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Shanghai Question


LovesToRead
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We have an overnight in Shanghai.  On the second day, we plan to take a Jewish history tour.  For the first day, we're looking at a ship's excursion that goes to the Yu Garden and the bazaar and then Zhujiajiao water town.  Although the water town is intriguing to me, I'm wondering if this tour is too ambitious and if we would we better off remaining in town and seeing more of Shanghai.

Thoughts?  Recommendations? 

Thank you! This will be our first time in Asia.

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15 hours ago, LovesToRead said:

We have an overnight in Shanghai.  On the second day, we plan to take a Jewish history tour.  For the first day, we're looking at a ship's excursion that goes to the Yu Garden and the bazaar and then Zhujiajiao water town.  Although the water town is intriguing to me, I'm wondering if this tour is too ambitious and if we would we better off remaining in town and seeing more of Shanghai.

Thoughts?  Recommendations? 

Thank you! This will be our first time in Asia.

Of course this is only my opinion....

 

I stayed in Shanghai pre-cruise in one of my highlights was visiting the water town.  We were not on a excursion.  But this is what we did.  With the help of the hotel, and the recommendation of the hotel, we hired one of the regular taxi drivers for the day.  The cost was a whopping $86.00 USD.  We drove with traffic about 90 minutes.  Spent 4.5 hours touring.  We hired a bicycle taxi that took us around for about $15.00.  Our taxi driver picked us up at the appointed time, and drove us back.  Note, that the taxi, never left the area.  He was hired to wait and stay.  It took longer to get back to the hotel. 

 

I can't tell you what to do, but it sounds like the ship excursion, will not really give you enough time to visit those places.  I think Yu Garden would take 2-3 hours to enjoy. 

 

Shanghai is a modern city, but if you are interested in history, and not glittery skyscrapers, than pick a tour that shows you the real China.  If you choices are limited, and you don't want to do things on your own, than take the tour.  It's better to see some of the old town, than to miss it altogether. 

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We are in Shanghai now.  We have been here for 3 days.  We get on the Quantum tomorrow.  We stayed on the Bund and did all the sites in the city.  Spent a morning at the Yu Gardens.  It SNOWED.  Many here said it is the first time that they have seen snow in Shanghai.  We went up in the towers and toured the area, I can't imagine missing the sites of town to travel all the way out to Water Town.  That being said, we did waste alot of time waiting for Hop on Hop off buses.

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Yu Gardens and the nearby market are worth a visit, but the market can be very crowded.    A walk on the Bund is a must and the Shanghai Museum is spectacular.  The Pearl Tower will give an overview of the city.  We were amazed at how much construction was in progress.  We have visited Shanghai three times, once independently for three weeks, which is a whole story in itself, and twice for shorter cruise related visits.

 

In in my opinion there is plenty to see  in the city and while the Water Towns are interesting, you would be rather rushed given the traffic situation.  Our water town visit was in December, I might have been more impressed if it wasn’t bitterly cold!

 

Sheila

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2 hours ago, kjenaz said:

We are in Shanghai now.  We have been here for 3 days.  We get on the Quantum tomorrow.  We stayed on the Bund and did all the sites in the city.  Spent a morning at the Yu Gardens.  It SNOWED.  Many here said it is the first time that they have seen snow in Shanghai.  We went up in the towers and toured the area, I can't imagine missing the sites of town to travel all the way out to Water Town.  That being said, we did waste alot of time waiting for Hop on Hop off buses.

How is the smog there? Have been to China twice and was always told to not travel there in the winter. They use coal for heat which causes pollution problems which can also close down airports. Just wondering because the prices for tours there in winter are very reasonable and might want to take advantage of that. China is a very interesting country.

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4 hours ago, kjenaz said:

We are in Shanghai now.  We have been here for 3 days.  We get on the Quantum tomorrow.  We stayed on the Bund and did all the sites in the city.  Spent a morning at the Yu Gardens.  It SNOWED.  Many here said it is the first time that they have seen snow in Shanghai.  We went up in the towers and toured the area, I can't imagine missing the sites of town to travel all the way out to Water Town.  That being said, we did waste alot of time waiting for Hop on Hop off buses.

 

Did you get a regular visa for China or use the free 144 hour transit visa for your short stay before you cruise?

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Based on feedback from my airline, we decided to get the 10 year Visa.  We did meet one other couple on the ship who did the 144 hour and they said it took them 4 hours at the PVG Airport.  I just didn't want to risk it.  We had a VERY GOOD price for the airfare $504 round trip from PHX to PVG so we expect that we will be doing it again soon.

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5 minutes ago, kjenaz said:

Based on feedback from my airline, we decided to get the 10 year Visa.  We did meet one other couple on the ship who did the 144 hour and they said it took them 4 hours at the PVG Airport.  I just didn't want to risk it.  We had a VERY GOOD price for the airfare $504 round trip from PHX to PVG so we expect that we will be doing it again soon.

 

I wonder if that couple who used the 144 hr TWOV pre-registered ahead of time.  If they did then they bypass that line and can get the paperwork from a kiosk before moving to the regular immigration line.  We are pre-registered for a visit to Shanghai in March to catch our cruise.

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Hi!  I lived and worked in Shanghai for three years and greatly enjoyed it!  I would agree with one of the replies--with the help of your hotel, hire a taxi for the day and plan out a day to see sites you want to see.  We always hired taxis for the day when I lived there, and the drivers would stay with you and the cost for the day was very reasonable.  I would recommend Yu Gardens, but do take a walk on the Bund, do visit the Shanghai Museum, go up the Pearl Tower, and wander around Shanghai and take in the sites and sounds!  It will be a busy city, but it will be a memorable introduction to Asia (and every country in Asia is different from the others).  Your hotel can recommend a good local restaurant as well.  Both sides of the Bund--the Puxi side and the Pudong side--are amazing!  Enjoy every moment and make memories!  

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On ‎1‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 4:55 PM, Betty in Cozumel said:

 

I wonder if that couple who used the 144 hr TWOV pre-registered ahead of time.  If they did then they bypass that line and can get the paperwork from a kiosk before moving to the regular immigration line.  We are pre-registered for a visit to Shanghai in March to catch our cruise.

How do you pre-register for the 144 hr TWOV?

Thank you.

Ben

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3 minutes ago, BenLynn said:

How do you pre-register for the 144 hr TWOV?

Thank you.

Ben

 

Well there was a website I found to do it but then someone else tried just recently and it was gone.  I just tried again right now and still not able to get in.

 

This site can’t be reached

crj.police.sh.cn’s server IP address could not be found.

 

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