Why You NEED to Visit SHANGHAI 🇨🇳 (NOT What We Expected)
Adventures of Lauren & Jason
Travel Creator
Places (10)
- The Bund (attraction)
- Chen Ji Shaobing Xiaojiuguan (restaurant)
- People's Park (attraction)
- Xintiandi (attraction)
- Chan Sun (restaurant)
- G Hotel (hotel)
- +4 more places...
Trip Timeline
Follow the journey through Shanghai
The Bund
外滩
1:04 → 2:17
The Bund（外滩）
attractionA historic waterfront area in Shanghai, known for its colonial-era buildings and panoramic views of the modern Pudong skyline, including the Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower. In the early mornings, locals engage in activities like flying kites and practicing Tai Chi.
Adventures of Lauren & Jason 's take
"It was so peaceful, it was so quiet. It was amazing seeing the sun pop over the Oriental Pearl as well as the Shanghai Tower. The creator enjoyed the peaceful morning atmosphere."
Chen Ji Shaobing Xiaojiuguan
陈记烧饼小酒馆
4:12 → 5:15
Chen Ji Shaobing Xiaojiuguan（陈记烧饼小酒馆）
restaurantA restaurant specializing in breakfast items like a massive, crispy pancake (jianbing) filled with meat, vegetables, soybean, and spices. It also serves Yunnan-style rice noodles. The interior features artwork and offers a comfortable seating environment.
Adventures of Lauren & Jason 's take
"It's crunchy and moist... the meat, the vegetables, all blend together with a bit of sweetness, some spice and some saltiness. She was famished and found it really hitting the spot."
People's Park
人民公园
5:16 → 6:24
People's Park（人民公园）
attractionA large city park located in the heart of Shanghai, featuring extensive greenery, water features like ponds with koi fish, and shaded walking paths. It has a botanical garden feel, showcasing different plant species.
Adventures of Lauren & Jason 's take
"It's giving off that Central Park vibe... with all the water features, this massive pond right here with a ton of koi fish, the trees are giving ton of shade... It feels a bit like a botanical garden where they show you like different species and the names, which is something that feeds my curiosity. The creator enjoyed the peacefulness and botanical garden aspect."
Xintiandi
新天地
6:53 → 7:54
Xintiandi（新天地）
attractionA fashionable pedestrian area in the Former French Concession, renowned for its Shikumen (stone-gate house) architecture which is a blend of traditional Chinese and European styles. It features numerous French bistros, Italian restaurants, bakeries, lounges, and luxury boutiques.
Adventures of Lauren & Jason 's take
"This neighborhood is very hip and the architecture is a style of blend between Chinese and European and I think it's coined Shikumen, right? This is a very luxurious area. It is absolutely beautiful to walk through, but of course the prices here are going to be more expensive."
Chan Sun
鼎泰小籠
7:55 → 9:39
Chan Sun（鼎泰小籠）
restaurantA restaurant known for Shanghai specialty soup dumplings (xiaolongbao) with pork and crab roe, and wontons with crab meat. The dumplings contain a hidden soup, which is typically sipped first before eating the dumpling with vinegar.
Adventures of Lauren & Jason 's take
"It's like a flavor bomb in my mouth, the crab roe just explodes so nicely. There's so much nice saltiness and there's a little bit of sweetness in this vinegar, it's not just straight vinegar. I'd say this is the biggest and most delicious wonton I've ever had."
G Hotel
G酒店
9:40 → 10:00
G Hotel（G酒店）
hotelA hotel situated near People's Square, offering convenient access to city attractions. The rooms are not overly luxurious but provide good value for the price and location.
Adventures of Lauren & Jason 's take
"It's nothing super fancy, but for the price and the location in proximity to the People's Square is fantastic. We're so tired, waking up at 4:30, we definitely need a nap."
North Suzhou Road
苏州北路
10:17 → 11:15
North Suzhou Road（苏州北路）
attractionA road located along the Suzhou River that offers sweeping city skyline views, including prominent landmarks like the Oriental Pearl Tower and the architecture of The Bund. There are three different bridges along this road for varied viewpoints for sunset and cityscape.
