6:35am: Arrive at Pudong Airport 浦东机场, to Airbnb (1hr)
After immigration is completed, we proceed to get the Shanghai Public Transport Card, which according to online source, can be used for the metro, maglev, bus, taxi and even ferry. There is public transport that brings you to the city, but it’s not too expensive to share a taxi if you are travelling in a group. Our airbnb is located at Yan’an Middle Road, Kanglecun (康乐邨). It is located in the center of all the places that we planned to visit.
11am: Brunch at Dieji Soup Dumpling 嗲记汤包
After settling down and leaving our luggages at the airbnb, we proceed to Dieji for brunch! There are many recommended soup dumpling (better known as xiao long bao 小笼包) places in Shanghai, and you can’t miss out Dieji! They are popular for their giant-sized crab soup dumpling, simply called the “Dieji Soup Dumpling” (嗲记汤包), priced at ¥68. They do crab noodles (蟹粉拌面) too. Other than crab soup dumplings, they have regular pork soup dumplings as well.
Giant-sized Crab Soup Dumpling.
Regular-sized Soup Dumplings.
Crab Noodles.
Drunken Crabs.
12:30pm: Columbia Circle 上生新所, Seesaw Coffee The Columbia Circle, formerly known as the Columbia Country Club, was once the main hangout spot for Shanghai’s American expats during the 1920s and 30s. It later became the research campus of the Shanghai Institute of Biological Products for the next five decades. In 2016, the venue was being redeveloped into a mixed-use complex for restaurants, bars, cafes, retail shops, creative spaces and office buildings.
One of the tenants at Columbia Circle is Seesaw Coffee, China's pioneer in specialty coffee, the one that introduced specialty coffee to China. Global coffee chains like Starbucks are popular, while you can say Seesaw Coffee is the local coffee brand representation. If you were to do a quick search, Seesaw Coffee is bound to pop up. The original plan was to visit the one at Yuyuan Road, located at Jing’an Design Centre‘s courtyard. The plant-filled space with the white stairway make it really instagram-worthy. However, it has closed down as of last year, probably due to the pandemic.
Apple Pie Latte.
Orange Cinnamon Americano. Oat Latte.
Gardenia and Pear Latte. Peach Cold Brew with Foam.
2:30pm: Sihang Warehouse Museum 上海四行仓库抗战纪念馆 (1.5hrs)
Next, we proceed to Sihang Warehouse Museum, a war memorial for the Defense of Sihang Warehouse that took place from Oct 26-Nov 1, 1937. After the release of the movie "The Eight Hundred", this rarely visited museum became Shanghai's most popular attraction overnight! It was a really touching film based on the true experience of Shanghai's battle against the Japanese at the warehouse, and the director took 10yrs to prepare for this film.
4:30pm: M50 Creative Space M50创意园 (1hr)
M50 is the creative art district of Shanghai, set amongst restored factories. It features graffiti walls, modern and contemporary art galleries. It is named after its address - Moganshan Road #50. The art scene was started in 2000 by local artist Xue Song who was initially attracted by the cheap rent of the disused industrial space. Many other artists soon followed. Today, the space is home to over a hundred artists. Some of Shanghai's best known artists’ work can be found here.
6pm: Starbucks Reserve Roastery 星巴克臻选上海烘培工坊 + sunset (~6:30pm)
This Starbucks Reserve Roastery at Shanghai is the largest Starbucks store in the world! Experience a whole new level of Starbucks coffee from the raw bean station to the various types of coffee available. It features in-house roasting, three coffee bars, and a special Teavana tea bar. Some say it is like a Willy Wonka factory for coffee. The tubes that line the ceilings carry raw beans to the roasters, and roasted beans to the coffee bars. The centerpiece of the two-storey cafe is a 40-ton bronze cask that stores the excess roasted beans. At various timings during the day, you get to witness the packing process for the beans, and they get sent to the middle of the store on conveyor belts. The cask is adorned with 1,000 hand-engraved Chinese stamps, which tells the story of the company and coffee. Other than drinks, it also house Italian bakery chain, Princi. Get a slice of focaccia or the classic tiramisu.
The classic Tiramisu.
7:30pm: Dinner at Elixir Health Pot 鼎王无老锅 Lastly, we have dinner at Elixir Health Pot, a Taiwanese hotpot chain that prides itself on its healthy broths. With every pot ordered, you get unlimited complimentary “tofu bread” (面包豆腐) and duck blood. The frequently ordered half-half pot consists of the chilli and peppercorn broth on one side, and “tofu bread bone broth” on the other side - a milky, collagen broth made from pork, ginseng and herbs.
*Instagram is rarely used in China. Most of the photos will be from Dazhong Dianping (大众点评) instead - a China app where users can share their photos and videos, rate and review food and places.
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