DAY 1
Bund 外滩
^ The 3 pillars signifies the 3 wars that China had
The view from the Bund is very nice! :)
This was our first destination upon arriving Shanghai. The scenery at the Bund was very beautiful and we learnt a lot about the history of various buildings that can be seen from there, as well as the history of the place. From what I remember, the tour guide told us that the local Chinese people were banned from entering this park, along with dogs about a century ago if I'm not wrong and there was a protest as there was a sign that says the locals and dogs were prohibited in this place that seemed as an insult to the Chinese and in the end, the sign was taken down and the Chinese people were allowed to enter the Bund. The park is very suitable for people to relax and have a walk or exercise along with the beautiful scenery, and is also a nice place to be at.
RATE: ✮✮✮✮✮
Huang Pu Jiang 黄浦江 (Boat ride)
At night, we went for a boat ride on the Huang Pu Jiang. Almost all the buildings that can be seen from the boat had led lights on them, making it a beautiful scenery.
RATE: ✮✮✮✮ (apart from the nice night scenery, theres nothing much to do on the boat except for taking pictures and enjoying the view...)
Done by: Siting
Shanghai Rayfront Xuhui Hotel 上海徐汇瑞峰酒店
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| picture credits to google as i did not manage to take any picture of the hotel |
This was the hotel we spent our first night in. In my opinion, it was very clean especially the toilets. On that night, a few of the girls went into the lift after checking in not knowing that we needed to scan the card in order to arrive at the levels of hotel rooms and ended up scaring ourselves thinking there were other "people" there.
RATE: ✮✮✮✮
Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Hall 上海城市规划馆
In the Shanghai Exhibition Hall, we saw many the figurines of the entire Shanghai and we watched a clip on a full wide screen which was filled with information about Shanghai in the past as compared to now, how it grew economically into such a great city we see today. There were a total of 5 or 6 level where we were given time to browse around.
RATE: ✮✮✮.5
French Concession 法租界
This place is a place of conservation of cultural heritage but with a mix of the modern world, with shops like Häagen-Dazs and Starbucks. Because of this, people were debating about how stores like Starbucks should not be present at such a place. It also gave off a vintage feel with the buildings and was beautifully decorated with flowers.
RATE: ✮✮✮✮✮
Tian Zi Fang 田子坊
This place is like a street of stalls selling items ranging from keychains to wallets to even yoghurt!
This place is like a street of stalls selling items ranging from keychains to wallets to even yoghurt!
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| flags of several countries from all over the world! Can you find Singapore's? RATE: ✮✮✮✮ (items there were sliiiiiightly on the pricey side and items were not really what we like) |
Hai Di Lao Hot Pot 海底捞
Honestly this is probably the place i had my best meal at. They were very kind towards us and respected us even though we were of younger age than them. When we entered, they all greeted us with a smile on their faces and were extremely towards us. This is something that is hard to find in restaurants in Singapore. Next, when we were brought to our tables, i was shocked when they started handing out spectacle cloths to people who wore spectacles and even offered aprons to those who were wearing white clotes. Their service towards their customers is simply splendid! In there while enjoying our meals, we all felt like kings and queens. When the served dishes, they would also voluntarily introduce us to the dishes and answer to our questions patiently. They also responded to our needs quickly.
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| Another awesome service they had free of charge was manicure! |
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| In addition, they also had a playroom where parents could leave their children there while they have their meals. Also, at the place they have their meals. there is a television which shows what is happening in the room which gives the parents more security knowing that their children is safe. |
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| Performance they arranged for us RATE: ✮✮✮✮✮!!!!!!! |
Done by: Xinxuan
DAY 3
瘦西湖 & 船游24挢（机动船）
The 瘦西湖 is a popular tourist attraction. It was build in the past to please the Chinese Emperor when he came to visit Yangzhou and it is the second largest lake in China. There are many houses and pavilions, bridges around 瘦西湖 that are being well preserved, and each of this places are of great historical value and also have an interesting story behind each of them. Tourists would be able to know more about Yangzhou's history after visiting the 瘦西湖. The view of 瘦西湖 is also very scenic and the place caters boat tides for tourists to tour 瘦西湖 via the lake itself. With this boats, tourists would be able to have a closer view of the bridges and pavilions. Tourists would also be able to travel from one part to another of 瘦西湖, instead of having to cover the entire of 瘦西湖 by foot.
