China

Shanghai in three days: A first timer’s family-friendly itinerary

August 17, 2026 / Asia, China, Travel / 0 comment

Shanghai in three days: A first timer’s family-friendly itinerary

Shanghai is China’s most populous city. It’s a vibrant blend of old and new, with archaeological remains dating back 4,000 to 6,000 years, colonial buildings from the British and French trade that began i 1842, and modern, even futuristic, architecture of today. Shanghai in three days is an easy way to get an overview of what this incredible city has to offer travellers of all ages and backgrounds.

Shanghai in Three Days: what to see and do

The Bund and Oriental Pearl Tower

The Bund is an iconic waterfront promenade in old town Shanghai. It stretches along the west bank of Huang Po river and is lined by colonial buildings. Its spectacular to see both day and night. The the famous Oriental Pearl Tower is also bestviewed from the Bund. We suggest walking from the start of the Bund along the river and over the bridge into North Bund to the North Bund Gardens to the very popular reflective egg installation.

Yu Gardens

Yu Garden (or Yuyuan Garden) is a traditional Chinese garden located beside the City God Temple in the northeast of the Old City of Shanghai at Huangpu District. Yu Garden was first built in 1559 during the Ming dynasty and is a beautiful place to explore in any season (even winter!). We particularly enjoyed watching the wildlife in the ponds, seeing species of birds we had never seen before.

Visit again at night to see the surrounding shops and markets lit up.

Hanfu hire and photoshoot

We booked in advance through a small business in WeChat, however there are many places you can walk into off the streets around Yu Garden where you can hire a hanfu and have a photographer take photos of you on the spot. We chose to do this during the day when there were less people. It was much more popular at night. It does take a while to do the traditional hair and make up, so allow a few hours if you choose this activity (and we highly recommend that you do!).

Nanjing Road

Nanjing Road is one of the world’s busiest shopping streets. It spans about 5.5 kilometres from People’s Square in the west to the historic waterfront known as the Bund in the east. There are so many stores we visited twice to see everything.

A few highlights for us on Nanjing Road:
Pop Mart
Chocolate Museum
White Rabbit Store
Qingzhi (famous hand cream with free engraving)
Miniso
MnM Store
Sanrio Gift Gate
Louis Vuitton Boat (at the end of the road)
Starbucks Roastery (next to the LV boat)

Tip: Save your feet by taking the Nanjing Road sightseeing trolley (often called the Dangdang tram). This open-air, electric mini-train carries passengers along the Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street east-west between the The Bund (near East Nanjing Road Station) and People’s Square. Tickets Cost: 5 RMB per person for a one-way trip (about 1 AUD). Operating Hours: Daily from 8:30 AM to 10:00 PM. Where to Board: Dedicated stations are located at both the east and west ends of the pedestrian zone.

Anfu Road

Anfu Road is a trendy 850-meter-long street located in the former French Concession of Xuhui District, Shanghai. Known for its leafy, plane tree-lined sidewalks and historic architecture, it has evolved into a vibrant cultural hub famous for independent designer boutiques, concept stores, and specialty coffee shops.

A few highlights for us:
13DE Marzo Cafe bear drinks
Adidas Originals Store (decorate your own pair of sneakers)
RAC Coffee & Bar (Shanghai-meets-Paris vibe)
Wiggle Wiggle (Korean store)
LookNow & Flow (great range of Jellycat)

Xuhui District / French Concession

Wukang Mansion (a famous mansion where locals go nuts trying to get a photo at the crossing)
Apoli Itabakery (a Harry Potter-vibed bakery)

More places to see:

Shanghai Natural History Museum
snhm.org.cn/

Shanghai Museum
shanghaimuseum.net

Temples
Jade Buddha Temple, Jing’an Temple, Longhua Temple

Zhujiajiao Water Town
Zhujiajiao is the most famous ancient water town in Shanghai, located in the Qingpu District. Easily reached via Shanghai Metro Line 17 in about an hour, this 1,700-year-old town features Ming and Qing dynasty architecture, 36 ancient stone bridges, and narrow canal-side streets.

We also visited Shanghai Disneyland Resort.

General Shanghai information

Shanghai in three days felt like a good amount of time for us. I could have done with one extra day, but overall, I think three days is pretty good for a taster of the city.

We felt incredible safe everywhere, probably largely due to the surveillance cameras set up all over the city. I don’t think it’s possible to commit a crime in Shanghai anymore.

