General: Shanghai

Advantages: Lots of activity all day
Disadvantages: Little english spoken and the drivers leave a lot to be desired

Well here I am at the end of another great holiday which this time is in Shanghai. The first thing that strikes me is there is not too much difference between Shanghai and any other major city in the western world. The place hums with life almost 24 hours a day. Its only once you start to scratch under the surface of the place do you see the difference between western and eastern life. Arriving at the Shanghai Pudong international airport we were ...
...The time taken to get through customs was very quick especially compared to some of the time it has taken me when I have visited the states. The bags were there shortly after exiting customs and all in all it took us a total of 20 odd minutes from leaving the plane to leaving the airport. We had an advantage by being met by my old school friend who guided us to the nearest taxi to be whisked away to the centre of town. The journey time was around ... Read review

Advantages: A total contrast to western life, marvelous culture
Disadvantages: Not yet used to tourists, can be little English spoken, baffling Chinese characters so almost impossible to use buses

I visited China and Shanghai for the first time this year. I found it to be a schizophrenic, wonderful, baffling, facinating city. To a western eye I found the general public to be rude and pushy but gradually it dawned on me that they treated everyone like that ! Imagine first day of the sales and the rush and the arguments to get the best bargains, now imagine that to be daily life for the lift, the bus, to pay for the underground etc and you get ...
...countries we would expect to queue in a line, queue in a rugby scrum and you will soon be like a local ! Having said that I found on an individual basis the people to be kind and interested in why the foreigner ( me ) was in their city. At least those that can speak English. As yet it is not yet widely spoken in the city. If you stick to the big tourist attractions then somebody will speak English but maybe not fluently. Although the city is making ... Read review

Advantages: Classy & Elegant city
Disadvantages: Very Cold in winter!

Shanghai, is a very beautiful city in China. The people are polite and well-educated. I was there during Christmas last year and i feel very cold. probably i was from the tropical climate region, so was not so used to the cold weather. Siu lon bao is steam buns with stuffed meat and crab essense. The "siu lon bao" is in the yu garden district is very delicious. If you choose to eat on the street, you can line up and pay $10 Renminbi (RMB) for several ...
...can go up to the second floor restaurant and order the buns. You can enjoy it when a cup of tea. It will cost you around $20 RMB. Ok, if you are still not happy, you can sit back, relax, have a cup of tea with the buns, and a spectacular view, it will cost you $30+ RMB. **$1.00 EURO = $11.1420 RMB Shanghai has a lot of beautiful European style buildings. A lot of buildings are converted into restaurants or clubs. I went to have dinner in a classy ... Read review

Advantages: Eye opening, great experience
Disadvantages: You will stand out in the crowd

Having experienced New York recently for the first time, I found Shanghai to be it's Asian equivalent. It is an extremely large city, with marvellous big buildings and a pretty good atmosphere. Reading the other reviews, which were written in 2000 and found Shanghai to be difficult for tourists, I didn't really find that. Shanghai was adapting to tourism and western cultures throughout the last few years and I didn't really encounter that many problems. ...
...main export centre and there's plenty of business going in. This has led to an influx of westerners who are working out there and there is a niche developing. The people are very friendly. Most speak very little English, but it wasn't to difficult to develop an understanding with people you needed contact with, like taxi drivers, hotel staff etc. The younger generations in China are embracing our cultures as the country is relaxing from its communist ... Read review

Advantages: Good facilities
Disadvantages: mind the scaffolding

I have just returned from a holiday in China and spent two days in Shanghai. What a city where the old and the new sit side by side. Millions of Dollars have been spent in recent years upgrading the city with new homes and businesses with skyscraper after skyscraper. A fantastic new bridge spans the Yellow river where our spaghetti junction pales into insignificance compared with their huge 'noodle' junction. The pace of expansion is exhilarating. ... Read review