I have been to Taiwan many times, but never to China. I am looking for things to do and see in the Shanghai area. I have one day (actually about 8 hrs) with which to do what I want. I love the history and architecture of China. I have always been intrigued by it. Anyone have any ideas? I would like ot buy a few gifts for my wife and kids, who are 5 and 8 yrs old. The kids, not the wife. Maybe some cheap Gameboy or PC games.

Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.

Send a private message to Judy here on the boards, She's from china, perhaps she can provide some insight :)

Don't drink the water


Bring Imodium :|

My sister was there. In China tourists are all shown only the things that the state tourist bureau allows them. You will probibly be on a guided tour. You will get to meet lots of young people who are eager to talk to you in English. English has become the most popular foreign language, especially among young Chinese. Get ready to drink a lot. Chinese serve beer in resturants for lunch and dinner the way americans serve water. Take lots of pictures but bring as much film as you need with you. Film can be hard to come by. The chinese made film is often of poor quality.

And stay away from the young ladies, no matter how tempting their offers are. Prostitution is illegal and can get you in some serious trouble.

And please be sure to post your travel pictures here when you come back. :)

English --> China dictionary
English --> Taiwan dictionary

Reporting from Taiwan right now. Last night we went to a bar in Taipei called Carnigies. It was very loud and fun. People get up on the bar and dance. It is a very large and heavy wood bar and they put rails up so you don't fall backwards into the bartenders. The funny thing is they play mostly American music. And some bad 70's music at that, too. Everyone knows the words to most of the songs. Hardly anyone sits down, most people stand and/or dance wherever they are. Beer was not cheap but so what. It was a fun evening. We were there until 3 AM. My friend Jack, who is Taiwanese just broke up with his GF and he neeeded it. He had fun and got very drunk.

No pictures are developed yet. But when I get them I will post a few. I go to China on Tuesday...

wow i didnt read this before!! why didnt you buy a digital camera in Hong Kong?
when i travel nowadays i use ,i bought a digital camera and took some fantastic fotos on my Egyptian trip which btw i hope some one on here will place on this forum.
My brother in law lives in Hong Kong since many years now and my husband travells all the time and Hong Kong several times a year.
It sounded like you had a great time and hope to see some fotos soon!!
welcome back :nice:

I am back from China now. It was in interesting trip, if not short. We spent a few days in Taiwan with business in Taichung. The nice thing about dinner in these countries is they serve food on a "lazy susan". You order several items and choose what you want from the dishes on the lazy susan. People who are not ready for sharing food better get off their high horse, because you usually take what you want from a dish on the lazy susan using your own chop sticks. Everyone else also just takes what they want with theirs. When the meal is over people usually pick at the dishes with the same and everyone else does as well. It is a communal sharing of germs, I guess.

We flew through Hong Kong to Shanghai. There are no direct flights from Taipei to China because of politics. I did not get to see HK because we had only 1 hour in the airport. Shanghai was a nice visit, too. We had business only 1 day and that was spent completely with the customer. We had dinner at a steak house and were served several types of meat. Everything from lamb to beef, to sausage and everything in between. It was a nice meal with a few beers served as well. They do not usually refrigerate their food, if it is out on a "buffet". It gets warm and it is a little scary. I did not eat any of that.

Our customer is in Suzhou, about an hour southwest of Shanghai. There is a tax free business zone there and our new plant is opening there later next year. We toured a lot of old Suzhou and it was very interesting. I have a few pics and will post some when I get them back.

The next day I had free. My friend Jack, took me around Shanghai. We went all over. He had to take his dogs to the vet so we did that first and then had lunch in a little resturaunt. It was off an alley and is very small. Noodle soup is easier eaten with chop sticks than it is with a spoon.

We then went to a DVD store and a few other stores. Most electronics are not cheaper, but the DVD's are! US1.25 each! I didn't buy any, of course! :)

I flew home and went to bed. It was exhausting but a fun experience. I had been to Taiwan many times but this was my first trip to China.

Questions? I will post pics soon. Thanks for reading.

Dacar, you're a Dr. Who fan I take it? :)

Nice catch, RT. I have been since about 1980. It's coming to BBC1 again next year. I will have to wait for it here in the States, though.

I actually have all of them on tape. I even have reconstructions of the missing episodes. I am going through the laborious process of converting them to DVD. I hate it. I wish someone would do it for me. :)

how is taiwan? are people scared of china? is it a nice country to visit?

It is a pretty cool travel experience. If you have been to Europe or Australia, it is quite different. The people are very nice. Many speak English, especially those in resturaunts and other business. The scooters are numerous. Driving is something I have tried yet, even though I have been there about 10 times in the last few years. I know how to get from city to city, but driving is a real challenge inside the cities. The scooters are all over the place. They get in your way quite a bit and you have to be careful.

I do not think they are not really scared of China. I think many people do not really know or care what is going on politically. But that is just a guess. They just elected a "China friendly" legislature. Their President Chen will now be kept in check by them. I think most people in Taiwan know their bread is buttered by China and do not want to upset the mainland. Just some rambling thoughts...

sounds realistic, I guess.
just thought that would be a cool travel plan, taiwan-hongkong-china. are they 3 different worlds, or is it kind of similair? aside from all teh noodles, i mean.. :)