Results tagged “tourism”

We were sent Silk Guides: Shanghai Eat & Drink Guide a couple weeks ago, but it took us a little while to get off our lazy butts and actually take a look inside... Which is a shame, because the guide, about a size that would fit handily into a purse if not really a pocket, is actually a pretty decent look at what restaurants you ought to try in the city right now.

Last month, while we were still looking forward to the October 31st opening of the bridge and tunnel linking Pudong and Chongming, we professed excitement at the prospect of easier access to the island's famous rice wine and hairy crabs, but we also worried about the environmental effects of this increased tourism, and whether Chongming has the capacity to handle an influx of visitors.

Woah Mickey, now that Shanghai Disneyland finally seems to have gotten all its papers in order, it seems like everyone can’t stop gabbering on about it (for instance, has anyone else noticed that Shanghai Daily has kind of turned into Shanghai Disneyland Daily today). Except, we suppose, us. Hey, give us a break, we’ve been covering this roller coaster ride of a deal for so long that it being greenlighted has actually left us a little flabbergasted. And so, since we’re at a loss for words, we’ll let other people talk about what they think about the soon-to-be erected (well, at least by 2014) Sleeping Beauty castle in Pudong.

When we first heard the reports that Xinhua had featured a story on a lesbian man-hating town full of sapphic amazons in Sweden, we thought it was crazy. First off, everyone knows the only lesbian man-hating town around is in Massachusetts. Secondly, we couldn't actually find the Xinhua article, which made us wonder if The Register had invented the controversy themselves.

CNN's new web-based travel experiment, CNN Go has collected 50 reasons why Shanghai is the greatest city in the world. Yeah, we too like brunch and Mao memorabilia and outdoor ballroom dancing (though we're not sure how unique they are to Shanghai, exactly), but we noticed at least one thing missing from the list: awesome city blogs and their adorable editors. *ahem* Check out the rest of the list here.

James Fallows introduces readers of The Atlantic to Brian and Jeanee Linden, a couple who are trying to turn Xizhou Ancient City in Yunnan into a lush, environmentally friendly haven for traditional Chinese arts and handicrats as well as for creative artists around the world:

Maybe you've noticed a cutesy lil' deer mascot named 乐乐 (Lele) posing around town, or maybe you've actually opened up the papers today to see Shanghai media enthusiastically promoting the occasion - but yes, the Shanghai Tourism Festival is starting up this Saturday.

Here's an eye opening, but perhaps not that surprising, consequence to expanded tourism between China and Taiwan - many mainland visitors go to the island and just... disappear. According to CRI English, roughly ten people have pulled this vanishing act in recent months. Travel agencies are now being pressured to keep better track of their wards by the Cross-Straits Tourism Exchange Association, which said it will deport these missing persons if it finds them, but they will not be charged. In return, agencies have begun doing background checks on clients, holding onto personal documents during the vacation and asking for large deposits (to be refunded after the tour),. Yes, but are those deposits more than the cost of a Snakehead?

• Somebody from ABC News has offered up her ways to see Shanghai on a "shoestring." Classic offenders Yu Yuan, Xintiandi and Nanjing Road are there, but what do you think of her other ideas? [ABC News]
• Roots & Shoots have told us that the Linkin Park concert did a little more good than just rockin' out the populace. 7RMB from tickets sold in Shanghai and Macau were donated to the charity's Million Tree Project - resulting in 6,597 trees to be planted next April.
• Zhang Ziyi was hanging out in our fair city yesterday to help launch the Omega 2009 Constellation watch collection at SOGO. She got the opportunity to "delve deeply into her fascination with watchmaking." Zhang! We never knew you loved to tinker! [Vialuxe]

    

Looks like Shaq's not the only celebrity to get some Shaolin fever. Over the weekend, the venerable Kung Fu institution saw an influx of pretty ladies as the Miss Tourism Queen International competition high kicked their way into Henan.

Shanghai Daily's recent article about the city starting a new phase in its campaign to wipe out those hilarious Chinglish signs reminded of something: this sign we snapped earlier this year at the Pearl Tower.

• Curious about who else came out winners in the Shanghai International Film Festival? They have the results up on their website now. [SIFF]
• The dudes who brought us the screening of Building 173 are now asking for Shanghainese people to participate in a “soundwalk project.” [biv0uac]
• The city has banned "free tour packages" in order to protect tourists from forced shopping trips and substandard service. But what if you WANT forced shopping trips and substandard service? [Eastday]

• That pilot scheme for becoming a "real Shanghainese" home-stay guest in time for the World Expo is now kicking off in the Zhabei District. [Shanghai Daily]
• But will this help reverse the trend of less tourists visiting the city thanks to the financial downturn? Who knows! [Shanghai Daily
• If you're a fan of the Simply Life brand, Just a heads up in case you've been eyeing that ceramic dining set - they're hosting sales to celebrate their 10th Anniversary between July 4 and August 2. [Urbanatomy]

We just came across the website for Unlike.net, which offers customized digital city guides to a number of global cities, such as Amsterdam, Berlin, and our very own Shanghai. We haven't tried it, but here's the concept: you choose the general domain of interest, e.g. nightlife, arts, etc or else the type of mode you want, e.g. "Weekend Escape." These guides are supposedly written by local connoisseurs. You pick the one that you want and order it via credit card and then have it delivered...digitally, we suppose, to your mobile device, computer, etc. Before you order anything, you're supposed to further customize things from a drop down menu, where you can choose if you are a male/female/couple/group, what kind of food you like (are you vegetarian? Or the adventurous eat anything type?), and how you party (like Rockstar? Shanghaiist 30-something hipster with no kids and a drinking problem?), and Unlike will take some time (2 days) to further customize it for you.

