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Hampstead Apartments contain 57 comfortable apartments each with five bedrooms (each bedroom with private bathroom) and a shared living/kitchen/dining area. Read more...

College Park Apartments contain sixty standard apartments, each with either four or five ensuite bedrooms (one superior room in each apartment), and a shared living/kitchen/dining area. Read more...

I had been looking forward to the class trip to China ever since we were told about the possibility of a several class trips during the immersion week last August. Having visited most countries in Europe, America and Africa, ‘conquering’ Asia was next on my agenda. No better place to start than the populous nation of China – stopping in Shanghai and Beijing.

Shanghai, with a population of more than 23 million is the second-largest and most developed city in China. Despite what we were told about a very hot city with temperature in the high 30s, we arrived at Shanghai Pu Dong International Airport early in the morning to a very grey atmosphere that was no different from the weather we left behind in Dublin. The drizzling rain did not help. As first impressions went, we were not too impressed! Usually, the Chinese climate is classified as humid subtropical, with Summer-time temperatures as high as 36°C. The high humidity also meant you tend to sweat a lot. However, the thunderstorms we experienced the first couple of days were not unusual as well. It was ironic when we later made bulk purchase of umbrellas to get some protection from the rain!

We took the MAGLEV (train) from the airport to Longyang Road Metro Station where we continued on to our hotel on Zhongxing Rd. Riding the Maglev was quite a memorable experience in that the train moved with magnetic levitation technology, hitting a maximum speed of 431 km/h without touching the tracks. We were able to take in some views of the city architecture as we travelled albeit in fast motion! I was expecting to see traditional Chinese buildings with the curved roofs and dragons. Again, another disappointment! The little I saw was no different from any city in the West – apart from the Chinese symbols. The buildings were ultra-modern in places. There is a reason why Shanghai is called “The City of Glass” – nearly all commercial buildings were built in glass and steel!

After having a shower and a short rest, we were ready to hit the streets of Shanghai to see what they had to offer. There was a reception organised by the Irish community in the O’Malley’s Pub, located in the heart of the lovely French Concession area, an area known for its collection of international bars and restaurants. O’Malley’s was a mix of your quintessential Irish pub (interior) with a modern façade. We learnt that it is the first traditional Irish pub in Asia so it was appropriate that our event was scheduled at the venue. We had a lovely reception laid out for us and we had the opportunity of meeting some Irish people of various lengths of residency in Shanghai. Both old and new residents all had wonderful things to say about the city and we took several tips of where to go and what to do.

Some of us headed for Shanghai Ge Cheng, a Karaoke bar straight after O’Malley’s. It was far from what I expected. We arrived at a massive building that looked like a hotel, located at the Nanjing East Road. With its marble interior and an impressive foyer consisting of a huge water fountain, it appeared to be a luxurious four star hotel. We were not sure if we were in the right place. The language barrier did not help either because the man at the reception kept on asking if we wanted a room. Eventually, we got a staff who spoke a spatter of English and he explained that rooms were hired at a cost of 190 yuan (approx. €19) per hour for private karaoke parties. We also had a minimum spend of about 300 yuan (€30) for drinks or food. Having hired our room and ordered our drinks, we were taken through expansive spiral marble stairs to our room on the 3rd floor. We played (and murdered) cheesy pop songs for the next couple of hours and when our time was up and the machine switched off, we found better entertainment making up our own music. It was a good ending to a very eventful day.

Three days into the trip, I discovered ‘The Market’ at the Science & Technology Park. That became one of the two highlights of my trip as I discovered several bargains that made me return to the market several times during my stay in Shanghai. Haggling was an art form that I had been exposed to growing up in Africa but nothing prepared me for ‘haggling a la Chinese’.  The conversation went loosely like this.

Me: How much?
Trader: (types amount on the calculator because of the language barrier)  3,000 yuan  (€300)
Me: (look disdainfully at calculator) You joke
Trader: This no joke price. Okay what you pay?
Me: (type amount on the calculator) 500 (€50)
Trader: (angry) No. No profit. Nothing for me. Give me better price
Me: I /my friend/ neighbour/by-stander…. bought this yesterday for 300 yuan so I was being nice saying I’d pay 500.  (Pause pensively for a while)
(At this point the trader could sense that I was going to walk away)
Trader: Better price for you (out comes calculator again) 600
Me: (walking away) I can’t pay more than 300 yuan
Trader: Ah! You bad woman! You said 500 and now you cut it. (Hold my hand to stop me from going) Ok, come. 400. No more
At that I knew I was going to get it for 300 so I continue to walk away to shouts from the trader. After a few feet away from the stall, the trader runs after me with the item for the price I asked for. Most times, I’d get a playful jab, saying ‘you bad woman’. Note the difference between the opening quote and the final payment. Unbelievable, but that was not far from the norm.

Things were relatively cheaper is Beijing. Despite being warned not to buy much in Shanghai, I overdid it and had to pay for excess luggage on the flight from Shanghai to Beijing. To compound things, most of what I bought could have been bought for half the prices! Also, the traders in Beijing were not as nice. Even though we could not understand them, we felt we were being abused even after paying the money they asked for. They smiled and said things under their breath that you just instinctively knew was not complementary. It wasn’t malicious though, and we found it even amusing.

