Today’s interviewees:

　
Shanghai’s Hidden Gems Recommended by HighChem Employees
New Tourist Spots in Shanghai
Chic Streets Lined with Plane Trees and the “Sky Bookstore”

Zou  Shanghai is home to a variety of Western-style buildings, such as Art Deco and Baroque, lined up in the “Bund”, traditional Chinese gardens and buildings that make you feel history in the “Yu Garden”, and popular tourist attractions such as  Shanghai Disneyland. However, this time, we will introduce the latest spots that are not often featured in guidebooks.

One of my favorite spots in Shanghai is “Wukang Road”. It is a street in the western area of Shanghai, in the former French Concession, and along the road of just over 1 kilometer, there are many Western-style houses and small apartments where the wealthy lived during the concession period. These buildings have been converted into stylish cafes and restaurants, perfect for strolling. Plane trees line both sides of the road. In fact, I just visited in the fall, and the large leaves of the plane trees turned yellow, shining against the Western-style architecture, and it was very beautiful.

It is also a popular photo spot, and you can walk slowly while taking pictures of the quaint streetscape for about 2 hours. At the entrance of Wukang Road, there is a “Wukang Building”, a luxury apartment built during the concession period with a ship-like appearance, which is loved by locals as a landmark.

Zhou  The western area of Shanghai, "Xujiahui" , is also fun. It is famous as a shopping street with many department stores and mass retailers. Among them, the recommended spot is the Christian church “Xujiahui Cathedral”. There used to be a small village around Xujiahui, but in the 19th century, the Catholic Jesuit Society made it a base for missionary work. It is a large Gothic-style cathedral built there, and it is said that it was the largest Christian building in Asia at the time of completion. The bell towers that form the wings of the building are 60 meters high. It is a symbolic building of this area.

There is a large park in the vicinity, and you can also enjoy strolling as there is a campus of a top-class transportation university in China.

Zou  I also like Xujiahui. It’s fun just to walk around as it’s filled with cutting-edge fashion brands. It’s a city where you can find anything if you go there.

Zhou  On the other hand, in the eastern part of Shanghai, the Pudong district where modern high-rise buildings line up, I would like to recommend  “Du Yun Academy”. It is a book cafe that opened in 2019 in the “Shanghai Tower”, the tallest building in China (632 meters), and it has not only Chinese books but also art books and photo books published by famous publishers from all over the world. The store is located on the middle floor of the Shanghai Tower, but it is still over 200 meters high! You can enjoy a panoramic view of Shanghai through the glass while reading a book with a delicious coffee. It’s a real sky bookstore. It’s very popular, so please note that you need to make a reservation in advance.

If you can’t make a reservation for “Du Yun Academy”, there is a new landmark nearby, the “Pudong Art Museum”. It is a building designed by Jean Nouvel, a world-renowned architect from France who also designed the Louvre Abu Dhabi, and it opened in 2021. Not only are there attractive exhibitions featuring masterpieces, but you can also see the historic buildings lining up on the “Bund” from the building. The beauty of the light coming into the building is exceptional, in addition to the sunset spreading against the backdrop of the Bund on a clear day at dusk! It seems to be a new popular spot where you can overlook the present and past of Shanghai.

Zou  In terms of overlooking the past and present, the riverside of the Huangpu River on both sides of the “Bund” and “Pudong” is an excellent jogging course. If you run on the Bund side, you can overlook the modern architecture of Pudong, including the Shanghai Tower, and if you run on the Pudong side, the historic architecture of the Bund spreads out on the opposite bank.

Zhou  It’s good to run in the morning, but night jogging offers beautiful night views from both sides. The security is good and you can run safely even at night. There is also a cheap ferry that crosses the river, so you can probably run both routes on the same day using the ferry.

Zou  The power spot that we also introduced in the “Beijing Sightseeing & Gourmet food” edition. The recommended spot in Shanghai is“Jing’an Temple”. It is said to have been built by the command of Sun Quan of Wu, and you can trace back to the era of the Three Kingdoms. It is a historic temple, but now it is in a bustling city with high-rise buildings. I visit when I’m a little lacking in energy in Shanghai, or when I have something I want to ask for. It is also recommended for those who like “The Three Kingdoms”.

Zhou  For me, the temple called “Jade Buddha Temple” is a special place. It is a newer temple built in the Qing Dynasty compared to Jing’an Temple, but like Jing’an Temple, it is very popular among Shanghai citizens. My mother goes to pray twice a month without fail, and she always asks for our family. The fact that I am living a healthy and fulfilling life in Japan is also because my mother is praying at the Jade Buddha Temple. I am very grateful to this temple, and above all, to my mother who thinks of her family.

