Our Family Luxury Tour of China - Part III

I hope you've enjoyed Parts I and II of our amazing 18-day luxury tour of China. Here is Part III, Shanghai:

We feel Shanghai to be a perfect metaphor for China's future - young, dynamic, optimistic and supremely confident. No evidence of Communist dogma here - you get the feeling that they have thrown the Communist Manifesto out the window! The energy and drive of this exciting city is almost palpable. As Zen remarked, Shanghai is a great place to "chill, hang out and play."
We cannot say enough of our Shanghai-based guide Faye - engaging, educated, and most interesting. Faye really personifies China's articulate and forward-looking youth.

As shopping and people-watching are wonderful activities here, Faye brought us back to two of our preferred areas, Xintiandi (meaning "New-Heaven-Earth") and Taikang-lu St. Xintiandi is the Ben Wood-designed high-end restaurant/shopping/entertainment complex built on restored preserved two-three story traditional Shikumen buildings - this place is ground zero for superlative people-watching in Shanghai! Another bonus, you will find the home of the Communist Party here! Among our favorite restaurants here are T8 and, of course, "ZEN." Taikang-lu, also known as Shanghai's "Creative Art Park," is a group of backstreets filled with clothing boutiques, jewelry shops, and art galleries. Built into old row house apartments with charming street signs, Taikang-lu attracts a hip, affluent crowd.

Xintiandi Area
As we have been frequent visitors to Shanghai, we did not include our past stopover to the fabulous Shanghai Museum and many of the other sites: The Urban Planning Museum, Yuyuan Garden, and the Old City section. We also missed the day trip to Hangzhou this time around, although we always enjoy visiting there (particularly for the Dragon Well tea!).

When visiting Shanghai, Bev's first stop is always the M50 art gallery area in Suzhou Creek. Since exploding on the international art scene a few years past, Chinese contemporary art has been the fastest growing art market in the world. We returned to M50's Art Scene gallery so Bev could purchase two more Chen-Xing Mao paintings - there goes the budget! While Bev perused the galleries, Zen, Sofia and I discovered a very unique, custom shop - Zedong Fashion Co. Ltd (Hipanda.org) - This is a wonderful place for avant-garde, hip panda t-shirts for friends and family!!

Surprise Hyatt on the Bund
(the image at the top of this entry is the Pudong view from the Hyatt on the Bund)
As many of our friends/clients know, we always prefer the smaller boutique luxury hotels vs. the larger deluxe properties. Based on this preconceived notion, our expectations of our stay at the Hyatt on the Bund were not so high. Our principal reason for staying here was that the Hyatt is the first 5 star luxury hotel to be located directly on the riverfront Bund - a wonderful location. Although large in size (600 rooms), the level of personal, high-touch service at the Hyatt on the Bund was simply outstanding! - Smiles everywhere, and a pervasive sense of kindness and warmth that is difficult to imagine in any place other than a small luxury hotel. We had spectacular Pudong/Huangpu River views from our sleek, modern-designed rooms. Room service is usually a good barometer of a hotel's overall quality and attention to detail. Similar to the Mandarin/Peninsula/Four Seasons, room service delivery was prompt and the food was amazing. Of course, I loved the 24hr Business Center - Bev took special note of the center's comfortable, hip Mario Bellini chairs!

JIA
To get a more urban feel of Shanghai, we spent one night at the relatively new luxury boutique hotel JIA ("home" in Chinese). Adjacent to the vibrant, high-end street mall, Wujiang, we felt JIA to be the perfect place to stay if one wishes to experience young, hip, Shanghai urban life. JIA is located in a 1920s colonial building, with all 55 rooms done in a contemporary 5 star style that is both pampered and high-tech. Our balcony suite had wonderful views of the city activity below. Another bonus - JIA's Issimo Italian restaurant on the second floor! (You were right Patrick M.!)

Shanghai Private Jewish Tour
We have heard much positive feedback about Dvir Bar-Gal and his private Jewish heritage tours of Shanghai. With Faye taking Sofia and Zen back to the pool at the Hyatt, Bev and I enjoyed a half-day Jewish heritage tour with Dvir, beginning on the Bund and ending in the old Jewish ghetto section near Qingming Park. We were most impressed with Dvir's encyclopedic knowledge of Shanghai history in general, as well as all of the Jewish influences. Most compelling was the narrative of the Jewish migration to Shanghai in the 19th and 20th centuries and the major cultural/political/economic influences. The private tour ends in the old Jewish ghetto section of Shanghai where over 20,000 Jewish refugees lived during the Nazi period.

Shanghai's "longtangs"
An amazing part of any visit to Shanghai is a visit to the residential longtangs (alleyways) where one sees everyday life among Shanghainese. Although the number of longtangs continues to decline due to demolition for new, modern developments, there are still plenty to visit - this is most compelling! The longtangs are teeming with life - grandparents gambling with playing cards, noisy animated children everywhere, mothers washing their clothes with drying clothing lines everywhere. Reflecting Shanghai's Western influence, longtangs were conceived in the 19th century when the city was forced open to the west as a treaty port. You see Western architecture mixed with Chinese traditional courtyard concepts, and, of course, the uniquely Chinese way of integrating communal, social interaction among the residents.

There's nothing else to say except China was amazing!!

Our sense of enthusiasm and passion for Asia is unfettered and unrestrained! Please email me if you'd like to talk about preparing a custom travel experience for you, your family and friends. RLynch@KiplingandClark.com

(click here to read about Part I of our China journey)

Upcoming 2008/2009 family luxury trips for the Lynch family include: Southeast Asia and India, (Christmas/New Year holiday, we are hoping the Xu family will join us!) and back to Japan (cherry blossoms!) during April Spring Break.