Yī (Shanghai)

Travelling to China

This trip is a lot different to my other blog posts as I am travelling with my work (marketing at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh). A trip to China, for work! I’m feeling very lucky to have the chance to visit and also to get a glimpse of businesses and universities in China as well as just as a tourist. I’m travelling on my own but meeting Chinese colleagues at various points along the way in Shanghai, Tianjin and Beijing. I also have a day trip to Jinan City for work. After the work part, I have a week extra to explore and my husband David is joining me in Beijing where we travel to Xi’an, Pingyao and a day trip to the Great Wall.

I’ve known about this trip for about nine months. As China is SO different to the UK, I took that time to prepare, taking Mandarin lessons, Chinese business etiquette lessons and watching loads of vlogs on YouTube about travelling to the country. I recommend this Wolters World video about the things you will love and hate about China. He has lots of other interesting videos about travelling in China.

Of course, you need a visa to travel to China and we ordered these a few weeks before I left from the Chinese visa office in Edinburgh. Not too cheap at £151, mine is valid for this one visit but David’s tourist visa is valid for two years for 30 days at a time. My cousin and her husband, both from Canada, had also planned to arrive when David does. Unfortunately their visas were rejected for quite a silly reason so had to cancel their trip. Luckily they got most of their money back through travel insurance but I would recommend checking the current visa guidelines before booking to make sure you can comply.

Armed with my visa, a suitcase lined with shortbread, Tunnocks Caramel Wafers and tablet (can’t go gift-less to meetings in China!), completely fluent in Chinese (in no way is this true) and mentally prepared for the cultural differences to expect, I was ready for my adventure to China, flying with KLM from Edinburgh to Shanghai via Amsterdam.

Thursday 11 May 2017

Accommodation: SSAW Boutique Hotel Shanghai North Bund (Narada Boutique Hotel Shanghai) booked on Ctrip. CNY 3541 for five nights including breakfast and taxes. About £80 per night with current (poor) exchange rate. Ctrip.com is the website people in China use for booking travel and is very good for finding hotels, trains and flights.

Arriving in China

I got off my flight and headed towards the ‘Foreigners’ arrival queue. As I waited, I watched videos on the screens explaining that the customs officers are foreigners first experience of China so they serve you with a sunny smile. As I wasn’t on a usual tourist visa, I was a bit nervous but was waved through with no problem (though no sunny smile).

SIM cards and portable wifi

Once through customs, I spotted a stand selling SIM cards and portable wifi devices. My phone isn’t unlocked (my request still pending with O2 11 days later…) so I decided on a portable wifi device. It would also save me having to swap back and forward between SIM cards. The device was ¥300 and 3GB of data was ¥200 so around £55 altogether. I usually have 3GB of data a month at home which is about double what I need, however the data seems to run out quicker here. I have only switched it on a couple of times a day and have used 640MB in nine days. You can connect up to five devices to it so a group of people travelling together could share one pocket wifi. You have to keep it charged up which is a bit of a hassle but I think easier than swapping SIM cards. The free wifi in places like Starbucks and the airport seems to need a Chinese phone number to access it (which would be a benefit of getting a Chinese SIM).

Metro

I picked up my case, passed through a security check and headed for the exit. I had decided to try to attempt the metro to my hotel so followed signs for it. I joined the queue for the ticket machine, experiencing the loose Chinese queuing system for the first time. Along with a Chinese girl, I discovered my ¥100 note was too big for the machine. She helpfully suggested we go to Starbucks (there’s Starbucks and Costas everywhere) to buy something to get change (a surprisingly chunky but nice bottle of peach juice). Back at the ticket machine, she explained how to buy the tickets. Luckily the machine has an English button. My trip was pretty far and cost only ¥7 (about 80p) so the metro is a total bargain.

The entrance to the metros have X-ray machines so I put my luggage through this and went down to the #2 metro line. Expecting all metros in China to be completely rammed, I was pleasantly surprised to get a seat, though it did get busier as we went on. They’re really clean and I’ve never waited more than a few minutes for one. On one of the metros from the airport, there was a blind man playing the recorder busking but I have only seen a busker this one time.

The metro took WAY longer than I expected, as I had completely underestimated the size of the city. Considering the population is a massive 24 million, I really should have worked out the scale of things! After one train swap and a switch to line 10, I arrived at Hailun Road station and ventured outside for the first time. It was about 30 degrees and I was roasting in my jeans. The first thing I saw was the Oriental Pearl Building in the distance, instantly recognisable from the Shanghai skyline.

