Our trip from Ningbo to Shanghai started in one of the high speed trains. This was already an adventure. As the train system in China is working more like the check-in at an airport. Everybody has to wait in the station lobby. It is only possible to enter the platform if you have a printed out ticket for the train. Check-in to the train only happens 10 minutes before the train arrives in the station. With that said, all the platforms are empty until the train is ready to be boarded. In the train you have a seat booked for you and you need to take exactly that seat. No standing allowed.
The first evening in Shanghai we spend at The Bund, in fog and rain. Compared to Beijing, for me Shanghai could also be a city in the US if you omit the signs in mandarin. It is really modern, going around with the train was easy because everything was also in English. Sadly it misses the Asian charm that can be found everywhere in Beijing.
Our first full day we used to visit the Oriental Pearl Tower. There are 2 options to choose from: 263 m Main Sightseeing Floor and 259 m Transparent Observatory. We went for the 263 m options, which for me was not worth to wait two more hours in the line, compared to the 259 m. The glass bottomed sky walk is located on the 259 m floor. Which was really cool, when you stand on it you well the movement of the building.
The evening we spent in the tianshan tea city of Shanghai. Which is super cool because there are an endless number of tea shops. Before you even buy something the sellers are happy to prepare the tea for you. In order to be able to taste the tea before you actually decide what you want.
Before we left Shanghai with the night bus, as we were not able to get tickets on the high speed train again. We visit the Qibao Old Town. At the canal we took a boat cruise, which felt like little Venice in Shanghai.
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