RATE: ✮✮✮✮.5
东圈门历史街
东圈街 is a very traditional place and it is one of the more preserved streets in Yangzhou. There are many traditional shops that sell things from traditional Chinese handicraft to Yangzhou's speciality, 扬州三把刀. The place is very unhygienic as there is a lot of pee and sewer water around, making it reek of disgusting smells. However so, 东圈街 is the perfect place for tourists to experience how the people in Yangzhou lived in the past, their estates and more. The authorities should also take more care of the streets, perhaps if cleaned, more people might want to go there. That area is also in risk of getting diseases easily and thus should be cleaned often.
RATE: ✮✮.5
中国雕版印刷博物馆
We went to the block printing museum, where we saw the history of block printing and even saw people carving the blocks and printing it live. It was an educational experience for most of us as we have not seen this kind of things in Singapore before. We also saw a china vase that they say, was a treasure of China due to its historical value.
RATE: ✮✮✮.5
Done by: Joshua
东关历史文化街
东关街 is a popular tourist attraction in Yangzhou. The things sold in 东关街 are cheap and the shop owners are open to haggling (base on our experience, the prices are already cheap so it would be difficult to haggle, we suggest that if you want to bring down the price, buy more of the same thing). There are a variety of shops in 东关街 that vary from shops that sell tea to shops that sell toys. The exterior of these shops look very olden and traditional, however there are many modern shops in 东关街 such as cafés. At 东关街，we are still able to see occupations that are rare to see in China and have already disappeared in Singapore long ago, such as traditional candy making and traditional puppet making. So make sure to check out these amazing traditional art in action, before these occupations disappear for good.
RATE: ✮✮✮✮
谢馥村 (Performance)
谢馥村 was a factory of 谢馥春 in the past, now while still preserving 谢馥村, it is transformed into a tourist attraction for tourists to visit and watch a performance by Yangzhou's beauties. This performance is mainly performed by women and it showcases the beauty of Yangzhou women. The performance also shows Yangzhou's traditions and cultures by singing songs using their dialect and playing their chinese traditional instruments such as 古筝 and 二胡. It is very interesting as there are also some games during the preparation. When we went to watch the performance, the hostess asked some of us to volunteer and try to talk in Yangzhou's dialect. We recommend tourists to visit this place for a deeper understanding and experience of Yangzhou's unique culture and traditions.
RATE:✮✮✮✮
Day 4
Lushi Old Mansion 晚清盐商豪宅卢氏老宅享用晚餐
^Yangzhou's speciality, Yangzhou Fried Rice
The Lushi Old Mansion belonged to some merchants who lived there in the past. Now the Lushi Old Mansion is opened for people to experience how the Chinese dined in the past. It has a unique theme to it and it shows us how houses where rich people lived in the past looked like. There are many gardens,that have a rich history behind them, for the diners to visit. Delicious Yangzhou food, including expensive dishes that can only be found in certain places are served here.
RATE:✮✮✮✮
Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal 北京杭州大运河 (Boat Ride)
The Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal is a colourful and lively area. The canal, bridges and boats were decorated with colourful lights. Whereas, at the sides of the Grand Canal there are excerise areas and pavilions for people to gather. During our trip, we noticed that some people were exercising together and others were playing music and dancing. There were people taking a stroll too. It was very rowdy and lively. There is a boat ride available to bring tourists from one end of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal to another and there is a tour guide who explains the buildings and bridges that the boat crosses.
RATE: ✮✮✮✮
Day 5
No places of interest
Done by: Clarissa Lee
Day 6
Geyuan Garden (个园)
This garden is rich in its natural beauty and special landscapes. The peaceful waters and the greenery provides us with serenity and is an ideal place for one to relax. It has a calm scenery, along with the clean fresh air and its nature. There are staircases made out of jagged and uneven rocks, giving a sense of uniqueness since we seldom see nature being made used of as stairs. The Ge Garden is also Full of bamboo plants as the owner of the garden loved bamboos.
