james1

Hi Guys,

I'm headed down to Shanghai in Mid-Oct for a week to attend a conference at the Shanghai Mart. Currently, I have booked my flight with United ($800+) and the Westin Shanghai booked via SPG points. I was hoping to see if the China experts could provide me with some hints to kick off my research.

1. How far is the Westin Shanghai from the Shanghai Mart/Intex? This wasn't one of the hotel thats recommended by the conference, but I wanted to stick with starwood. I may need to take a cab? Does anyone have an estimated cost?

2. Where is the best place to exchange money? It's been a while since I last traveled internationally. Options:
- Exchange at the Airport (LAX/SFO or PVG)
- Exchange at the Hotel (Westin)
- Exchange at Shanghai's local bank via travellers check
- Exchange at Shanghai's local bank via US Dollars
- Use ATM in Shanghai to take out cash
I remember the ATM method used to be the best exchange rate with minimal fees charged. However, the past couple years made it less favorable? Any experts want to chime in? Or should I open an HSBC account in the US and go to the branch there to take out cash? Suggestions?

3. What's the must see around Shanghai? I have about 5 days free after the conference. Any recommendations? This could range from shopping, to sight-see, hot spots, city-view, etc.

4. Someone made a recommendation to go to Hanzhou to check out a lake - a three hour train ride. Is it worth it? How difficult is the transportation around China?

5. Any recommendations on restaurants? Something authentic hopefully.

6. Anything local around the hotel?

7. I used a system wide upgrade for my United flight. Does anyone know the chances of upgrading on SFO-PVG or PVG-SFO? I also sponsored two of my colleague, but neither of them have status with United (I'm 1K).

8. Any recommended websites with pictures on Shanghai visits?

9. Does anyone have a recommendation on how to get to the Westin from PVG?

Any help you guys can provide is appreciate it!

Thanks in advance!

James

tbear

From my experience while travelling in China, you should exchange cash US $'s for Chinese yuans at either your hotel or the local banks (preferably a large one such as the Bank of China). The exchange rates are set by the government or some authority so they are the same whether you do it at your hotel or the bank. In May, I got the same rate of 8.2144 per US $1 at the Sheraton in Suzhou, the Intercontinental Hotel in Shanghai, and the Bank of China in Shanghai. You don't get ripped off with lower rates that hotels typically give you in most foreign countries. ^ Don't know if the policy has changed since they let the yuan float a couple of months ago, but I doubt it.

If you use travellers checks to exchange, you get a better rate than the cash rate. But you get hit with a handling fee, so in the end you actually net out less with travellers checks.

I would suggest using an ATM at the Shanghai airport to exchange enough yuans to get you to the Westin and then exchange dollars to yuans at the Westin. You're going to get ripped off at LAX/SFO if you use the concessions there.

LightSpeed

I've stayed at the Westin a few times - no complaints so far; except the lobby area's almost always been packed. The concierge desk is extremely helpful, and very knowledgeable about local events/deals. Make full use of them. Not sure about the location of the Intex you spoke about though so can't help there.

After hours recommendations:
- Bar Rouge (Bund 18)
- Cloud 9 (Grand Hyatt)

Food recommendations:
- Chinese: Club Jin Mao (Grand Hyatt)
- Chinese Vegetarian: Gongdé Lín (Nánjing Xi Lů 445)
- Italian: Danieli's (St. Regis)
- Indian: Hazara (Ruějin Čr Lů 118)

Oh, and just for the experience, take the ~9min (>430kmph) ride on the MagLev from the airport.

Enjoy!

moondog

the sheraton, on the other hand (which was the "westin" before the new westin was born), is very close (not to mention considerably cheaper).

if you want a hotel that isn't that far from shanghai mart, but is still in a fun area, the hilton would be a good compromise because it has convenient access to yan'an road.

as for the maglev, it doesn't run at night so you won't be able to use it on arrival. if you opt do use it on your way out of town, bear in mind that it will end up costing more than a taxi (because you have 3 people), will entail about 20 additional minutes of total travel time, and two additional hikes with your luggage (from the taxi to the train platform at longyang road and from the platform at pvg to the terminal, which is close to 1/4 mile in my estimation). i'm not saying you shouldn't try it out; just keep these logistical issues in mind.

as for u/gs on 857/858, there have been lots of empty seats in c and f on all of my flights this year.

as for your other questions, you might want to check out my "latest shanghai tips" thread.

james1

Thanks for the tips. The only reason I'm staying at the Westin is because availablity. Plus it's on points, so I'm not too worried about the cost of it.

I've heard about the UA's empty C/F seats, but I'm surprised that the upgrade hasn't gone through yet (its still 15 days away maybe.) I guess we'll wait and see. I'm just hoping my colleagues without MP status would be able to enjoy the upgrades as well. Finally was able to that into good use considering its going to expire soon too.

I'll look for your latest shanghai tips thread. Do you have a direct link?

Thanks!

