China: A Parallel Universe
I spent a week in China in August 2018, splitting my time between its two most important cities, Beijing and Shanghai. Visitors from most countries must obtain a visa in advance. Mine took about a week to process and cost $250 USD, but was issued for ten years. Visitors to China must also be ready for some culture shock, as at times it does feel like a parallel universe. If you cannot live without Google or social media, make sure to get a reliable VPN since internet censorship in China prevents users from accessing most Western content.
Beijing: China’s Administrative and Cultural Capital
I flew to Beijing on a direct flight via Air China from Dubai, which took about 8 hours. Having expected language barriers to arise, I made sure to book my taxi to the hotel in advance. I stayed at Michael’s House hotel for 3 nights, which is a boutique hotel and quaint traditional style house with beautiful antiques and decoration adorning its courtyard. It is located in the Haidian District, one of Beijing’s many Hutong alleys with traditional houses.
After checking in in the late afternoon, I asked the hotel staff for some tips on nearby restaurants. The staff at Michael’s House made my stay much more enjoyable as they were very helpful and went out of their way by helping me book my transport and by sharing recommendations on places to visit. I walked to a nearby restaurant famous for serving Peking duck. I also got to see the preparation process first hand.
Beijing Duck, a Local Delicacy
Later in the evening, I explored the busy traditional shopping districts of Golou and Qianmen street, which are very busy at night. It is highly recommended to have the name of your hotel and address (in Chinese characters) carried with you at all times to show taxi drivers. Also note that China is notorious for taxi scams, so it is best to navigate rides through an app or to have rides pre-arranged in advance.
Another thing that may induce culture shock is that people in Beijing may seem be on the rude side. It may just be a cultural barrier issue when they actually mean well, especially given the aggressive way some speak and their forward mannerisms.
The next day, I had a tour booked for the Forbidden City and the Great Wall. I was picked up from my hotel in the morning, when we arrived at Tiannamen Square. We walked along square and into the gates adorned with ‘the Father of modern Mao Zhedong’s (the founder of modern, Communist China) portrait into the Forbidden Palace. Once there, you will likely be asked by one of the local people visiting to take a picture with them. To them, foreigners can be very exotic.
A Portrait of Mao Zedong Hangs over Tiananmen Square
The Forbidden City served as the imperial palace of China for five centuries. It is an enormous complex with hundreds of buildings, which housed the imperial court and thousands of the emperor’s concubines. The walled complex ‘Forbidden City’ as it was not open to the public, and is divided into several sections, each with its own parks, ceremonial halls and shrines. The UNESCO World Heritage site is one of Asia’s most visited, and the palace complex was overflowing with tourists. It would normally take days to explore all parts of the Forbidden City.
We took the bus about an hour from the city for our next stop, the Great Wall of China. The Great wall stretches thousands of kilometers. Is accessible from outside Beijing through several entry points, ours was the Mutanyu section of the wall. After lunch at a crowded local restaurant and along hike uphill, we took cable cars up to the wall. The views from the cable cars were magnificent and only got better once we reached the wall. It is truly one of those experiences that I thought would be overrated, but realized that is worth every aspect of the hype upon reaching and walking along
Shanghai: China’s Cosmopolitan City
From Beijing, I took the high-speed bullet train (which reaches a maximum speed of up to 380 km/h) to Shanghai’s Hongqiao station. The train ride was very comfortable and took about 4 hours to complete. As China’s largest city and commercial hub, Shanghai is very distinct from Beijing, China’s administrative capital. Shanghai has a more polished and cosmopolitan feel to it. It has been influenced by more cultures, as is clearly evident in the architecture and felt much more expat and tourist-friendly.
Yu Garden is the Most Beautiful Spot in Shanghai
I stayed at the Renaissance Hotel, which is a very short walk through a liloc (a traditional Shanghainese alleyway) into the Yu Garden. Yu Garden is a beautiful urban park, with the adjacent Yuyuan market. It is a fairly large market with all kinds and grades of souvenirs and handicrafts ranging from pottery to silk and jade. Given its proximity to my hotel, I got to spend quite some time exploring this area, especially in the evening when it is beautifully lit.
The Food in China is Different from What Most are Used to
Since I was staying downtown, I avoided taxis as much as I could and opted to walk instead. From my hotel, it was about a half hour walk down the busy commercial Nanjing Road to the Bund. The Bund is the main river of Shanghai, which overlooks the ultramodern Pudong district and its skyscrapers. The river promenade attracts scores of people in the evenings and offers a spectacular lights show. For the best views of the skyline, visitors can head up to one of the many rooftop cocktail bars surrounding The Bund. I got to enjoy the views from the sleek and groovy Rouge Bar. Shanghai’s European influence is seen in many buildings around The Bund in art-deco style.
A View of The Bund and Pudong District at Night
The French Quarter is one of the city’s most popular attractions, with well preserved European style houses and mansions, and upscale dining and shopping options.
Most of my few days in Shaghai were spent between Yu Garden, The Bund and The French Quarter.
On my last day, I took a tour to the closeby historical city of Suzhou, known as the ‘Venice of China’. Suzhou offers numerous traditional Chinese gardens and Canals. One such garden which we visited on the tour was the Humble Administrator’s Garden, a UNESCO world heritage site from the Ming dynasty. The city is known for its silk. Afterwards, we visited a silk factory to see how this centuries-old tradition has been practiced to this day. Our last stop was at the Zhouzhuang Water Town, where we took a boat down canals that make up this continuously inhabited ancient town.
My stay in Shanghai, was overall more enjoyable than in Beijing. Being a coastal town with a much more varied cultural mix, Shanghai is a friendlier and less intimidating City than Beijing. The overall climate and energy was far more relaxed and pleasant during my stay here.
Over 25 Million People Live in Shanghai
Pros
Culture
Arts and shopping
Vast country with different landscapes
Regional variety
Cons
Scams are very common
Internet censorship (a VPN is a must-have)
Language barrier and occasionally rude people
The food in most places was average at best
