TOMFORD

Local walks like in popular tourist sites like the Bund and Nanjing road? Or local walks like in hutongs and alleys? I thought local walks meant the former, but it could very well mean the latter.

gottaluvNW

In all fairness, I don't know what is there to accomplish by the local walks - but I want to give it a try and see what there is to discover outside of the luxury hotel ambiance... and not be stuck to what is only recommended for restaurants and sights by the concierge...

moondog

I would hardly consider nj rd (especially, east) or the bund to be "local" wallks. Fuxing rd also isn't local, local, but I'm pretty sure is more what the OP had in mind.

Hoyaheel

I love food! So when my husband came with me on a business trip to Shanghai last September, we did a walking food tour with the group Untour Shanghai and it was one of the favorite things we've done on a trip in a long time. I had wanted to do dumplings but waited too long and they were sold out, so we did the night market - much fun, too much good food, and a decent walk among markets that might not be there tomorrow....(the guide for our group is American, our group consisted of us - an American couple - and a Thai couple.)
So that could get your "local walk" as well as some interesting food items if you're open to such things.
http://untourshanghai.com/

(we were staying at Hyatt on the Bund for the "tourist" part of our trip and we ended the night market tour at the complete opposite end of the Bund, but we decided to walk back to the hotel - I had a blister by the end, but the night was beautiful and we enjoyed it)

To bring this back to hotels, my request/requirement for the tourist part of our trip was that we be able to have a hotel room overlooking the river, and Hyatt on the Bund delivered. We had a fantastic view, and quite enjoyed the hotel, though it might not be quite as convenient as others - we never had a problem. We typically took a taxi in the morning, roamed around during the day, and made our way back at night via subway & walking....

TOMFORD

Well there's culturally local and physically local. The OP said he wants to "discover outside of the luxury hotel ambiance" so I assumed it was physically local.

moondog

I made the same assumption, which is why I wrote off parts of town that are not within proximity of "culturally local".

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

Shanghai has a lot to offer - and 'local walks' will mean different things. For example you might be interested in Shanghai's history... how the British, French and Japanese got their concessions on the bund (etc). You might be interested in art deco architecture. Or you might want to visit hutongs, or areas specialising in antiques. Or you might be interested in food.

There are lots of companies offering tours... ranging from the cheap and cheerful, right up to the very expensive. Some tours will take you on a pre-planned route, some might be offered by Chinese locals, others can be highly tailored to your wishes and be conducted by expats who have been living in shanghai for 20 years. It all depends how deeply you may be interested in the history of Shanghai and China... do you simply want 'here is the bund' and 'here is the former French Concession', or do you want 'this is the mix of the old and new... this is the history of the foreign migrants that came to Shanghai, this is how they left their mark, this is how the government responded to foreigners, this is what happened to the people after the war, during the cultural revolution, this is how communism works today' (etc etc).

You will most certainly find a hotel concierge able to offer the former, but the possibly not something detailed like the latter - which can be organised before you arrive.

Jamoldo

Look up and buy the book (s) "Six Shanghai Walks" by Tess Johnston (sp?) As well as it's successor book. I've never read the newer one but the original is great. I'm partial to walk number 4 in the French Concession (which is no longer really local but still one of my favorite parts of town). The guides are literally step by step and explain the architecture and history of the structures and neighborhoods. Shanghai, like so much of China, changes incredibly fast so some things may be different but the walks are pretty "local" in that you walk through deep through neighborhoods and the Shikumens of Shanghai amongst other things. Fwiw I've only done walks 4 and 2. Or was that walk 6.. A few friends also tend about the books. The best part? No guides needed so you're free to do it whenever you want. If you do walk number 4 you'll cross by an awesome art gallery called "D.Art" on the corner of Sinan Road and Nanchang Road run by a really nice guy which sells affordable farmers paintings (I think the guy scoures rural areas and meets with artists directly, or he used to - think like as low as 25 USD). Totally worth checking out. I had to plug him since I love the place and he's such a nice guy. You can tell him that the Indian guy from Hong Kong sent you. He may or may not remember. It's been a while since I've been to Shanghai... In that area I also like Fuxing Park which has some lovely gardens and one can see lots of locals hanging out and doing their thing. Otherwise if you are on the Puxi side of Shanghai and walking around feel free to try and get lost by wandering around. It's perfectly safe and there is a lot to see (there are some really local things near the Westin despite its location which I just found by walking around randomly). Shanghai is a great walking city so I hope you enjoy it! I always do.

jix

Hi all

I have a short one night stay in Shanghai next Friday night, will arrive PVG at 10:00pm and depart at 6:30pm next day.

I'll hopefully catch the last maglev train into the city at 10:40pm, and then connecting onwards via subway. I'm considering the spg hotels but would like to know if there are restaurants or shops opening late on weekend after my arrival. I'm choosing between the Royal Meridien near people square or the Hongta hotel in Pudong.

The next day should be ok, I plan to visit Xintiandi but I'm more concerned about the night of the arrival in terms on convenience on food and transportation.

moondog

@jix:
-even if you catch the last maglev, you almost surely won't make the subway
-If you go with the lrm, the #5 bus gets you pretty close
-For hongta, taxi from maglev stn would be okay
-In both cases, taxi all the way would be fastest
-Wrt late night food and hotel surroundings in general, I suggest you cross the hongta off of your list, and at twelve hengshan to it (lots of good eats in the area, and more chill than people's square)

jix

Thanks

Hrmm I just checked the last subway #2 at longyang rd and it's 22:59, so yeah that's cutting it close. I'll take a taxi from there instead if I miss the subway. Uber won't work anymore in China right? It's been about a year since I last visited.

What about other spg locations like 4 points in pudong? Twelve at Hengshan is a little bit out of budget given the casual nature of my trip.

moondog

The 4 Points Pudong is no better than the Hongta in terms of location (you don't want to be in Pudong, let alone on the fringes of Lujiazui).

If you got a decent rate at the LRM, it's not a bad choice.

jix

I just looked up the arrival times of my flight for the last 2 weeks and it's inconsistent with arrival as late as 11pm. In that case only taxi is available right (to LRM)? I see the #5 bus stops at 11pm.

Also is there a route map for the bus?

moondog

-#5 will get you closest to people's square, but the precise stop changes from time to time; it also stops in ljz; you don't want to get off there
-#2 is the most idiot proof, but if you take it, you'll definitely need a taxi/Didi on the back end
-the night bus runs hourly, and stops in many places; yes, it will save you 50 clams, but I can't really recommend it

jix

Thanks, how much is typical taxi from PVG to the meridien area? Any surcharges at night?