Shanghai, may be the busiest city in China and in the world. I traveled there with Marie and went to see our friend Kevin who had moved in the city few month ago. What surprised me was the liveliness and above all the nature aspect of the megapole.

The French Concession

As a good French guy, Kevins lives in the lovely neighboorhood of the French Concession. As we arrived at 4 am, we couldn’t really realised it, but the area is really green and it is very pleasant to walk around. After our short night, we first went to Kevin’s office and then had a brunch at Green and Safe. Organic food, the brunch was good and healthy and I was for a moment kind of back to Europe.

The French Concession

As good tourists, we went to visit the famous Yuyuan garden (which unfortunately was closed on this bank holiday) and Jing An district. We still spent few hours walking around the area around the garden which was packed with too many people. We even experienced local toilets – which was very funny – and visit a temple. 

Shanghaiese lifestyle

To continue with famous attraction, we had a cocktail at the famous Bar Rouge terrace before heading to Din Tai Fung, a restaurant that we know very well in Hong Kong but which was specially recommended by our friend Cecile for its elegant style in Shanghai.

M50 – The Arty District

On Saturday, we first had a casual brunch at a small coffee shop called Egg – I think it was vegetarian-friendly. Then we headed to M50, the arty village/district where we saw many nice paintings, pieces and street art graphics, even though we thought it would be bigger

Da Dong and People Square

At lunch, we went to the most famous Pekin duck restaurant in town ‘Da Dong’. As it was a large meal, we enjoyed a walk in the district near People Square – an immense place on our way to the Shanghai Tower. We experienced the Shanghaiese metro to get there.

The Shanghai Tower

The Shanghai Tower is an impressive building. We went at the top of the tower to admire the view over the Bund by night which was breathtaking from the 96^th floor at 435 meters high. To finish the day, we enjoyed the colourful xiao long bao de Paradise Dynasty and the adventurous cocktail of a bar in Kevin’s neighbourhood called L’Atelier.

Qibao – The Ancient Water Town

The last day, we went to Qibao, an Ancient Town with many canals in the South-West part of Shanghai. Very typical district with many local delicacies to try: tofu, sausage sticks, tea, and many other things I didn’t know the name. We stayed there for a long time before heading back to the center.

The biggest Starbucks in the World

We enjoyed one last attraction – not very typical you would say: Starbucks Roastery. This Starbucks is known to be one of the biggest Starbucks in the world. They produce coffee beans in the Starbucks coffee shop itself and you can watch workers work at the same time that you’re drinking your coffee. They also have a tea bar and many food choices.

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 A spacious, very green (!), and very cosmopolitan city! As usual in big Chinese cities, very modern parts contrast with typical and local attractions form an old time. A paradox I loved visit.