5 Reasons to Love Shanghai
The Subway
The subway system in Shanghai is purportedly the one of the fastest growing in the world. From what I’ve been told, that conjecture is pretty accurate. The first line opened in 1995; as of this year it became the 11th busiest system in the world; by next year there will be a total of 12 lines in operation. The subway network is a huge underground sprawl that provides easy access to pretty much anywhere in the city you want to go.
My favorite part of the subway is the cleanliness. I grew up outside of New York City and therefore, in my early years, I assumed all subways were like those of Manhattan: old, dirty, and smelly. This is definitely not the case (you only need to go as far as Washington DC to see a great subway system), as I eventually discovered. Like many of the more affluent places throughout China, there is an army of workers that clean the subways every day. Late at night the trains stop running and everything is cleaned. While so many things in China are dirty and smelly, this is not one of them.
Couple the cleanliness and great expanse with new technology (sometimes it seems like Shanghai is light years ahead of the rest of China) and you have a winning combination that’s difficult not to like.
Parks and Gardens
Parks and gardens are a fantastic way to escape the hustle and bustle of a big city while not actually leaving it. I love visiting parks because I enjoy the greenery so much. The cities I really enjoy visiting are those that are able to incorporate a sense of nature and natural beauty into the cityscape.
While in Shanghai I visited People’s Square Park a number of times, the Yu Gardens, Century Park, and Zhongshan Park. They are all great places in their own unique ways. Each one was a great respite from the crowds and the noise that a place like Shanghai can generate.
There’s a great list of other parks I did not get a chance to visit, such as: Lu Xun Park, Chang Feng Park, Fuxing Park, Jing An Park, Gongqing Forest Park and more. You can read more about them here.
Museums and the Arts
Shanghai is home to a plethora of museums, like the Shanghai Museum pictured above. Shanghai was widely considered the cultural and economic center of East Asia for the first half of the 20th century and is therefore considered the birthplace of everything modern in China. With that in mind, there is a huge range of subjects covered by the many museums scattered about the city. There is the Art Museum, the Shikumen Museum, the Urban Planning Exhibition Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Bund Museum. The list goes on and on. If you enjoy visiting museums and art galleries, you will not lack for places to go in Shanghai.
Walking the Bund
Taking a stroll down the famous Bund is an experience one does not soon forget. The transition from the rest of Shanghai to the Bund is like stepping into another world. It is a showcase of early 20th century architecture from the West that is so distinctly not Chinese. For me it was a surreal experience. How could this collection of European-style architecture be found in a Chinese city? And all in one place? It just seems so bizarre and fantastical.
Normally a walk down the Bund also provides a fantastic view of the Pudong district. Unfortunately there is a lot of construction going on along the waterfront for the 2010 World Expo, so the view was decidedly not good. I can only imagine that it is quite a sight to behold.
Nightlife
Of course a city as metropolitan and international as Shanghai will have a burgeoning nightlife. Any kind of scene you can imagine, you will find it somewhere here. Like the club pictured above; a blues and jazz club. A really nice blues and jazz club that has live music every night. In the middle of China! I visited this place more than once during my stay and I loved it. There was even a DVD of a live Muddy Waters concert playing on the flat screen TV behind the bar. Awesome!
There are a seemingly endless number of bars and clubs throughout Shanghai. There is also a growing music scene that rivals Beijing (commonly considered the musical epicenter of China). No matter what your style or taste or preference is, I guarantee you can find something you will enjoy.
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