This Shanghaiist isn’t a massive fan of travel writing. As interested as we are in other places and in travelling, we’d rather experience these places ourselves – we don’t like someone else spoiling all the surprises for us. We’ve also become a bit tired of reading work by Westerners “experiencing” China, given that these pieces often tend to say the same shallow things: China is currently in the midst of rapid economic growth (gasp!); the......

If you choose to undergo the necessary procedures for hiring a car, or even easier, borrowing a friends, then where to go? The best places for day trips around Shanghai are Hangzhou, Suzhou, Yangcheng Lake (in Suzhou) and Zhouzhuang. Yangcheng lake is a very popular day-trip for the locals, as the lake is famous for its delicious crabs. Go in October to December for the best crabs. To drive there, you just need to get......

So while New Year revellers in Shanghai were partying at various locations around the city last night (or laid up in bed with a festive bout of the ‘flu, in Shanghaiist’s case), Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao headed for the hills to spend the evening eating jiaozi and niangao with two farming families. Hu made his way to a small village near Yanan, in Shaanxi province, where, amongst other things, he joined......