James

dawei

James,

Moondog was spot on about staying at the Sheraton over the Westin. If you need to get to Shanghai Mart on a regular basis you will almost certainly find yourself very unhappy staying at the Westin. I used to live near the Shanghai Mart and the commute from the Westin to the conference center during rush hour can easily be over two hours and more then once it took me over 4 hours. I would budget at least an hour during rush hour. With no traffic though it’s about a fifteen minute shot down the express way. (That’s shanghai traffic for you). Cab fare will be cheap, about a 50 Kuai or (US$6-7)

(i) Be sure to visit Yu Yuan, or the old Chinese city. While there make sure to sample the xiao long bao at nan xiang xiao ling bao. To find the restaurant stand in front of the zig-zag bridge, if Starbucks is to your right, nan xiang will be to your left, there will probably be a long line for the take out window, but I prefer to go upstairs to get a tabe, when you get to the top of the stairs turn left and you will see some ladies behind a glass removing meat from crabs, a couple more feet will bring you to the restaurant. This may well be the culinary highlight of China. Its more of a snack then a meal. Also inside the old city I think the garden is worth admission.

(ii)Xin Tian Di. An extremely successful development by the hong kong shui on group is a a relatively charming place to visit and visitors always seem to enjoy (although I shudder now…). It’s a development of restored traditional Shanghai Shi Ku Men full of trendy bars and restaurants. Its also the sight of the founding of the communist party which has a museum (only worth it if you are a history nut). The restored shi ku men museum in xian tian di is worth a visit. For fairly authentic Shanghaiense here try Xin Ji Shi (ĐÂĽŞĘż˛ÍĚü) at lane 169 taicang lu (north east corner of xin tian di) for shanghaise

(iii) Fu xing gong yuan. No trip to Shanghai is complete without a visit to a Chinese park, moondog (at night its hosts some of Shanghai’s trendier clubs) and I probably would disagree on what time of day to visit, but I prefer early in the morning when locals gather to chat and exercise. A wonderful energy fills the park.

(iv) The shanghai museum of art (link http://www.shanghaimuseum.net/en/index.asp) is a very worthwhile way to spend some time.

(v) The bund (but of course).

(vi) For a great day trip I recommend Zhu Jia Jiao or Zhou Zhuang. Small water villages about an hour and 2 hours, respectively from Shanghai.

Absolutely – especially if you can overnight. The express train, if I remember correctly takes about an hour and a half. Please search on Hang Zhou as its been discussed already on this board, buts its one of my favorite places in the world. The Hyatt and Shangri-La would be my choices to stay. The train is not hard to navigate as long as you keep your sense of humor.

A five minute cab ride from Shanghai Mart is Xiao Nan Guo, not necessarily high cuisine but an experience on to itself and very tasty. Be sure to have the pot stickers and the Caesar salad. They also make an excellent dish of tofu and crab meat. The address is虹梅路3337号（近延安西路） (3337 Hong Mei Lu). Just say Xiao Nan Guo any cab driver will know it or get the doorman at the hotel to giver directions.

For some killer soup I have to recommend the Portman Ritz Carlton, second floor Chinese restaurant (summer garden?). They have a double boiled mushroom fish maw soup that you must order (although I think it something like US$20 a bowl, but worth it!).

For other restaurants check out my posts here:
http://www.chowhound.com/boards/intl...ges/15213.html
and here:
http://www.chowhound.com/boards/intl...ges/19237.html

Take a cab, avoid the maglev/white elephant. Should be about 100 kuai (US$12)

moondog

I shuttered to recommend the Sheraton a second time once I learned the OP would be using points because the Westin is a much nicer hotel (and costs the same number of points). But, since you brought this subtopic back to the surface, I would like to let the record show that my Sheraton bias holds, in spite of the quality differential.

Much depends on how often the OP will commute to and fron the conference. Personally, when doing conventions, I like to stay as close as possible (though I think the Hilton is close enough, in this case) because I like being able to go back to my hotel during down times, but if the OP is planning on one trip per day, the Westin could still make sense.

While I also hate SH traffic, I think your estimates are more than a touch conservative because going west in the morning and east in the evening is a bit of a reverse commute. I would budget 30-40 minutes each way, as long as I didn't need to be there till 10a and could leave by 3p. Otherwise, I'd plan on 1 hr to be safe.

James: I've only started a few threads in this forum, but have replied to most that involve BJ or SH so a simple search should unveil most of my opinions (which tend to be unchanged over time). Moreover, since this forum isn't very heavily trafficked, you could opt to browse past threads instead of searching.

dawei

Excllent point, I wasn't factoring in the reverse factor. Should be much better then i stated in my previous post.

mntblue

That Sheraton is about 10 yrs old and not on par with the new Westin. However, it costs 7000 SPG points while the new Westin costs 10000.

There's also a new Marriott and a nice Renaissance near the Mart.

dawei

The Marriott seems nice (I ate there alot -- it had (has?) one of the best Chinese restaurants in Shanghai). The only problem is that there is very little if anything to do around there. The hotel has a cheesy sports bar (Champs?) but there is a fairly decent Expat bar next door that specifically keeps the bar girls out which is refreshing.

I have never stayed at the Renaissance but have had serious service issues in their restaurants.

james1

Thanks for everyone's feedback.

Another reason why I'm staying at the Westin is because Sheraton is completely sold out. And it's on points