China Travel

Shopping in Shanghai – where and how much?

Posted on 9/17/2010 at 8:26:29 AM

China has become a global trading center, and Shanghai – the Mecca of shopping for tourists.

Being a city, leading in economic development, Shanghai is a trendsetter and a showcase of the latest models and consumer goods.

To avoid getting lost in the numerous proposals and location of shops in Shanghai, it is better to focus visitors while searching products and other stuff in several areas of the city.

Nanjing Road – is one of the busiest streets in the world, shopping malls and boutiques take over 1 million visitors per day. This is the most prosperous commercial district stretching for 5 kilometers – Shanghai 5th Avenue like in New York. On this popular street you can find luxury shops, jewelry, clothing, footwear and accessories, sporting goods store fashion brands, silk and electronics. Prices are high, however, no other place in Shanghai, where one can so clearly feel the vibrant energy of this city.

Old Quarter – travelers who want to immerse themselves in the XVI century Shanghai should visit the Old Quarter, located next to the Yu Yuan Garden.

Be ready to haggle if you want to shop in this area, and you will get a lot of useful things at a reasonable price.

French Concession – this district emerged in 1849 as a French settlement. It settled fashion stores, Tibetan art, jewelry, jade, porcelain, and many others. Prices of some products and goods will pleasantly surprise visitors with their adequacy.

Xintiandi – on this shopping area there are many art galleries, bookstores, boutiques. In Xintiandi you can buy local jewelry, antiques and fashion clothes. To brighten up the tedious walking across the shops will help various brands of international cafes.

In addition to the elegant shops in this district there is a nice small museum which shows the lifestyle of Shanghai residents in the past century. At Xintiandi, China is reflected in all its glory. The price range will surprise even seasoned travelers – next to the expensive boutiques can be a door to a very democratic shop with rather affordable prices.

Well, it won’t be difficult to find where to go, what and where to buy in Shanghai. In all districts of the city you will find a lot of useful and useless (but beautiful) things. There is no way to describe all the selling spots in Shanghai, and it is not necessary. It’s better just go there and see!

China prepares new showplaces for citizens and tourists

Posted on 9/17/2010 at 8:25:47 AM

Despite of numerous problems made by weather and rains, China doesn’t stop surprise us. For this time it prepared for tourists two new attractive and amazing projects: creating a new resort in Spanish style and “underwater town”.

Soon, in China will be re-established Spanish town Cadaqués, a well-known and favorite resort of Salvador Dali.

Salvador Dali was a frequent visitor in Cadaqués. In 1916 in the Catalan city he became acquainted with modernist art, and later painted “Cadaqués from the mountain”, “Cadaqués, seen from behind” and so on.

Construction of the resort is planned for September-October 2010. Chinese version of Cadaqués appears in the port city of Xiamen.

The representatives of the Chinese construction company have already visited Cadaqués and signed necessary documents. Before the start of construction the Chinese experts have made in Cadaqués all necessary measurements, and photographed the most typical architectural objects, only to recreate them in Xiamen. According to the authors of the project, Chinese Cadaqués will be built for those Chinese who wish to visit the Spanish city on the Costa Brava, but can’t do this in connection with high Europe prices. In total, the city can accommodate about 15,000 tourists. There will be opened several art galleries, which will exhibit paintings by Spanish artists.

Another one touristic showplace will be “underwater city” in Changsha. This autumn it’s planned to start construction of the “underwater city”, which connects one of the local stations with the subway tunnel under the River Hsiang. Construction expects to be completed in 4-5 years.

The original purpose of this construction was to facilitate the move to the city across a river. Later the project area of 100 thousand square meters of overgrown and many additional features – in an underwater space, in addition to transport infrastructure is planned to build a shopping area, amusement park, hotels and other facilities.

The city under the water will be warm in winter and cool in summer, which is especially valuable for the Changsha city, known for its unusual heat.