Shanghai’s Gourmet Food Recommended by HighChem Employees
Warm Memories of Home Cooking “Yanduxian”
The People’s Favorite Breakfast

Yanduxian made by Zou’s mother

Zou  When it comes to Shanghai’s gourmet food,“Shanghai Crab” and “Xiaolongbao” are famous, but my recommendation is Shanghai’s home cooking  “Yanduxian” !  It is a stew that often appears on the dining table from the Spring Festival to spring in Shanghai and its surroundings, with plenty of pork and seasonal bamboo shoots. The main ingredients are “Jinhua Ham”, which is said to be one of the three major hams in the world, and “small bamboo shoots”, which are long and thin bamboo shoots called fine bamboo or princess bamboo in Japan. Each family uses different ingredients, some add dried shrimp or pickled bamboo shoots, and some stew from chicken soup. The soup of Yanduxian is so delicious that you will drink it up. The taste is handed down from generation to generation in each family, and for me, it is a dish filled with nostalgic memories of spending time with my family in Shanghai. Since it’s home cooking, there may be limited stores in Shanghai that serve Yanduxian. I would like to guide our customers to a delicious Yanduxian restaurant when they go on a business trip to Shanghai.


Zhou  Also, I would like you to enjoy breakfast in Shanghai! You may have breakfast at the hotel where you stay for sightseeing or business trips, but there is a delicious and common breakfast waiting for you when you go out to the city. The first recommendation is “fried dumplings”. The shape is the same as the dumplings eaten in Japan and the skin is thick. It is freshly baked with plenty of pork. Another recommendation is “Zifangao”. This is a dish where steamed rice is shaped into a rectangle and fried. Furthermore, there is “Danbing”. Danbing is a dish where eggs are baked like a crepe and ingredients such as coriander are rolled and eaten. Not only the ones introduced, but you can also enjoy a variety of breakfasts when you go out to the city in Shanghai. However, the tastes of the common people that you can easily eat at stalls and so on is also decreasing recently. I want you to enjoy it while you can.

Zou  There are sweet soy milk and fried bread shops and stalls all over the city. In Shanghai, there has been a culture of taking out and eating at home since ancient times, and I also remember going out to buy soy milk in the morning when I was a child.

Things to Know Before Going on a Business Trip to Shanghai
Characteristics of People in Shanghai
Are women strong-willed!? Men who can’t do housework are disqualified!?

Zou  The characteristic of women in Shanghai is “fashionable”. They may be the most fashion-conscious in China. There are stores of famous overseas brands all over the city, and they are sophisticated. I think women’s fashion is as good as Tokyo. Also, in China, Shanghai women are sometimes said to be “sly” or“strong-willed” , and the point of being strong-willed may indeed be true. Even when viewed from all over China, women’s social advancement stands out, and there are many women with a sense of independence. On the other hand, they also want to enjoy their daily lives. The image is that they work hard in tough competition and enjoy walking around the fashionable city on their days off.

Zhou  In response to women’s social advancement, men are enthusiastic about housework. Men who don’t do housework are severely scolded by their partners. Shanghai has a long history since women started working outside. It is one of the cities where modern urbanization progressed the fastest in China, and it was already common for both parents of my generation to work. Therefore, men are rooted in actively sharing housework and childcare.

Points to note when traveling to Shanghai
Are guidebooks useless?
Always update the reception restaurant!

Zou  On a business trip to Shanghai, you may have a banquet, but the important thing is to entertain at a stylish restaurant that is delicious and highly reputed locally. People in Shanghai have a lot of pride, so if it’s not a good restaurant, they might feel a little down. It is important not to look bad. Also, it’s a big loss if you’re thought to have no sense for choosing a restaurant.

Zhou  Shanghai is a city of drastic changes, so for example, if you think it was good two years ago, it will be fine this time, but the quality of taste and service may have dropped. If you don’t choose a restaurant for entertainment based on the latest information, you will fail. If you take them to a completely different restaurant based on old information and proudly say, “I chose a good restaurant tonight,” the business may end up being disappointing. Guidebook information often becomes outdated in no time and is useless. Our company is always collecting the latest local information, so you can rest assured about that.

Beware of Shanghai Language!

Zou  People who have learned Chinese in Japan may come to Shanghai and lose confidence because the language is different from standard Chinese. For example, in Shanghai’s language, “hello” is not “Ni Hao” but “Non Hou”. “Thank you” is not “Xie Xie” but “Sha Ya Non”. But there are many people who speak standard Chinese, so I want you to speak as much as possible.

Zhou  There are people in my grandparents’ generation who can only speak Shanghai language, but in our generation, we can speak both Shanghai language and standard language. We speak standard language at school and Shanghai language at home. However, the younger generation tends to use standard language mainly, and Shanghai language is not spoken much. Shanghai has been influenced by foreign languages such as English and French, and there are many unique expressions. From the perspective of language, Shanghai is a city of drastic transformation. New charms are being born one after another, so I hope many people will enjoy it!