Haggling was fun at the best of times but can be tiring if all you want to do is pick up few items in a hurry. A word of advice – there is nothing like being in a hurry when you are trying to buy from a Chinese trader. I don’t believe in the steady bargaining of taking bit by bit off the price. I go straight for the jugular for the shock effect. That saved a lot of time. If the price is okay, they accept it and if not, you won’t be called back when you walk away.

We took a leisurely stroll down the Bund, the symbol of Shanghai, situated on the east bank of the Huangpu River. This is the main river in Shanghai dividing the city into east and west. It showcases some of the best awe-inspiring tourist attractions of the city. New finance and commercial houses as well as grand buildings built in 1930s in the European architectural styles cluster along the Bund.  They were banks and well known designer shops flanking the boulevard. Think of a mix of the London, Paris, New York all rolled into one and you get what I am trying to describe here. From names like Cartier, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo & Chanel, (to name a few) I could not believe the flagrant ostentatiousness in a country that was supposed to be communist. At night bright lights add to the happy atmosphere as people stroll along the wide riverside promenade.

We had dinner at the Lost Heaven which is a famous restaurant situated on a small street (Gao You Lu) also in the old French Concession area, The building is a quaint 1920's-style villa with plush interior decorations (the red love seats were fabulous!). The bar and lounge areas are located on the ground floor. There was a giant Buddha statue in the middle of the upstairs eating area, which was a kind of focal point. The dark lighting, high ceiling and the use of spot lights created an intimate ambience be-lying the size of the place. The food was equally appetising too. The Sichuan spices were typical of Shanghai so most of what we ate had various degree of spiciness. The service was as good as the food. Impeccable.

We continued our stroll of the Bund after dinner and ended up in this lovely lighthouse right by the river that had been converted to a bar. We went up the narrow flight of steps to our cubicle sized sitting area. Each floor could take as many as 10 people at once so our small party of five we lucky to have the floor to ourselves. The staff were really attentive and could not do enough for us – even though the communication was a bit dubious. They couldn’t wait to send us packing though seeing that it was a traditional festival night and they needed to join their family!

The sun came out in full force on day four. Now, this is what we’re talking about! We had to make an appointment during rush hour in the Irish Embassy and by the time we got there, let’s just say thank God for lightly scented body mist and deodorant.

After our official appointment, armed with a couple of maps, we took off in the direction of the Nanjing Road. This is Shanghai's main shopping area, famously described as one of the World's Seven Great Roads in the 1930s and now starting to reclaim its past glory after decades of Maoist austerity. The road stretches from the Bund in the east towards Hongqiao, with the People's Square in the middle. Some of the buildings were familiar, having passed though the other night. Our mission was to visit the Jing’an Temple, an old temple built around AD 247 right in the middle of the financial district. It was amazing seeing the old architecture in the midst of modern day steel and glass.

After the temple, we could not resist the temptation to stop in Haagen Daz. A restaurant dedicated to just ice cream desserts! Yum!

For dinner, we went to the Bali Laguana, an Indonesian restaurant near West Nanjing Road. Like everywhere in shanghai, the atmosphere was impressive and verging on over-stated. The food was served in a romantic and delightful setting overlooking a small pond that I thought was man-made. The calm waters, rainforest exterior with an added effect of soft lighting made a very pretty sight at night. 

Other places of attractions we visited in Shanghai

People's Square , the political and cultural centre of Shanghai is situated right at the heart of the city. It used to be a racecourse in the colonial era. Now, it is a comfortable park where you can pass the afternoon away under the shade of the various trees. While we were there, we witnessed what appeared to be random ballroom dancing where up to a hundred couples danced in steps to some classic Chinese music. On another end of the dance area were a set of female pensioners doing the catwalk! It was surreal.  
The Yuyuan Garden is relatively small (about 20,000 square metres) compared to the sizes of all the other attractions but once you are in, the sheer characteristics of the places takes keeps you enthralled throughout – from the pavilions,  rockeries, fountains and ponds consisting of some funny looking hungry fishes!
The first rockery you see when you enter the garden is called the Great Rockery, which is the largest (about 14 metres) and oldest one in the region. It took us about two hours to walk through the garden – stopping to take photos and feed the orange fishes with funny mouths. Even though it was a particularly hot day, the leafy surrounding of old trees and beautiful flowers and the pavilions offered protection from the harsh sun. There were some curio shops as well where visitors can buy rather pricy ornaments.

For our last night, we went to Cloud 9 in the Shanghai Grand Hyatt Hotel, located in the Jin Mao Tower. This is the highest hotel in the world in terms of distance from the ground. The price we paid for cocktails was well worth it because we had a spectacular 360 degree view of Shanghai from one of the highest points in the city.

BEIJING  
We left for Beijing on day 7 of our trip. At this point, I had lost track of the days as the difference in time with Ireland was so confusing that I was basically on auto-pilot. Now, while Shanghai can be described as the commercial capital, Beijing being the political capital falls short on the beauty and ostentations of Shanghai. The buildings were very purposeful and lacked the ‘WOW Factor’ experienced in Shanghai.
As I mentioned earlier, Beijing seemed to be a lot cheaper than Shanghai in many instances. For instance, the hotel we stayed in probably cost the same but the quality of amenities and services could not be compared.

