Dalian 2005

alian Summer Research Program 2005

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Qingdao | Shanghai | Beijing

Shanghai

Halfway through the trip we headed to Shanghai for a three day weekend. Graduate students helped us book plane tickets and hotel rooms. We bought the tickets several days before we left to get the best price, and we paid Y1160. We stayed at Chuang Ye Hotel. The hotel was really nice and very convenient. We could walk to the Bund in a few minutes and were close taxi rides for everything else. We paid about Y400 per person for three nights. Going to Shanghai is awesome, and you won't want to miss out. Some of the things we did are below.

Gardens:

Yu Yuan

These gardens have several pools of goldfish, pretty “rockery,” and many nice structures. You should definitely go here. It's near some fun shopping and was a short walk from the Bund.

Botanical Gardens - These are further south in the city, but the cab ride didn't take too long. We enjoyed the bonsai gardens and the lotuses. We rented paddle boats, and there are also bikes that can be ridden around.

Temples:

Longhua Si Temple - This temple was near the Botanical Gardens. A lot of Chinese people go here to worship. We saw them burning incense and kneeling in front of huge gold statues.

Museums:

Urban Planning Center – If you're into city planning and environmental projects, this is the place for you. The exhibits are really nice and new. It's near People's Square (Renmin Guang Chnag).

Shanghai Museum (Shanghai Bowuguan) – The exhibits here were really nice, and the minority cultures room was one of our favorites. You can get a discount with an international student ID card. This is right in People's Square (Renmin Guang Chang).

Other fun things to do:

Nanjing Road – This is a pedestrian road loaded with shopping malls.

Peace Hotel – This is a really famous Art Deco building that is along the Bund. We went to rooftop from the top floor and enjoyed the views of the city. Entrance is free.

River Cruise – There are many companies along the Bund that offer river cruises on the Huangpu River. We took an hour ride one morning. It was slow and a little hot, but overall we enjoyed it.

Jin Mao Tower – This is the one of the tallest buildings in the world. We bought tickets and went to the 88^th floor observation deck. The views were great. You can also go up the Oriental TV Tower, but we heard that this one was better.

Bund Sightseeing Tunnel – The tunnel is a bit of a tourist trap, and we wouldn't really recommend it. Our ticket for the tunnel included going to three random exhibits: a sex cultural one, a weird music thing, and aquariums.

Evening:

Shanghai Centre Theatre – We went to an amazing show here that had acrobatics, contortionism, juggling, plate spinning, and comedy acts. The acrobatics were incredible, and going here or to another acrobatic show is highly recommended. The number for this theater is 021-6279-8663, and there are shows most evenings. Our tickets were 150 yuan, and it was worth the price.

All-you-can-eat Japanese Place – We're not sure what the place was called, but we ate at a Japanese place that was 160 yuan for all the food you wanted to order.