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Old 19 Oct 19, 06:36 PM  
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NatsyNoo
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TRIP REPORT: Day 5 Shanghai – Wednesday 25th September

Our alarm went off at 7am and I did groan a little – but we had adventures ahead! It was bit nerve racking again having to learn a new place again but off we went at 8.10am to Disneytown to catch the subway into Shanghai. There was no signage in Disneytown to the train station, but with some broken English, a Cast Member did manage to direct us. There were a lot of measures in place for crowd control which also made it more difficult than it really needed to be.

Anyway, I knew we could buy an all-day metro pass for RMB18/£2 if we went to a window instead of using the machine, so tickets in hand, we went down the escalator to the line – line 11, which we caught to Jiaotong University, before catching the line 10 to East Nanjing Road. It took 1 hour 10 minutes, and we arrived at 10am.



Our first observations were:
People are very loud and frankly disrespectful of other people’s peace and comfort on the train
The silent electric scooters were lethal

We needed some breakfast next, so we used Google Maps (with our VPN – ExpressVPN) to direct us to The Bund, which was our first stop. There was a Starbucks right there, so two muffins later (RMB18/£2 each) and we found ourselves perched on a step, munching, and staring at the dreamy Oriental Pearl Tower.









People's Monument:



We enjoyed a walk along the Bund, taking in the Pudong skyline (I just loved the juxtaposition between new and old)...







...before heading back into East Nanjing Road, taking it all in, and being approached more times than I could count regarding my interest in bags and watches.







I made a beeline for the Lego Store, as I knew they had some impressive sculptures in there, and I wasn’t wrong!













Our next stop was the People’s Park and Gardens, which were lovely. We were too early to see the umbrellas stood out to essentially ‘sell’ a daughter/granddaughter as a bride to a seeking bachelor, but we had things to do and see. We took this route along to the Old Town, which brought us up to 12pm.









We arrived in the Old Town, and more specifically, the YuYuan Bazaar, at 12pm. Nearby, we had found some small stores selling cheap souvenirs, and we bought a tacky looking replica Oriental Pearl Tower for RMB15/£1.60.



The YuYuan Bazaar was great! I could have stayed there all day! They were what I was expecting to see in China (whether or not it was just a tourist trap, I don’t know, but I don’t care because I loved it anyway). The jagged bridge, the Ming architecture, the temples, the markets…it was just perfect! I kept saying to Matt that I felt like I was in the World Showcase in Epcot. In the market, we bought a magnet for RMB10/£1 (picture above). Perfect!



















As we made our way out at 1pm, we found a restaurant selling what looked like Chinese food but not at the tourist trap prices, so we headed in. We quickly established that it was a beef restaurant, but that was fine by us – we ordered 3 drinks, 2 beef fried rice, a beef with peppers and beef spring rolls, which came to a total of RMB144/£15.70 and it was absolutely delicious.









Matt was still enjoying his chopsticks!



Our next stop would be further north in the city – the Jade Buddha Temple. We took the subway there, and once we had found it, again, with the help of Google Maps, we paid RMB20/£2.20 each to enter. It was stunning and fascinating. Though we didn’t stay long, because we had so much more to see before the day was out.











So next we headed to the Jing’an Temple in West Nanjing Road. This was more expensive at RMB50/£5.45, but well worth it. Again, it was beautiful and so serene, as you’d expect really. It was a shame that the tourists were spoiling it really but it was great to see.











At this point, our VPN started to really let us down – it turned out, the Chinese Government had blocked a lot of the VPN access because of the preparations for the 70th anniversary of the Communist Government. It took until the end of our stay here for it to be resolved. It was a shame as our cunning plan was thwarted.

I gave Matt the option to see the Jing’an Sculpture Park or to head to Pudong now, and he chose the latter. Time was getting on and our feet were feeling it. So we got the subway to East Nanjing Road, where we bought two drinks (RMB7.80/85p) for two drinks, and then we walked to the Bund. We caught the ferry to Pudong (RMB2/21p each) at 5pm.



Once in Pudong, we walked to the Oriental Pearl Tower. We want to see it up close and to visit the Disney Store which was at its foot, though we didn’t buy anything.



















We decided that, despite the negative reviews, we would catch the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel back to the Bund, just so we could say we had done it. This cost RMB50/£5.45 each, and yeah, it was a rip off, but at least we can say we have done it, which was the point.

We enjoyed the night time skyline views from the Bund for a few more minutes, before making our way back. It was 6.30pm by this time, we were tired and sore, and just about ready for bed.





On the train home, there was a man who was fast asleep and dribbling everywhere. It was hilarious. When we got to Disney, there was the ‘end of the line’ announcement which woke him up, and we saw him stand up and chase across the platform to the other train leaving to head back the other way, so needless to say he had missed his stop! It did make us giggle.

We had a bit of a nightmare when we got back to Disney. It sounds so minor but when tired and sore, it was just the worst thing ever. We got out of the station, and couldn’t find where to get the bus back to the hotel. The bus stops were not labelled but they definitely didn’t say ‘Toy Story Hotel’ or ‘Resort Hotels’ and they looked to be for external lines. We weren’t allowed to get to Disneytown as everything had been shut down for the crowd control as the park was closing. No-one spoke any English, no-one could tell us where to go, our VPN wasn’t working so I couldn’t find another way online, and I was just so tired and helpless I burst into tears. It wasn’t very nice and I just wanted to come home. I had pushed us hard so far this trip and this was the punishment. We eventually learned that the paid for bus stop was the right place, and there was a ‘free’ resort bus but it wasn’t sign posted. This was the only area that Shanghai Disneyland let itself down – the signage was absolutely dreadful.

Anyway, we were back to the hotel for 9pm, where we showered, prepared for tomorrow’s first day in Disneyland (Castle #5) and went to sleep.

Steps = 34,520
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Old 30 Oct 19, 01:42 PM  
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margyloveswdw
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Wow, what an interesting packed day! Some of the pictures could have been taken in world showcase!

Shame about the lack of signage causing a frustrating end to a great day!
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Old 30 Oct 19, 08:15 PM  
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NatsyNoo
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Originally Posted by margyloveswdw View Post
Wow, what an interesting packed day! Some of the pictures could have been taken in world showcase!

Shame about the lack of signage causing a frustrating end to a great day!
Thank you! Yes I said to Matt loads of times in Shanghai and Tokyo particularly that I felt like I was just in Epcot! Very surreal!
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Old 31 Dec 20, 08:36 AM  
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Enchanted
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Another very busy day. The architecture is fantastic.
Those skyline evening pictures are really beautiful.
The lack of signage is ridiculous though, no wonder you felt frustrated.
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