RATE: ✮✮✮✮
剪纸博物馆
The 剪纸博物馆 is a traditional place and there are many displays of Chinese paper cutting done by professioners. The cuttings are extremely complicated and has many detailed parts in them. There is a workshop for paper cutting and we were able to a hands on experience. We were given several 宣纸, some pictures of animals for us to cut from and special Chinese paper cutting scissors that we could bring home after the workshop. Whenever we faced difficulty, the trainers there would voluntarily step ahead and help us in any way that we need. On the lower floor, there was a souvenir shop selling many different works, like different designed hand held fans and bookmarks made up of the Chinese paper cutting. It was no doubt an enjoyable and meaningful experience.
RATE: ✮✮✮.5
Former residence of Zhu Ziqing (朱自清故居)
The Former residence of Zhu Ziqing (朱自清故居) is located in a small alley and it was where Zhu Ziqing (朱自清),a renowned poet and essayist lived. Zhu Ziqing migrated to Yangzhou at a young age, away from his family, and he was well known for his love for Yangzhou. The Zhu Ziqing's Former residence is preserved and turned into a tourist attraction to remember his contribution to Yangzhou. At Zhu Ziqing's former residence, his books and his handwritten work are also displayed there.
RATE: ✮✮.5
Daming Temple (大明寺)
The Daming Temple is a popular tourist attraction. At the Daming Temple, there is an extremely big entrance with small stores selling praying items. There is also a very big hall of different Buddhas, including the Guanyin Buddha. The Daming Temple is an ideal place to make a prayer for blessings and well being. There are rooms that display pictures, statues, etc. to commemorate some renowned poets and the person who played a big part in spreading Taoism to Japan.
RATE: ✮✮✮✮
Shanghai Volkswagen Company (上海大众(仪征)工厂)
The Shanghai Volkswagen Company is extremely big and there are many Volkswagen cars at the side of the exhibition, and all of them were new and cool. There is also a brief 3D map of the whole of this Volkswagen company on display. We were brought into a meeting room to watch a short clip of the success of Volkswagen and how it progressed to be this successful throughout the years. After the video, we were split up into 4 different groups to board onto 4 different electric cars to bring us for a tour around the whole of its factory. While we were on the trip in exploring how they manufacture their cars, the driver would explain to us what was going on using a wireless MP3 that was given to each of us. We were also provided safety goggles, that we had to put on in case any bits of metal or sparks fell on our face. Inside the factory, there were many many machines used to help out in their work. These machines were extremely efficient and useful and they do things well in the shortest amount of time possible. The different processes of making a Volkswagen car was extremely complicated as the car had to be extremely safe and secure. Many checks on the cars were being held out and they use fake people to test it out. In the factory, there were many banners found in every part of it
Each banner wrote something motivational, to motivate their workers to strive for the best and work as hard as they could to satisfy every customer they have. I feel that they were extremely hardworking and disciplined in doing this job. The trip through the enormous factory gave me a deep impression of this place, and it gives me a deeper understanding on how cars are made and manufactured. It is not easy to make a car, however, I really enjoyed this experience and will never forget it in my entire life
RATE: ✮✮✮✮✮
Done by: Danson
DAY 7
Here are some photos of the hotel. All 3 pictures credit to Google as I did not take picture of the hotel.
^ There are sofas and little chairs for us to sit while waiting for instructions.
RATE: ✮✮✮✮.5 (there is wifi in the room and lots of channels on the Tv and comfy beds and a safe box. But there wasn't much to do in the hotel room besides sleeping and bathing after a whole day of exploring. )
Bullet Train 高铁
On the last day, we took the Bullet train to Shanghai Pudong Airport.
^ And also a bubble tea shop for bubble tea lovers! They also have some bubble tea named after One Piece characters (which is my favourite anime ^.^) which seemed really attractive to me :} ^_^
^ Yeah, and this is the bullet train platform!
^ Shortly after we went in the station platform, the bullet train arrived.
RATE: ✮✮✮✮✮ (Five out of five for the comfort during the ride and the cool rotatable chairs plus fast and steady train ride!)
Done by Siting
Photo Credits:
Siting, Xinxuan and Huang老师
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