I was recently invited to lunch at the Langham Xintiandi Shanghai, and since I’ve so enjoyed eating my way around the city – and was quite taken with the afternoon tea service at the Langham Hong Kong – was only too happy to oblige. The hotel, just opened in 2010, boasts a fashion-forward facade which […]
Asia
Snapshot: Nap Time in Shanghai
As someone who often has trouble sleeping, I’ve always admired people who can nod off with ease. In my daily wanderings around Shanghai, I find folks napping in the most incongruous of circumstances, content to catch some shut-eye wherever and whenever possible. The city’s recyclers will park their carts next to the curb and lie […]
A Glimpse of the Future: Shanghai Urban Planning Museum
When designing Shanghai’s subway system, Chinese engineers were sent to study transportation systems in cities around the world to discover what worked and what didn’t. The best design elements and functional features were cherry picked to create what is now the Shanghai metro, one well oiled machine with increasingly impressive reach. In 2003, Shanghai’s train […]
Afternoon Tea at the JW Marriott, Shanghai
On a recent blue-sky day, I headed to the JW Marriott Hotel at Tomorrow Square to partake of afternoon tea in the 38th floor lobby. I was rewarded with glorious views of Shanghai stretching from People’s Square all the way to Pudong. The hotel’s lobby is arranged a bit like a glamorous celebrity’s living room, […]
Longhua Temple and Martyrs Cemetery, Shanghai
Shanghai is home to several prominent shrines (which you can also read about here, here, here and here), the oldest and largest being Longhua Temple. Unlike the others, it feels authentically old, having survived the Cultural Revolution mostly unscathed. Tucked away in the southwest suburbs, Longhua Temple is a charming place to spend a quiet afternoon, unless […]