SHANGHAI, CHINA

A 72 HOUR TRIP

While planning my trip to South Korea I had the opportunity to make a pit stop in China! Originally the plan was to visit my best friend in Beijing while she was at her internship but things moved around. Instead my mom tagged along and we explored Shanghai!

WHY NOT BEIJING?

1. We went to China because it was cheaper than a direct flight to Korea. Plus, exploring another city!

2. Beijing was more expensive and had obnixious layovers unlike Shanghai.

WHY 72 HOURS?

China requires US citizens to have a visa to enter the country. An option given, without a visa, is a 72 hour stay. You can't leave the city and must have a connecting flight (Can't be the destination you came from). We came from the US, stayed in Shanghai, and connected to Korea!

LOGISTICS?

SUNDAY JUNE 18TH
- OHARE @ @2PM
13.5 HOUR FLIGHT
MONDAY JUNE 19TH
- PUDONG @ 6PM
Exchange money to buy metro card in your terminal! IMPORTANT!
LINE 2 (Metro) to Hotel
Hotel: Campanile

Language: Chinese & English

Transit: Medium difficulty

Food: Scarce without Chinese lang. knowledge

Environment: Clean

Money: Yuan (CYN & RMB)

Phones: Gov't controlled with so/so service

MEMORIES CAPTURED

Expand photos for descriptions & I apologize for all the iphone photos!

SHANGHAI ITINERARY

June 18-19th, 2017

ARRIVAL/DAY 1

We flew China Eastern Airlines which wasn't all that bad! The only sucky rule is you can't have any cell phones out or in use. They didn't know when I hid it and listened to music though! The economy class seats are plenty big enough. Each seat has a tv, remote, pillow, blanket, mags, headphones, etc. The flight really only felt like a couple hours compared to how long it actually was! When we arrived in the airport it was a disaster trying to get our metro card because everything needs to be in yuan (cash)! Make sure to carry cash at all times on your trip (no foreign banks allowed). After our sweat drenched walk from the train to the hotel we were very pleased. Our hotel was french based with a restaurant below. It was bigger & cleaner than expected. We began scavenging for food (soon to be a problem) & ate some desserts from below. Turning in for the night, I had no problem adjusting to time but since the sun rises at 4am my mom was up most mornings making herself crash half-way through the day.

June 20th, 2017

DAY 2

The first mission in Shanghai was to get some grub. A very horrible mission to take on. Most shops with english were coffee/pastry places & mom/pop places had all Chinese making it impossible to find something. I settled for water & ice cream (promoted by Exo's Lay lol) and my mom got a dumpling from a convenience store. We headed for the french concession located in the European style of the city. It's a jungle of shops catering to several commercial purposes. Our first real meal happened to be some "NYC" pizza, sadly. After a nice mini shopping haul we headed back. Mom was fast asleep at 4pm when I still wanted to make it to the bund- and we went! We saw the Oriental Pearl until it rained on us and we turned in for the night.

June 21st, 2017

DAY 3

The last full day of the trip we had a list to make:

Jade Budda Temple
Nanjing Road (Largest Shopping Strip)
The Bund

The temp was quite amazing because of the large gold buddas but don't get tricked into getting something at the gift shop. Nanjing Rd. is like a massive Michigan Ave in Chicago so lots of shopping that we didn't partake in. Finally, we visited the bund watching all the cargo ships leave for the sea & admiring the city scape.

NOTE: One of the most interesting things about going to all of these places looking the way I do attracts a lot of- staring. I can't emphasize the staring, smirks, and comments. We were asked to take pictures with people & still not even asked but photographed. It feels like you're the animal in the zoo everyone wants to see. After awhile it becomes obnoxious, invasive, and down right creepy. Yet, even after arriving in Korea my mom mentioned that she did miss having some of the attention.

June 22nd, 2017

DEPARTURE

With most trips you arrive optimistic & positive about the city. I left feeling nauseous from the Shanghai air, annoyed by the government controlled internet, and verrrrrry hungry. I felt I had seen what I needed to of Shanghai in 72 hours but I'm not opposed to going back if I need to. I liked how outrageously cheap goods were, how clean the city was, and tourist attractions I visited.

I believe the trip was worth it.