Despite having a lot of official appointments to fulfil in Beijing, we still managed to fit in a lot of cultural and fun activities. While eating and shopping were the highlights of my stay in Shanghai, in Beijing, it was the culture. Our hotel was situated in the Dongcheng District and shock! horror! There was a market about 10 minutes walking distance from the hotel. So another daily distraction judging by not too past experience in Shanghai!

The Chinese architecture that was missing in Shanghai was thematic here.
It was appropriate that we took the journey to the Great Wall from here. It was a great accomplishment. The Great Wall was built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). It runs over 373 miles, consisting of about 827 city wall platforms, 71 passes and uncountable towers. The famous Great Wall sections include the Badaling (where we went), Huanghuacheng, Mutianyu, Jiankou, Gubeikou, Jinshanling and Simata.
We left the hotel at 6.30am the day of the Wall. The traffic was heavy enough even at that time and by the time we got there at about 8, the sun had started coming out marking the beginning of a very hot day. We picked the best time of the day because climbing the steep hill in the heat was very challenging indeed. The air at the top was exhilarating. I am not implying that I got to the top but let’s just say I saw the top. I was so excited being part of the experience and I felt at that point that climbing the Wall was the highest point (pardon the pun) of my trip. To me, it was a spiritual experience. This had nothing to do with the fact that we were treated like stars because everyone wanted to take pictures with us – we even kissed few babies! We were stopped almost every step by groups of people that wanted to their picture taken with us. We didn’t get that type of treatment in Shanghai.

Our next stop was the Ming Tombs, lying 50 km northwest from Beijing City. These were the perfectly preserved mausoleums of 13 emperors of the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). The site is very important because of its cultural and historical value, being the final resting place of many emperors. The palatial and integrated architecture were sights to behold. The mausoleums are very similar tomb in their layout but they were of different sizes and structures.
The most impressive is the tomb (Changling) of Emperor Zhu Di and his wives. The other twelve tombs were built around this.

Other places we visited in Beijing;

Tiananmen Square
The Square, also built during the Ming Dynasty, is a must see place in Beijing. It is right at the centre of the city and consists of many attractions. There you can visit Tiananmen Tower, Monument to the People's Heroes, Great Hall of the People and Mao Zedong Memorial Hall. If you time it correctly, you can even witness the national flag raising ceremony.

The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City, (Gu Gong in Chinese) lies at the centre of Beijing, north of the Tiananmen Square. It was the imperial palace for twenty-four emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It was first built throughout 14 years during the reign of Emperor Chengzu  in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). It was forbidden to enter the city without special permission of the emperor. It is now referred to as the Palace Museum. The rectangular shaped palace is the world's largest palace complex covering 74 hectares. It is surrounded by a 52m-wide moat and a 10-meter-high wall, with more than 8,700 rooms. Facing Jingshan Park and the Tiananmen Gate (north), is the Gate of Divine Might (Shenwumen). There are unique and delicately structured towers on each of the four corners of the wall which gave spectacular views of the city and the palace.

The Summer Palace
We went to the Haidian District northwest of Beijing City, home to the Summer Palace. This is about 15 km from central Beijing. It is the largest and most well-preserved royal park in China. The Museum of Royal Gardens offered a showcase of Chinese horticulture and landscape with its legendary natural views and cultural interests. The palace was built in around 1750 as a deluxe royal garden for the royal families to relax and entertain guests. At the end of the Qing Dynasty, it became the main residence of royal family.

The Temple of Heaven is much bigger than the Forbidden City but smaller than the Summer Palace. Again, built during the Ming Dynasty in 1420 A.D. to offer sacrifice to Heaven, it is divided into inner and outer parts by two enclosed walls. The northern semi-circular part symbolises heaven while the square southern part symbolises earth. The heaven part is symbolically higher than the earth part reflecting an ancient Chinese belief.

The National Stadium,
When you see the National Stadium building, designed as the main stadium of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, then you will understand why it is affectionately called Bird's Nest. We didn’t get the opportunity to enter but the view we got from the exterior was adequate. The Stadium is situated in Olympic Green Village, in the Chaoyang District of Beijing. Since the end of the Olympics, it is being used for sporting events. It is also opened to the public as a tourist attraction. We ended our last night in Beijing at the Hard Rock Cafe just to gradually withdraw from the rich and spicy cuisine we had been having for over a week. It was a rather sedate but befitting end to a very eventful and memorable stay.

Looking back, I cannot believe how much I was able to pack into the visit – the evidence is the 600 odd photos on my camera. However, I have few regrets. I didn’t get a full body massage (for less than 7) I didn’t go to the Tea Houses and I didn’t see the Giant Buddha. I also did not do enough shopping! Despite Beijing being famous as home of the Peking Duck, I did not fully enjoy the delicacy the few times I ate it and I know my food, thank you very much! Having said this, the remedy is to return to China so the country can have the opportunity of redeeming itself!