Post by bellasunshine on Jan 27, 2014 4:09:46 GMT -5
When you look at the Old street from above (in our case from the Renaissance hotel) it is a very interesting area, which shows how Shanghai must have looked around 1900. Hoever when you enter China tours the area you will find that most shops only sell souvenirs and other less interesting products. The shopkeepers are quite agressive and punters try to get your interest for fake bags and watches. Mainly during the weekend it is very, very busy so if you still want to take a peek do so during the week. And wear confortable shoes because the area is a lot bigger than you think form the oudside and so confusing that you are bound to travel some parts twice. Overall not the most interesting place in Shanghai.
I love this area. I spent many happy days just wandering around. You can find good street food, inexpensive souvenirs, and color! It's a very colorful place. I particularly like the Temple of the City God, for the artwork especially, and one Yangtze River cruises cafeteria style restaurant, always crowded and chaotic. There's also a very good TCM clinic in the area. This is a great place to shop for all your gift sewing and suitcase needs in shanghai.
There are small shops and larger boutiques everywhere, but you may want to note a couple of things. First, for each item you'd like to buy, beware of the unbelievably inflated asking price. As an example, for a kid dress and a kid toy at 2 different shops, we were asked 150 yuans and 180 yuans, respectively. As a casual joke, I suggested back, for each item, "how about 20"? Guess what? After Yangtze River cruises not too long, we ended up buying the first item for 20 yuans, and the second for 40 yuans! Next, beware of crooks. We then ran into a middle aged women who wanted to sell umbrellas.
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