From the map I had looked at, it seemed that my hotel was right beside the metro station. Again, this was me underestimating the scale of things. I asked a few people to point me in the right direction – using ‘qing me…’ (may I ask…) followed by throwing my Chinese hotel confirmation at them – and found my hotel after a 10 minute walk, feeling quite proud of my Shanghai navigation skills! It took about three hours to get from landing to hotel, including a long wait at customs and much longer than expected metro journey.

Checking in

My first hotel was lovely. On the first couple of nights I think was the only foreigner staying there as it is slightly out of the usual tourist areas. Luckily there is one man on reception who speaks excellent English and the others can understand a little. While checking in, I was given a glass of fresh lemon ice tea as I provided my passport for police registration. Foreigners need to register their accommodation with the police within 24 hours of arrival. Luckily hotels do this for you, otherwise you need to do it yourself. This is one reason I decided against Airbnbs. In most countries, check in and check out time is quite strict but there was no issue for me checking in ahead of the 2pm check in time.

I got the lift up to my room on the 8th floor. There is a huge window with a big windowsill so I opened the blinds and admired the view for a while. An excellent people watching spot!

The man on reception had told me the minibar was free so I had a look at what was on offer – soft drinks and some dried okra (a new vegetable to me).  Every time I took something out the mini bar, it reappeared the next day!

Attempted exploring

I’d been up for about 21 hours and decided to try to power through as much as possible to try to beat the jet lag. I wanted to visit The Bund (west side of the river, overlooking the famous Shanghai skyline on the east side). As I’d seen the Oriental Pearl Building earlier, I figured that (after my earlier navigation win) I would simply walk in that direction and eventually find it. In my exhausted state, it was not quite so easy – also I’d once again forgotten how BIG Shanghai was. My first hurdle was the insane roads! The green man is meaningless here as people continue to turn right. I assume they are supposed to give way to pedestrians but they don’t. At busier crossings, there are people directing traffic. I thought I had the roads sussed (cross when green man appears, while looking manically from left to right to avoid getting mowed down) then people were driving scooters along the pavement! There are a lot of scooters and bicycles. Scooters often have some diy modifications such as sleeping bag/oven glove contraptions. I guess this is to keep the driver warm in the cold winters. For bikes, there are a few different companies that rent these (Boris bike style). Many people use these instead of owning a bike. They can be picked up/dropped off all over the city and users just scan them using WeChat to pay a (super low) fee.

Quick side note on WeChat… This is one of China’s social media platforms which seems to do everything. Like WhatsApp and Facebook together with lots of other functionalities I don’t know. Everyone has this linked up to their bank accounts and can pay for things using their WeChat instead of cash or card. Everywhere seems to accept this payment, even little food stalls. While we’re talking about social media… all the usual platforms that we use in the UK are blocked by ‘The Great Firewall of China’ – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Google, Netflix. If you want to access these from China, you need a VPN which lets you change your virtual location to elsewhere in the world. I did some research and got Express VPN before leaving the UK which costs about $10 a month (but also has a one month cash money back guarantee if you cancel). The app is downloaded to my phone and iPad – you can connect up to three devices at a time. Occasionally I forget to turn it on and the blocked websites won’t load.

Back to my attempt to find The Bund… I kept heading in the direction of Oriental Pearl Tower but just didn’t seem to be able to find it (no longer quite so pleased with my navigation skills!). When I thought I was getting closer, a street would be closed and I’d need to change direction. On my map, it looked like there was a big park by the water but I wasn’t allowed to access this.

In addition to the crazy roads and being lost, EVERYONE was staring at me! I didn’t expect this in Shanghai as there must be loads of foreigners visiting the city for tourism or work but it seemed that a westerner walking the streets of Shanghai was big news! Even people driving would slow down to stare open mouthed out the window. I was lost, exhausted and getting a bit fed up with being a celebrity so decided it was time to head back to the hotel.

I had big plans to arrive in China and eat lots of delicious food, requesting things in that fluent Chinese, but I grabbed some instant noodles in a supermarket instead. I did pop into a little restaurant and tried to ask if they had an English menu but got laughed at. In hindsight, I don’t even think I was asking someone that worked there…so noodles it was! I managed to stay awake until about 6pm (after 26 hours awake), passed out until 11pm then slept 2am through until morning, managing to beat jet lag after a short post breakfast nap on my first full day.

Friday 12 May 2017

Breakfast in China

My hotel included breakfast and I was excited to see what that entailed! There was loads of food on offer at the breakfast buffet, including some western-friendly options like cereal, toast and fruit. There was also lots of familiar Chinese dishes like noodles, rice, stir fried vegetables and steamed buns and some unfamiliar things like half a boiled eggs where the ‘white’ of the egg was clear. The most exciting discovery for me (a big noodle fan) was the noodle station! You take a little plastic basket and fill it with the veg, tofu, beansprouts and the type of noodles that you want then give it to the chef who boils it all up for you and hands it back in a bowl with soup. Then there’s sauces (soy, sesame, lobster, chilli, etc) and toppings (seaweed, spring onions, chopped egg etc) to add.

