China Trip- Day 5: Shanghai

After 4 days travelling in Hangzhou and Suzhou, we are back to the last stop-Shanghai. If you are in Shanghai, no worries on transportation, all tourist attractions can be reached using their metro system. There are a total 11 subway lines which cover mostly the whole Shanghai.

We stayed in Manhattan Business Hotel at Dianchi Road which is around  RMB 398 per room/night (includes breakfast). I found this place through some good comments from the travel websites. However, I personally do not recommend this place if you are planning for a long stay. The room is super small, no adequate space to walk or even to put your bags and the toilet is just beside your bed, hygiene wise its a no no. Another reason why we chose here is because it is within walking distance to the bund.

We took 5 minutes walk to the nearest train station, took Line 2 to LuJiaZui Station to visit the Oriental Pearl Tower. On the way to the Pearl tower, we had lunch in the nearby Chinese fast food restaurant. The restaurant is called 东方既白, http://www.dfjb.com.cn. It is also another sister outlet to KFC.

MaPo Tauhu Rice Set -RMB 15

The set came with a soup and vegetables. BF ordered this since he like Tauhu so much, but I guess ordering this in China was just another nightmare; it just doesn't taste like the Mapo Tauhu that we are used to in Malaysia. However, what I like about Chinese Fast Food Restaurants is that soup will always be served in a set meal! 

Curry Pork Chop Rice Set-RMB 21

Since this outlet is owned by KFC, I assumed that the taste should be the same. However, the curry taste so so, I still prefer the KFC curry pork rice set. That was the best curry pork chop rice I ever had in China.

Oriental Pearl Tower

China's second tallest TV and Radio tower with a height of 468 meters, a unique architectural design with 3 large spheres. The area for tourists to visit is the spheres, but each sphere have different entry prices, naturally with the taller sphere being more expensive. We chose to visit all three spheres, entry ticket is RMB 220 each person which is quite expensive. 

The first sphere we visited was actually the second sphere at the middle. Basically this is a place where you have a 360-degree view of Shanghai and you can take lots of pictures. Besides that, they also have a souvenir shop where they sell the usual tourist-ty items you can find. We came here at around evening time when the sun was beginning to set, that's why there was a lot of glare on the glass which makes it hard to take some beautiful scenery pictures. Maybe it would be best to come back at night time with a trusty tripod to take some great night time cityscapes.

Then we took the elevator to the top sphere which is basically a small dome with small and very dirty windows. We were hardly able to take any pictures that is deemed acceptable over here, so we didn't stay for long and just went back down to the middle sphere.

This was when we went downstairs to the observation platform, where there is a walking path which is made of transparent glass. This lets you see the view of Shanghai from the top. It was outright scary on the first approach, as if you are going to fall from the sky.

I am standing in the sky!

The wind was strong that day, but he just loves the view!

Second stop, we went to visit Shanghai's Madame Tussauds. I never been to Madame Tussauds before even the one in Hong Kong which is quite famous, so I just couldn't miss the chance again. Just take the subway line 1,2 or 8 and get off at People's Square. Leave from exit 7 and go inside the New World Building which you can take the lift up to 10th floor. We purchased the package for two adults together with a booklet, costs RMB 305 each person. There are 10 sections: Glamour, Behind the Scenes, Science Heroes, World Leaders, Music, Movies, Leon Lai as Mei Lanfang, Sports, Pepsi Studio and the Love Room.

Although the place is small, we had fun seeing all of our idols there and we couldn't stop taking pictures with them. I mean, how often can you see them "face to face"? :)

At night, we went to The Bund to take some great night views of the city. I can't believe the night view could be so beautiful. This is what I call, Life in the City.

We saw Malaysia's travel advertisement here too. 

That wraps up the end of the first day in Shanghai City. We had a nice and relaxed stroll along the Bund late into the night, lucky thing was that our hotel was within walking distance. Just be sure to bring some jackets / cardigans to keep warm as it was really windy and chilling during the night!

China Trip-Day 4: Suzhou-Tongli

We made a day trip to Tongli on the second day in Suzhou. There are a few water townships around Suzhou like Zhouzhuang, Wuzhen, Xitang, Tongli and Zhujiajiao. But we decided to visit Tongli since there is a sex musuem which sounds quite attractive to both of us. 

