“I’m going to Shanghai, China for New Years” was not on my lifetime bingo card, but when an opportunity presents itself, I gotta roll with it! Thanks to a couple of my friends getting married in Shanghai, I was able to spend the holiday with my husband in China. 

Planning for the trip was a little worrisome because it was extremely difficult to find up-to-date and accurate information about Shanghai (compared to other international trips I’ve planned like Greece). I think that was a good thing because I went with absolutely zero expectation and was completely blown away by the experience. I had a fantastic time! 

Here is my 4 day travel guide of all my favorite things I did in Shanghai followed by extra Shanghai travel tips:

Day 1

I arrived around 11:00 am, so I had almost a full day to explore! After checking into the hotel (Ritz Carlton, Shanghai Pudong) I took the train to Yu Garden & Bazaar and Jing’an Temple. After a quick afternoon nap (jet lag was no joke) and got some food to eat, I walked down Nanjing Road. I highly recommend walking down Nanjing at night! All of the signs lit up the walkway. Lastly, I had the most beautiful view of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower because it was across the street from the hotel!

Day 2

My second day started off slow with a walk along The Bund. It was pretty foggy during the time I went so I didn’t get the best picture of the skyline, but it was still beautiful nonetheless. Up next was my favorite adventure . . . getting a custom coat made at the South Bund Fabric Market! I have a full post on my custom coat experience here. I ended the day with some shopping and dinner in Xintiandi.

Day 3

You may have guessed it, but the third day also consisted of food and shopping. I’m not mad about it though (obvi lolz)! For shopping, I took the train over to Tianzi Fang. This was one of my favorite shopping markets that I explored in Shanghai! If you’re looking for souvenirs or street food, this is the place to go. I got all of my souvenir shopping done in this spot AND I had a tea tasting at the cutest tea shop. I had dinner at Jin Xuan, which is a Michelin rated restaurant that is in the same building as the Ritz! I ended the evening walking around the Shanghai International Finance Center (IFC) Mall. If you are looking for designer shopping, the IFC mall is the place to go. 

Day 4

One of the days I was most looking forward to – Disney Day! Shanghai Disneyland is HUGE. All of the announcements throughout the park and on rides are in Mandarin (with the exception of safety – those were also in English). I went to Shanghai Disneyland only 2 weeks after they opened Zootopia! I stayed at the park all day and was hobbling home by the time I left. I mean, really, if your body isn’t about to fall apart after a full day at Disney, did you do it right?!

Tips:

• Use AliPay for payment. You can still use Chinese Yuan (CNY) in a lot of places, but mobile or credit payments are the preferred method.
• Bring travel size tissues with you. It isn’t common for public restrooms to provide toilet paper. Some do, but it’s better to be safe than sorry!
• Internet access. I used Holafly and had no trouble accessing the internet. Here is a 5% off referral to Holafly: http://rwrd.io/djpj8u7

I had such an amazing time in Shanghai and I can’t wait to go back to China to explore more!