Exciting news for the adventuresome wayfarer - a new cross-border tourist route between China and Mongolia just opened today, meaning that as long as you have a valid border pass, you can now travel to different parts of Mongolia!

Today looks like it'd be a perfect day to skip out of work - and not just because it's (somewhat) sunny either. The Shanghai government has expanded its half-price Tuesday campaign to even more locations around the city, making it a great excuse to finally get yourself over to attractions like the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium, Zhujiajiao Ancient Town, the Pearl Tower or the top of the SWFC. The discount was supposed to stop on April 28, but has been extended until July 28 thanks to their extreme popularity. Source: Shanghai Daily

Those who stayed in the city for the May holiday, did it feel more crowded to you? According to Xinhua, it was - since more than 2.45 million tourists decided to make Shanghai their holiday destination. That's about 20,000 more tourists than last year. Despite the crappy weather, these intrepid travelers trekked out to downtown Puxi, the Pearl Tower and Century Park in droves. Other fun statistics: On May 1, the Shanghai railways handled over 1.27 million passengers, over 2,700 people left from Pudong International Airport on between 7 and 8:30am, and at least 50 people missed their flights because of traffic jams due to road construction.

Finally a reason to go to Pudong! The Shanghai government is handing out discount coupons worth about a total of 900 million RMB in the Pudong New Area district in an attempt to boost tourism.

Screenshot was taken from People's Daily online, in an article about a Guizhou tourism official who caught the attention of netizens for being so beautiful. From the picture, it seems that nationalistic fervor in China was a little more amorous than we thought.

As the world reflects on how to stay afloat during this worldwide economic recession, three billionaire brothers in Hong Kong have come up with a solution: build a giant Ark.

Due to the ongoing riots in Thailand, the Chinese government has issued a warning suggesting that tourists postpone their trips into the country. According to the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok, all Chinese travelers in the country are currently believed to be fine, but that the unstable political situation should be taken into account. Many tourism companies insisted they had modified their tours to stay away from places near the riots and could guarantee the safety of Chinese tourists, however they would refund delayed or canceled trips. Last week, the riots, carried out by supporters of ousted ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, forced the shutdown of the ASEAN convention and the quick evacuation of some of Asia's top leaders from the country. Yesterday, they escalated into violent confrontations with troops, leaving scores wounded and two dead.

Themed Tours are a great way to see Shanghai from a different angle. Last year Shanghai Disappearing Corners organized an epic 12-hour Hudec Architecture Tour (follow in their footsteps here), and this year, from April 16-20, the Shanghai Spring Art Salon will be running an RMB 150, 8-hour "Art Journey" tour to take you around the city's most notable galleries and museums. And of course, there's also always Jewish Shanghai, which will give you a look into a completely different side of the city's history.

Normally we wouldn't look twice at tourism expos in Shanghai, but when this popped up in our Xinmin (新民日报） feed this morning, our first thoughts were “WTF are those creatures supposed to be” and then “OMG, I think I see the acronym 'WTF' is in the story!”

According to Xinmin, the Waibaidu bridge opened up to the public earlier this morning. Though the official opening time was 8am, people weren't let on the bridge until an hour later due to the huge lines that formed.

Now that the various politically sensitive anniversaries are over in the region, Tibet has been reopened to foreign tourists. China Daily said on Sunday that a group of 11 German travelers had arrived in Lhasa for a six-day tour and would be seeing various key scenic spots before leaving for Nepal. They are the first officially allowed visitors since February, near the start of the Tibetan New Year - which was unofficially boycotted by Tibetans over the government crackdown on riots last year. Source: AP

Pickpocketing, an issue in any major city, seems to become a developing problem for Shanghai citizens in recent months - and we're not just talking from personal experience (though, sadly, some of us have become recent victims).

So while some of us are struggling with our visas, fearful that the 60th anniversary might screw up our chances of staying in this country somehow, a newspaper has informed us that maybe there was a way for us to enter Shanghai without that coveted, gov't-stamped document.

Not to be outdone by the Danes who've decided to send away their Little Mermaid on a 6 month excursion to Shanghai next year, Singapore is now thinking of sending its Merlion to the 2010 World Expo too.

Weird Expo-related news of the day: members of a local Shanghai qipao club will be taking their favorite dresses to Taiwan to promote the World Expo there. Qipaos first came into fashion in 1920s Shanghai and were worn mostly by socialites and upperclass women. The qipao-clad ladies will spend a week walking around Taiwan in qipaos as a way to “show the traditional Chinese styles as well as the modern Shanghai style.” Their qipao club, founded in 2007, now contains over 270 members and has parties twice a week. Source: Shanghai Daily

Disaster tourism is nothing new, but we still cringe a little hearing news that some of the ruins left by last year's Sichuan earthquake will be opening up to visitors later this month.