There are a few ways to get to Tongli: 

Shanghai Stadium--> Tongli (Tel: 021-6426555)

Hutai Road Bus Station--> Tongli (Tel: 021-962168)

Suzhou Railway Station--> Tongli : 1 regular bus/ 15 mins

Suzhou North Bus Station--> Tongli : 1 regular bus/ 1 hour

So, in the morning, we took a 15-minute bus ride to Suzhou train station. However, once we were there I couldn't find any extra info which I saw from the web that could lead us to Tongli from Suzhou train station. We were asking around the local people to get to Tongli, however things didn't turn out well until we managed to ask for directions from a police officer. So, the way to go Tongli or any other water township is to take the Long Distance Bus. When you reach Suzhou train station, just follow the signboard with the word "Long Distance Bus". That is where you can buy the bus tickets to the destination.

Counter 1 and 2 is the place where you can buy Tongli bus tickets. You can get both bus tickets as well as the entrance tickets to Tongli here. Bus ticket is RMB 8 and entrance ticket is RMB 100.

Bus ticket with gate No. 8. There is a disadvantage for those who do not understand Chinese as all tickets are written in Chinese words only. It is best you follow the day tour to Tongli if you feel this is a major problem that you'll face.

Entrance ticket to Tongli, however the sex museum entrance fee is not included.

The gate to board the bus. Everything is very well organised even for buses. The whole journey from Suzhou to Tongli is about 1 hour depending on the bus driver's speed.

Once you reach Tongli bus station, remember to check the time of the final bus back to Suzhou. To reach Tongli, you need to take another buggy with another fees of RMB 5 each. From the Tongli bus station, turn left from the entrance and walk to the end until you see the ticket center as below. This is where you can find the buggy, it takes around 5 mins to the main entrance of Tongli.

You can also stay one night in Tongli to see their night scenery which will be quite nice. However, we prefer to have only a day trip to Tongli since Suzhou is more happening. 

The main entrance to Tongli water township. Tongli was originally named Futu (rich land) and was renamed as Tongli (copper village) in the first year of the Tang dynasty. Tongli, a water township in Jiangsu province, with delightful scenery in peace and tranquillity, well-known for its low bridges, running water and small villages, has won its fame of "Venice in the east"

With the entrance ticket, you will be able to visit 10 attractions which is stated on the ticket itself. There are the Pearl Tower, Dendrite WuYuan, Chenqubing Former Residence, Tuisi Garden, Chongben Hall, Jiayin hall, Luoxing Island, Gufeng Garden, Genle Hall, and WangShaoSia Memorial Hall.

The China Sex Museum which is one of the attractions here that you just can't miss. However, the entrance ticket doesn't include sex museum, therefore we have to pay another extra RMB 20 per person.

China Sex Museum is the first exhibition with more than 4,000 pieces of collections which spands five thousand years of history in China . The museum covers an area of 3,800 sq meters indoors and 5,200 sq meters outdoors. It has a stone carving park with its own characteristics. The exhibition consists of 4 parts: sex in primitive society, marriage and women, sex in daily life, and sex in special cases. 

As you can see, there are many interesting sculptures for you to spend some time around. You could really learn a thing or two from these exhibitions.

Coming out of the museum, we saw some restaurants along the river, where there were quite alot of customers. We didn't try out the food 'cause we honestly wasn't that comfortable dining on the street side food over here.

We took off around 3pm back to Suzhou and got a taxi to Tiger Hill Wedding Street 虎丘婚纱一条街. However, not many people know about this place including the taxi driver, maybe it was because they know it by a different local name. The easy landmark to take note is the famous Tiger Hill, where the wedding street is just a road behind it. In this wedding road, you can find all sorts of wedding gowns and Chinese cheongsam on a very cheap price. Of course, you have to find the correct shops. 

Most of shops on the main street are selling dresses at RMB 800 above, however there is always cheaper range of dresses you can find there at the back of the main street. I followed the main street and came into a small back lane which is full of motorcycles. 

The price is 2 to 3 times much cheaper than the front shops. I recommend to come over here if you are not looking for branded wedding gowns. I bought 3 pieces of normal silk cheongsams which costs only RMB 100 each (those cheongsam could easily cost RM300 and above in K.L now) and Chinese wedding cheongsam for only RMB 200 each. You just can't find prices that low in K.L. All gowns and dresses are hand made by the shop owners and alterations can be done in 5 mins (so don't worry if you are in rush). 

At night, we visited the Shantang street which is just within walking distance from our hotel. This place is quite happening at night, and quite crowded too.

The place is really a nice spot to walk during the night when it's cool and relaxing. You really have a great variety of shops to do your shopping. I felt that I didn't have enough time to browse through all the shops as there was really large. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the day here thoroughly.

See more on:
China Trip-Day 1: Hangzhou
China Trip-Day 2: Hangzhou-Stone Craving at Peak Flown From Altar (Fei Lai Feng) and Linyin Temple
China Trip-Day 2: Hangzhou- Looking for food
China Trip-Day 3: Suzhou