Jaunted - Tag: Shanghai Travel

You Can 谢谢 Us Later: Shanghai Restaurant Week Opens Reservations

JetSetCD — 2011-08-18T17:16:48-05:00

Restaurant Week deals aren't just for major cities in the United States, nosireebob. Believe it or not, Shanghai and their multitude of fancy-pants eateries have been getting in on the discounted 3-course meal act for several years now, and the deals are again good from September 5-11.

Alack and alas, the majority of the 70 restaurants on the bill either specialize in western cuisine or call the 4-and 5-star hotels of the city home. This is not a deterrent! Hotel restaurants in Shanghai are not the hotel restaurants you're thinking of; they offer some of the most diverse menus, dramatic views and dressed-up evenings you can find in the Pearl of the Orient, and with a three-course dinner costing 248 RMB, or about $38 or a three-course lunch at 118 RMB, or $17, it's only good news.

The city is a bit like our photo above—it's completely traditional and affordable in some areas, but those parts are almost immediately followed by the high-gloss modern neighborhoods with their famous-chef restaurants and gold gilt bathroom faucets. You've just got to learn to love both, and getting the latter fancy food for cheap helps.

Reservations opened TODAY! Go here to get them.

[Photo: Cynthia Drescher]

The World's Fastest Train to Zip Between Beijing and Shanghai Starting July 1

JetSetCD — 2011-06-09T16:08:04-05:00

Amazing news from Shanghaiist today: The world's fastest train will begin traveling between Shanghai and Beijing as soon as July 1! For lovers of train travel, technology and more transportation options, this is huge news. Plus, it means far less airport congestion and delays on this popular and heavily-trafficked route.

The zippity-quick train at the focus of the new service is the CRH380, a beast of a bullet train that most closely resembled an actual bullet, more so than any other bullet train we've seen. It's a China-designed and China-made train, coming in both 8-car and 16-car lengths. It made the world record for fastest train last year, after the 16-car version hit an incredible 486 km/h (302 mph).

· Time it takes to fly between Beijing and Shanghai: 2 hours for just the flight, not counting airport transportation, security and wait times.

· Time it takes the CRH830 to travel from Beijing to Shanghai: 4 hours, 48 minutes

· Time it takes a regular train to travel from Beijing to Shanghai: 9 hours, 49 minutes

Shanghaii: Where to Find the World's First (and Only) Store Devoted to Moleskine Notebooks

JetSetCD — 2011-04-26T16:25:06-05:00

We bet New York, San Francisco and Paris are quite jealous of Shanghai right now. Why? Because earlier this month, the world's first standalone Moleskine notebook store opened in the city's Xintiandi Style Mall. Shanghaiist kindly reminds us that Moleskines are "supposedly the notebook of choice for Oscar Wilde, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway and Henri Matisse," but we know them to be equally beloved by contemporary travel writers and creatives as a stylish physical alternative to tapping away on a laptop all the time.

Mickey Mouse Isn't Letting an Earthquake and Tsunami End His Fun in Asia

kjb — 2011-04-07T09:12:27-05:00

April is a big month for Disney when it comes to its theme parks in Asia. It seems like we’ve been talking about the House of Mouse opening up a new park in China for some time now, but it looks like tomorrow is the day when the bulldozers, shovels, and cranes finally arrive in Shanghai. The official groundbreaking is set for April 8—assuming all goes according to plan.

It takes quite some time for all those iconic Disney rides and attractions to be built from the ground up, so don’t expect to visit anytime soon. As of now, they’re thinking that it’s going to take about five years or so. The city of Shanghai has created a special tourist zone just for the park, and they’ve set aside just shy of 2,000 acres for hotels, parking lots, and a lake. They’ll also be adding a stop to their subway system too, so accessing Mickey will be pretty simple.

Things We Like to Hear: $777 for Six Nights in Beijing and Shanghai, Airfare and Hotels Included

JetSetCD — 2010-11-30T09:22:05-05:00

The World Expo is over, the Barbie flagship store has opened and President Obama has said 再见 (goodbye) to the Great Wall for now...so what else is going on in China these days? Well, you can go see for yourself as a huge trip deal just hit our inbox and we'd be booking it right now if China didn't block sites like Facebook and Twitter. ChinaSpree.com is offering a $777 Winter Special package that includes air from San Francisco (New York is $200 more), 6 nights in four-star hotels with breakfast, airfare between Shanghai and Beijing, and airport-hotel transfers.

Okay now think about it: $777 for all that—a week-long trip to the two big Chinese cities with air, hotels and transfers—costs less than just the regular airfare should be. Granted you'll probably be flying Air China, but we've been before and would fly them again.

Shanghai: Mickey Sends His Passport in for More Pages in Advance of Shanghai Disneyland's Arrival

kjb — 2010-11-11T09:05:37-05:00

Way back in the not so distant past of 2009, we found out that Shanghai was on Mickey’s radar for his latest theme park. Fast forward about a year, and now it seems that Chinese officials have given the green light for Disney to bring its bulldozers into the country to prepare the foundation for the world’s newest Disneyland.

Sure there’s already a park in Hong Kong, but it seems that the biggest prize for Disney has always been to set up a place filled with rides, attractions, and gift shops somewhere within mainland China. After all, things in Hong Kong haven’t been crazy successful, so maybe they’re thinking it will be different away from the water.

Shanghai: Chanel Cements Their Love for Shanghai with a Museum Exhibit

JetSetCD — 2010-10-27T15:15:10-05:00

If you're a fan of fashion, and French luxury brand Chanel in particular, then you may want to consider taking your vacation to Shanghai. Chanel is uber-focused on the Chinese city lately, having brought a special runway show to them plus a whole new flagship store within the just-opened Peninsula Hotel on the Bund.

Come January, there'll be 1/3 more Chanel in the city, with the debut of a "Culture Chanel" exhibition at Shanghai's Museum of Contemporary Art. Last time we were in Shanghai, their MoCA had devoted a few months to shoe master Salvatore Ferragamo, so fashion is definitely a big focus for locals and tourists alike.