao wasn't really a temple, or at least not only a temple. Chenghuangmiao is a part of a huge shopping district, selling many many traditional Chinese handicrafts, food and specialties. Many of the thing we saw here was unique to China and was never seen before. There were numerous stalls selling little hand-made art pieces like glass figurines of animals, Chinese knots, traditional fans, chinese instruments and many more. The food there was also very special and most not found in Singapore. They generally taste good, a little unhealthy but still quite safe. But, you should think twice before buying fried food, the stall could have used the oil for the billionth time, and when you eat the things cooked in these oil, the after taste tasted like petrol, literally. My favorite shop in Chenghuangmiao is this franchise store selling everything panda. There were panda watches, panda caps, panda key chains, panda luggage tags etc. If you love panda as much as me, this would be heaven to you. By the end of the trip, I was carrying bags and bags of native good and souvenirs. Chenghuangmiao is honestly one of the best shopping street in Shanghai.
~Xuchen :]
Shanghai Acrobatics Show 上海杂技表演–时光转流
Type: Show
Rating:
Comments:
The acrobatics show in Shanghai was truly a beautiful piece of art produced by many years of experience. The show had different elements, the tough, the gentle, the stunning ones... The lights and music promoted the suspense and thrills in the performance. The performance included balancing a huge vase on your head and stuns involving that. Can you imagine how dangerous it would be for the performers?4 people jumping through rings at once, using a cloth to hold the weight of 2people.....The performances were breath taking and impressed everyone. The performance i liked most was the one with 5 motorcycles spinning in the ball cage. It takes just one mistake for all of them to get a severe injury. Although I really liked the performances, most of the performances could be predicted at the start since there were people on variety shows who could do the same thing. However, the lights and music brought out the atmosphere and kept all the audiences' eyes glued to the performers, anticipating their next performance. Other than the great effort by the performers, the backstage helpers also did a wonderful job! The acrobatics show in Shanghai was impressive and memorable. It was definitely worth the time but i would not want to go again if i visit Shanghai again, since we might have to pay a sum of money to watch something you can watch on TV. However, i would recommend it to my friends from other classes if they visit Shanghai because of the atmosphere that could not be gotten from watching on TV.
Done by: Loo Yan Hui
Shanghai Bund 上海滩
Type: Scenery Spot
Ratings:
The Bund is a famous waterfront and regarded as the symbol of Shanghai for hundreds of years. It is on the west bank of Huangpu River from the Waibaidu Bridge to Nanpu Bridge and winds 1500 meters (0.93 mile) in length. The most famous and attractive sight which is at the west side of the Bund are the 26 various buildings of different architectural styles including Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classicism and the Renaissance. The 1,700-meters (1,859 yards) long flood-control wall, known as 'the lovers' wall', located on the side of Huangpu River from Huangpu Park to Xinkai River and once was the most romantic corner in Shanghai in the last century. After renovation, the monotone concrete buildings that lovers leaned against in the past have been improved into hollowed-out railings full of romantic atmosphere. Standing by the railings, visitors can have a 'snap-shot' view of the scenery of Pudong Area and Huangpu River.
These are just descriptions. The view is breathtaking as described, a nice place to take selfies, to take all types of creative pictures. If you happen to be able to book a hotel nearby, going to the bund at night would be worth it to see the florid night view of the Bund. Under the tenet of keeping harmony and unity, the use of period lamp-posts is in keeping with the aesthetic feeling of the building structures. It fully exhibits the magnificence of the various buildings of different architectural styles and make up of the best night scene of Shanghai together with the colorful lights floating in the river and the flashing lights on the far side of the river. The night piece of the Bund was named in 'Shanghai top ten night light views' in 2009.
It would be nice if you jog there as well. Between every certain distance, there is a shop that sells drinks, and a shop to take picture, and a booth to buy souvenirs. Personally, my group and my class and of course myself had a lot of fun there, taking all different types of pictures with creative poses. It really left a great impact on me as it was also the last scenic place we went before going to Chenghuangmiao. (i likeu scenic places. They make very nice photos. ._. Though i wished i had a DSLR with me back then. TT.TT)
Done by: Iris aka Ris Ris RISSSS
These are just descriptions. The view is breathtaking as described, a nice place to take selfies, to take all types of creative pictures. If you happen to be able to book a hotel nearby, going to the bund at night would be worth it to see the florid night view of the Bund. Under the tenet of keeping harmony and unity, the use of period lamp-posts is in keeping with the aesthetic feeling of the building structures. It fully exhibits the magnificence of the various buildings of different architectural styles and make up of the best night scene of Shanghai together with the colorful lights floating in the river and the flashing lights on the far side of the river. The night piece of the Bund was named in 'Shanghai top ten night light views' in 2009.
It would be nice if you jog there as well. Between every certain distance, there is a shop that sells drinks, and a shop to take picture, and a booth to buy souvenirs. Personally, my group and my class and of course myself had a lot of fun there, taking all different types of pictures with creative poses. It really left a great impact on me as it was also the last scenic place we went before going to Chenghuangmiao. (i likeu scenic places. They make very nice photos. ._. Though i wished i had a DSLR with me back then. TT.TT)
Done by: Iris aka Ris Ris RISSSS
