Here’s a movie about Shanghai. This movie will give you a quick impression of the destination. The movie is produced for IFLYtheworld.com by bluepig.nl.
IFLY tips
Bike around Shanghai (6 ½ hr)
There are two countries in the world, known for biking: China and The Netherlands. That’s why a girl from The Netherlands is a tour guide on a bike in Shanghai. Seven days a week she guides guests to the most exciting spots in Shanghai.
You will bike through picturesque small streets and along the touristic highlights of Shanghai. Bike Around Shanghai is a unique combination of sightseeing, exercise and exploring.
A tour starts at 10 am and ends at 4.30 pm. Everyone who knows how to ride a bike can easily do the tour. A minimum of one and maximum of twelve participants will be taken on each tour. You will ride a brand new mountain or city bike.
Bookings can be made here. You can find more information about the tour and prices there as well.
Tianzi Fang Art Street (½ day)
One of the most happening neighbourhoods in Shanghai nowadays is Tianzi Fang. It is a great location for shopping, galleries, food and drink. Tianzi Fang is located at Taikang Road (Taikang Lu). This street is an old street dotted with local style Shikumen Houses, which is a symbol of Shanghai folk culture.
In this street, you can find many private art studios. There are many nice boutiques selling clothes, ornaments and handicrafts as well. Besides the artistic places you will find many nice coffee houses and small restaurants in the area. So a visit can be a great mix of sniffing modern art and enjoying a coffee or a wonderful dish.
It’s both worth a visit during daytime and in the evening. It is located at the southern border of the French Concession, only five minutes walk away from Metro station Dapu Bridge.
High and Dry (2 hrs)
If the weather is good and the sky is clear, go high up in the air at the Oriental Pearl Tower (the one with the balls). From there you can really see how huge Shanghai is. It’s possible to go up to several levels. The highest level is 350 meters. If you go there, a ticket is 100 Yuan.
And for those who love modern architecture, around the building you can really enjoy the views in Pudong, as the neighbourhood is called. It’s on the other side of the river from the ‘Bund’. There are several ways to go to the tower from the Bund. With a boring taxi. A bit more exciting, with a local ferry for only two Yuan. Or you can go through the Bund Tourist Tunnel. It will cost you 30 Yuan for a single ticket and you get a flashing lightshow while you drive in a coach through the tunnel under the river.
Artistic place (3 hrs)
At Moganshan Road 50, in a former print-office in the north of Shanghai you will find one big artistic place. In this centre are many galleries, artist studios full of Chinese modern art, mostly paintings and photography.
The atmosphere in the complex is very relaxed and inspiring. The heart of Moganshan Road 50 is the Shangart Gallery. Around that place you will find many more small galleries and often you will find an artist at work in a gallery. And you’re even welcome in an artist studio while the painter is at work. When you walk around there you just forget time.
Acrobatic show (1½ hr)
When you’re travelling through China of course you have to see a Chinese acrobatic show. There’s a show every night at the beautiful Shanghai Grand Theatre in the centre of the city. The show starts at 7.30 pm and ends around 9 pm. The concierge of most hotels will be able to arrange tickets, but you can buy them directly from the theatre as well. A ticket cost about 280 Yuan.
The show is really impressive. Sometimes it looks like child-labour, and the acrobats are really folded in two and slammed from one side of the stage to the other. The ‘grand finale’ is a huge metal bowl with four acrobats on motorbikes inside. Astonishing.
Officially it’s forbidden to take pictures inside, but nobody cares. And it really is amazing so we say: bring your camera!
Xintiandi (3 hrs)
For sure the most trendy bar in Shanghai was Face Bar, but after ten years the lease contract ended and the bar had to close at it’s wonderful location. So where to go now? To the Xintiandi neighbourhood, in walking distance from the old city centre. The hip and trendy of Shanghai are having there great time there.
This beautiful neighbourhood used to be the place where the communists conspired. Nowadays, the cappuccinos and cocktails are flying around. There are many restaurants, shops, terraces and bars in those old buildings. On a sunny day in summer or a dark and cold day in December, from early afternoon till late night you can have a great time here.
Bund Tourist Tunnel (½ hr)
If you don’t like to cross the Huangpu River by boat, you can take the Bund Tourist Tunnel. Despite the fact that this tunnel is one of the tackiest, campiest tourist traps anywhere on the planet, it certainly is one of a kind. The tunnel under the Huangpu River from the Bund to Pudong is lined with flashing colored lights, blowing glitter, and other psychedelic eye candy. Visitors ride through it on rails in small amusement-park style plastic carts. Don't expect anything too culturally enriching. However, if you take the Tourist Tunnel as simply a unique type of light show, you might be able to convince yourself that it is a rather interesting form of contemporary civic art.
The trip takes about 5 minutes. Entrances are on the Bund at Nanjing Dong Lu and in Pudong near the Riverside Promenade. It is open from 8 am to 10.30 pm.
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Language of the world
Of course you like to speak a few words of the local language onboard the plane or at your destination. Here you find some simple basics of the main language spoken in Shanghai.