Adventures of Lauren & Jason 's take
"Hopefully sunset is going to make the views even better. It's going to be absolutely gorgeous. They suggest the two bridges closer to The Bund are best for cityscapes."
The Ping Li Street Food
旺喜上海小吃城
11:40 → 13:17
The Ping Li Street Food（旺喜上海小吃城）
restaurantA bustling street food area along East Nanjing Road, featuring numerous vendors selling various types of street food, including skewers, hand-pulled noodles, flat noodles, and regional dishes like mouth-watering chicken and Shanghai specialty noodles.
Adventures of Lauren & Jason 's take
"The beef noodles were really good, but unfortunately they had like this heinous kindness with the beef. So I'm really glad that Jason went to pick up a little bit more protein. The beef noodles were really good. Those noodles are soaking up the soup so well right now. And I love that it's topped with so much cilantro and green onion. The noodles are actually a Shanghai specialty and these noodles are actually my dad's favorite style of noodles."
Yu Yuan Gardens
豫园
14:14 → 16:09
Yu Yuan Gardens（豫园）
attractionA historic Chinese garden first built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty, showcasing classical Jiangnan garden architecture with elaborate pavilions, exquisite rockeries, shimmering ponds, zigzag bridges, and unique round white archways. It offers a tranquil escape from the bustling city.
Adventures of Lauren & Jason 's take
"It was really busy, even coming here at 9:00 in the morning. The line was already building and we got here 20 minutes before opening time. It is super vibrant, super green. The creator notes the unique zigzag bridges and round archways."
Pudong Area
陆家嘴
16:45 → 17:33
Pudong Area（陆家嘴）
attractionLujiazui is a financial district in Shanghai's Pudong New Area, known for its iconic and rapidly developed skyline featuring numerous skyscrapers such as the Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower. This area transformed from farmland and fisheries into a modern cityscape within a short period.
Adventures of Lauren & Jason 's take
"It's nice to finally get the chance to get up and close with all these landmarks. It's crazy to think that about 30 years ago, essentially this entire area was pretty much like farmland and some fisheries. But in that short amount of time, they transformed it into something so incredible, something out of Cyberpunk really. It's just so cool to stand among them."
Practical tips from this vlog
Useful advice and recommendations
Best time to visit East Nanjing Road
However here in the early mornings there's nothing really going on no shops open so we'll definitely come back later in the evening most likely tomorrow it does get pretty cool here everything gets lit up there's so much shopping and the best part of all street food.
Shanghai
Affordable Robot-Made Coffee in Shanghai
It actually tastes pretty good. I can actually taste the Earl Grey... It almost tastes just a little bit like warmer. I do wish it was a little bit hotter but the taste is actually quite good. But best of all though, I think the price is what makes these coffees super attractive.
Shanghai
Using Alipay for Shanghai Metro
To get over to the next spot, we're actually going to be taking the subway here in Shanghai. This is the first time we've ever doing it, and we should be able to use our Alipay directly to scan in for the Metro. Hopefully it all works out. I love how easy Alipay makes it so that you can take public transport here in China. All you have to do is open up the QR code inside of your transport app, scan in and then you're on your way.
Shanghai
Refreshing Fresh Pressed Juices
After that meal, I definitely was craving something sweet, but we wanted to be a little bit healthier. And there's a whole fruit stand over here making fresh pressed juices and smoothies. So we decided to go for one. And this is a pear and passion fruit fresh pressed juice. Mmm. Refreshing and they still have the passion fruit seeds inside.
Shanghai
Yu Garden Operating Hours & Crowds
It is 40 yuan and it opens every single day except for Mondays. However, if the Monday lands on a public holiday, then it is open as well. And it was really busy even coming here at 9:00 in the morning. The line was already building and we got here 20 minutes before opening time.
Shanghai
Experience Yu Garden Area Day and Night
We have made it back to the Yu Yuan Garden area and this place looks so beautiful at night. All of the old architecture is fully lit up, and the best part of all, they actually close many of the major streets from cars, so it's pedestrian only. There's some music playing as well. It's very crowded, so definitely a good thing that they close down the roads so everybody can roam around freely and it's so stunning. Trust me guys, it's great to see in the morning because you want to see the gardens, but seriously, if you have a chance, come back at night.
Shanghai
Explore on the map
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