My number one lifesaving tip for visiting China? Connect your card to Alipay.
We’ve come prepared with our WeChat and Red and our VPNs; however, Alipay is our superpower for navigating the Chinese digital ecosystem. It is our translator, wallet, cab on call, and even our white-gloved chauffeur service.
Never Just Stay
We’ve chosen to base ourselves at the Conrad. I’ve long been a fan of this brand and the properties I’ve stayed in, from the precise hospitality of Conrad Singapore Marina Bay and Conrad Bangkok, the verve of Conrad Dubai, to the structural poise of Conrad Istanbul and the barefoot serenity of Conrad Maldives.
The Shanghai outpost impresses with the brisk efficiency of its sprawling breakfast operation at Lane 11 (it is the first thing we notice and appreciate), and in stark, elegant contrast, the contemporary chinoiserie in our guestroom: calming, muted tones and silk prints framing that futuristic skyline.
We happily add another Conrad bear to the menagerie.
City of Magic
We only have a few things to tick off our list, and we go through them methodically, beginning with a personal, practical stop at the Egyptian consulate, hidden away in a gleaming office tower.
Next is the pilgrimage to the regional headquarters in Pudong New District. We time our visit perfectly to attend the daily revenue meeting — from the other side of the screen this time.
One grey, windswept afternoon, we take in the famous view of the rain-streaked Bund. Sharp-edged sentinels loom above the river mist like the moonscape of an extraterrestrial human city; or have I just been consuming plenty of science fiction lately?
This is our daytime Shanghai: slick and savvy, a forest of hard lines and geometric planes, the gears of industry methodically whirring underneath the glossy footsteps of its stylish denizens.
In the evenings, Shanghai becomes a magic city built on capitalist whimsy. We amble down the Nanjing Pedestrian Street; it is all wrapped up in scintillating neon and lined by gaudy holiday displays, and we make a requisite stop at the Lego store to say hello to the dragon.
Shanghai also unfolds its lustrous past with a visit to the Jing An Temple, which shines like a well-worn heirloom with the patina of teak wood, gold leaf and weathered bronze bells amidst the skyscrapers, and the atmospheric French Concession. It is December, and so the inflatable Santas and festive bazaars have sprung up, and there is an air of wintry jollification. We stop for hot wine at one bar, and glazed strawberries at another.
The Business of Belonging
Working closely with local experts makes a destination familiar long before you even think of visiting.
In our industry, China is more than a source market; it is also the home of our extended teams, our partners and colleagues. We are in tune with its seasonality, its outbound travel patterns, and by default, we function with an added layer of cultural awareness.
Somehow this strips away some of the shock and friction upon arrival, and we are able to ease ourselves into the city right away.
Shanghai Style
Shanghai is also a foodie’s dream.
We have tea in the Jing An Shangri-La lobby, before making it upstairs to Summer Palace and a tableful of Michelin-selected classics: xiao long bao, wok-fried prawns, Shanghainese braised pork belly. Mulled wine follows at the adjacent Christmas market, built like a snowed-in gingerbread village with all its frills and furbelows.
Our hosts treat us to crisp, savory roast duck and a lesson in properly rolling pancakes at Xiao Da Dong; a generous hot pot dinner at Hai Di Lao; and drinks on the 29th-floor outdoor terrace of the Shanghai Edition, complete with faux fur throws and fire lamps to ward off negative temperatures.
During our stay at Conrad, we are regulars at the Muse Penthouse. It is a glass-enclosed eyrie 66 floors above the shimmering city, serving luxe cocktails in sky-high intimacy.
People Mountain, People Sea
The food tour continues with bowls of halal noodles at the station before we catch the train to Hangzhou. Nothing better when it is -4 outside.
The railway station: massive enough to dwarf some of the airports we know.
The train: capacious, zips us through the countryside at 250 kph. It isn’t a terribly exciting event, at this speed.
The experience: There is an ocean of commuters flowing through the cavernous space, naturally sorting itself out into orderly queues. The clamorous conduct we so often see (and hear!) of tour groups abroad is absent at home.
The Red Merchant’s Jade Mirror
In Hangzhou, they like to remind you they hosted the G20 Summit, and the Asian Games. They are also rightly proud of their heritage district.
We walk along the alleys and step through the high, fireproof outer walls of the former residence of the merchant Hu Xueyan, often called the most luxurious mansion of the late Qing Dynasty.
Having secured his fortune by bankrolling a rising general, our merchant set out to build his home and furnish it with all the craftsmanship that silver could buy. Rosewood and sandalwood furniture, inlaid with mother-of-pearl, rest on polished stone floors as ornate screens catch the sunlight through stained-glass windows. Outdoors, symbolic marble carvings and calligraphy panels line the walls.
The willow-fringed jade mirror pond is the tranquil centerpiece of a beautifully planned garden that contains pavilions, bridges and pathways, and an artificial limestone cave.
Our merchant also built the extant Hu Qing Yu Tang pharmacy, just a few steps away. It is a traditional medicine hall straight out of a history book; one might almost imagine its scenes captured in black and white.
From there our gregarious hosts L and F, along with our TikTok-famous tour guide Jason, take us to lunch. Yellow-clad walls brighten dark wood interiors, a suitable foil for foie gras dumplings and century eggs.
Moutai coffee from Luckin and history lessons follow, and then we go off for a stroll through the Four Seasons and Shangri-La, because there is nothing hoteliers like more than inspecting other fine properties. These hotels transition gently into the watercolor landscape of West Lake.
Its grassy, lotus-fringed banks are as shimmery and mystical as my childhood recollections from an animated movie I once saw of the White Snake; and true to tourist form, we make our way over the stone moon bridges of Su Causeway.
Our Hangzhou day trip ends with a stop at Lingyin Temple to admire its stone grottoes and rock reliefs. We pause at the pagoda that contained the ashes of the Indian monk who founded the monastery in 328 AD, and respectfully light our incense sticks.
Just Around the Riverbend
After all the glorious food and cultural immersion, though, we finally capitulate to burger cravings at Five Guys on our very last evening.
Our holiday has not been a high-intensity expedition; we haven’t even roused ourselves to visit the Waldorf Astoria, only two kilometers away from the Conrad.
But there is always a next time. Shanghai has been glinting on the Yangtze River Delta for centuries, and she will remain for centuries more.
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