Getting around: download the DiDi app to use to get cheap taxis all over the city.

Google maps does not work in China. Download Baidu Maps instead.

Paying: credit cards are not widely accepted. Download Alipay or WeChat and set these up in advance for easy payment everywhere.

Internet: we used Telstra global roaming and thinking it would be easier than setting up a new sim and activating it while travelling. While this worked seamlessly, I didn’t count on the WiFi in Shanghai being so bad in our hotels, so we quickly burned through the daily allowance.

VPN: Telstra roaming includes a vpn so that was taken care of with our phones, however we needed to download a VPN to our laptops/ iPads to be able to access certain websites. We used LetsVPN which was very easy to set up and use.

Communication: we used Google Translate and it was honestly not great. Thankfully the locals were very kind and helped us out whenever we needed assistance.

Entering China: At time of writing, Australian ordinary passport holders do not need a visa to enter China for stays of up to 30 days.

Where we stayed

The Waldorf Astoria on the Bund

We had an amazing stay at the Waldorf Astoria on the Bund. 10/10 location, room size and quality and service. The hotel is located right on the Bund and walking distance to many attractions including Nanjing Road and Yu Garden. The buffet breakfast was next level incredible.

Entering the Forbidden City, Beijing

February 5, 2016 / Asia, China, Travel / 7 Comments

During my 2007 trip to Beijing, we were taken to see the Forbidden City – one of China’s biggest tourist attractions, with around 7 million visitors a year (up to 80,000 a day!).

This spectacular palace was home to 24 imperial Chinese emperors from the Ming dynasty in 1420 to the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912. The Forbidden City is located right in the center of Beijing (near Tiananmen Square) and is now home to the Palace Museum.

For 500 years the palace was off limits to the public, hence the name “Forbidden City”. Nowadays you can enter what is the largest palace complex in the world for around $10AUD. The palace is also China’s best-preserved and largest group of ancient buildings, making it an amazing trip back in time when you visit.

We had a tour guide for our group, who was full of interesting info that wasn’t on the audio tour – such as during our visit renovations were obviously in progress on the roofs. Our guide noted that the palace was so large that by the time they had finished re-painting all the roofs they would need to start re-painting the first ones they began with all over again.

It was at the Forbidden City that I had my first introduction to a dirty “hole-in-the-ground” Chinese toilet. Unless things have improved since our visit, I highly suggest you hold it rather than also experience this traditional gem.

Set aside most of a day to really explore the entire palace. Comfortable shoes are advisable.

The Forbidden City
Opening hours:
April-Oct 8:30-17:00 (60CNY)
November-March 8:30-16:30 (40CNY)

Climbing the Great Wall of China

February 3, 2016 / Asia, China, Travel / 2 Comments

I had a mild panic attack recently when I realised that I’ve travelled far and wide but very few of my journeys have actually been blogged. What kind of travel blogger am I?! Since I don’t get to travel as much these days with my preschooler in tow, I decided to go back through my travels and add them in so all of my adventures are chronicled in the one place. Starting with the Great Wall of China.

I visited Beijing in 2007 on a work trip and was so excited when I found out that one of our organised activities was the climb the Great Wall of China.

The Great Wall of China is a series of fortifications built along an east-west line across the northern borders of China from the 3rd century BC to the 17th century AD. The wall was built to protect the Chinese empires against invaders, with a total length of more than 20,000 km. While some sections of the wall have crumbled away, some still exist to an extent that they can be climbed, as the wall has been rebuilt, maintained and renovated constantly.

We climbed the Badaling section of the wall. It’s the most famous section, the most complete, convenient and accessible, and is also the closest to Beijing (70 km). As a result, however, this section of the wall is always teaming with tourists (like us!). I didn’t find it overwhelmingly busy when we visited, however, so I wouldn’t be put off by this. The Badaling section has had the most renovation and is well maintained, making it the safest section to walk of the wall, too.

Most parts of the Badaling Great Wall were built during the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644 AD) to defend Beijing against raids from northern Mongolians.

The Badaling section of the wall is 12 kilometers with 43 watchtowers, but only 3.74 km and 19 watchtowers have been restored and are opened to visitors. While that sounds like a short stroll, it’s an exhausting walk up hill, and your calves will remind you of it for days to come. Take plenty of water and wear very comfy shoes.