I had just picked up my noodle soup from the chef and was trying to work out if any of the steamed buns were vege (they were not) when my Chinese colleague Marissa said hello. A friend in China – yay! My colleagues in China are based in Beijing but were travelling to meet me for various meetings. Marissa was staying in Shanghai with me until Monday. The team work with agents and partner universities across China to recruit Chinese students to our university.

Taxis in Shanghai

We had our first meeting on Friday afternoon and jumped in a taxi to the agent’s office. As mentioned, our hotel isn’t in one of the usual tourist or business areas. The problem with this is that it made finding taxis quite tricky. Between Marissa using an Uber-like app (there is Uber in China but I think only in Chinese) and us try to spot a taxi with green light to indicate it was vacant, we managed to get a taxi. Although it sometimes took a while, it was ok to find taxis when I was with Marissa however I had much more trouble when I was on my own. The drivers don’t tend to speak English and I think some see foreigners as too much hassle. I ordered a taxi from the hotel reception for myself on Saturday, the driver ranted at me in Chinese for a while then drove off. As I’d been advised, I always had my address written in Chinese characters but that didn’t always help and I found it easier to take the metro when I was on my own. The traffic in Shanghai is very very busy too so it can be slow going. Also, the spitting…people in China like to hack and spit and they really go for it which really gives me ‘the boke’. I’ve seen a few taxi drivers doing this and spitting out the window. I’d thought that this was to do with the pollution but it hasn’t been bad so I guess they just like a good gob. On a positive side though, the taxis are very cheap and about a quarter of what I am used to paying in Edinburgh. Just make sure you try to catch one about 20 minutes ahead of when you need to leave!

Our first meeting was a success and I got to exchange business cards with two hands, in the way I had learnt in my business etiquette lessons! Business cards are very important in China and you need to respectfully receive someone’s business cards with two hands and study it before putting it on the table in front of you during the meeting. Hand them yours in the same way. I’m not going to write much about my work meetings unless something particularly Chinese happens.

The Bund and real Chinese food

As I hadn’t managed to find it the night before, after our meeting we jumped into a taxi and went to The Bund. Although not from Shanghai, Marissa was a great guide, pointing out the famous Waibaidu Bridge and offering to take a few photos of me on The Bund with the Oriental Pearl building and Shanghai Tower in the background.

We then went in search of food and got the metro to a mall. There’s malls dotted about all over Shanghai and they have a number of restaurants in them. There was a few familiar names like Pizza Express and Pizza Hut. There’s also lots of McDonalds, Burger Kings and KFCs with Chinese varieties of the usual foods. We had a look at a few menus and decided on a place with some vege options (rare in China – it’s all meat, meat, meat) and helpful English on the menu. We shared a few things including rice cakes (like flat, white, starchy circles) which Marissa suggested I try. All very tasty and not too expensive.

Marissa had spotted a sign for a Magnum Lounge in the mall and we went there for dessert. Amazing discovery! For ¥28 you get to design your own Magnum ice-cream and then eat it in their rooftop lounge on top of the mall. Firstly you pick your toppings (I went with dried strawberries, salted candy and cranberry flavoured sugar candy), then your ice cream (vanilla or cappuccino) and then your chocolate flavour (milk, white or golden). Fun and yummy! It was dark out (it gets dark about 7.30pm) and very cool to be surrounded by Shanghai’s brightly lit skyscrapers while we ate. We had walked straight in but there was a short queue when we left. We also saw an area set up for queuing which had a sign to say where a 60 minute wait so it must get very busy!

We took the lift back downstairs and were totally squashed in. At each floor more people kept trying to cram in until the lift refused to move with their weight! Due to the huge population of Shanghai, I had been prepared for everywhere to be totally crowded but it hasn’t been as bad as I expected so far. I expected everywhere to be like the crammed lift!

We got a taxi back to the hotel and went to look in a shop across the road (I can’t remember the name) which was kind of like Tiger in Europe. Lots of random fun stuff for pretty cheap! These are also in Beijing and I plan to go and load up with Chinese randomness before flying home.

A fun first few days in China, hugely helped by having Marissa to guide me. I also got stared at a lot less when I was with her!

 

Check out my other Chinese blog posts on Shanghai, Tianjin, Beijing, Xi’an, Pingyao and what to expect in China.