Shanghai Four Days Itinerary (Day 2)

This is Day Two of our Shanghai Four Days Itinerary. To read day one, click here. Between Day One and Day Two Shanghai, we went to Suzhou, followed by Hangzhou. Therefore, the recap below is after we arrived back in Shanghai from Hangzhou.

Shanghai Railway Station 上海火车站
Shanghai Railway Station. It’s big!

We arrived back in Shanghai by train from Hangzhou at 11am. From Shanghai Railway station on Line 1 (red line), we took the metro to East Nanjing Road station on Line 2 (green line), went out from Exit 7, and walked to our hotel, Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund. Click here for directions.

Waldolf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund
Luxurious hotel lobby

Classy business lounge

After a tiring ten minutes walk with our luggage, we finally arrived at the hotel.

Waldorf Astoria Shanghai radiates a neo-classical splendor like no other.

The lobby is lined with Greek Doric columns supporting towering ceilings of cathedral proportions. Glossy marble tiles pave the walkway, with dazzling chandeliers high above lighting up your path.

The bellboy offered to take our luggage quickly. Check-in was fast, and before long, we were escorted to our room by a friendly hotel staff, with the bellboy dutifully lugging our heavy baggage behind.

The hotel room is luxurious to say the least.

The king-sized bed is covered with pristine white bed sheets and laid with plush white pillows. There is a wooden writing desk and cushy sofa by the side of the room. You can even surf the internet on the television using a wireless keyboard! To top it off, there is a classy crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

As I opened the “shikumen” doors to the bathroom, I heard an electronic humming sound, and saw that toilet bowl lid had lifted automatically.

It was a motion-detecting toilet bowl. Quirky but cool!

The toilet bowl has rear-washing controls too. I also loved the sun shower and Ferragamo toiletries.

This is definitely one of the best hotels we have stayed at. I could stay in the room all day long!

South Beauty (俏江南) at Super Brand Mall
Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule, and we were famished. We washed up and quickly made our way to the next destination: South Beauty 俏江南 Restaurant at Super Brand Mall.

This mall is located opposite Lujiazui train station on Line 2 (green line). South Beauty is perched on the top floor.

This classy restaurant serves traditional Sichuan cuisine at an affordable price. We had read many rave reviews of South Beauty online and were excited to check it out.

We were not disappointed.

It was a great meal and we especially loved the signature dish, Sliced Pork with Homemade Sauce. It was served with the pork slices hanging delicately from a wooden stand. We wrapped the pork slices around the vegetables sticks, dipped it in the homemade sauce, and eagerly put it in our mouths.

It tasted great!

The impression was one of delicate balance, with the freshness of the vegetables nicely complementing the richness of the meat. A must-try!

The rest of the Szechuan dishes were great too! We had a truly satisfying meal here.

Here’s what we ordered: Sliced pork with mashed garlic (48RMB), Sichuan sour & spicy soup (58RMB), Fried cowpea with sambal sauce (58RMB), Diced chicken in sichuan style (68RMB) and our favourite Sliced Pork with homemade sauce (78RMB). Below are the pictures of our wonderful Sichuan dishes.

Sliced pork with mashed garlic – 48 RMB

Sichuan sour & spicy soup – 58 RMB

Fried cowpea with samba sauce – 58 RMB

Diced chicken in sichuan style – 68 RMB

Sliced pork with homemade sauce – 78 RMB

After lunch, we shopped for a while in the huge mall. Super Brand Mall is a typical modern mall where you can find international brands, luxury brands, as well as some local brands. Prices are generally same if not higher than in Singapore.

Oriental Pearl Tower 东方明珠塔

After lunch, it was time to visit the tourist attractions. And of course, we visited the iconic Oriental Pearl Tower first.

We got a good view of the tower from the elevated walkway between Super Brand Mall and Lujiazui train station. It provided the perfect vantage point for photo-taking and selfies. However, we had to take quite a few shots before managing to get a good photo because there were so MANY people walking across the bridge.

Flagship Apple Store @ IFC Mall

Next stop, the equally iconic Shanghai Apple Store! This amazing Apple store is located at IFC mall, just beside Super Brand Mall.

This is Shanghai’s first official Apple store and it is the flagship branch.

The glass column entrance is modeled after New York’s flagship store in Madison Avenue, with the glass specially engineered by Apple so that it can bend to form the circular entrance without cracking.

The store also happens to have the world’s longest genius bar!

The Three Supertall Skyscrapers

SWFC (Left), Jin Mao Tower (Middle), Shanghai Tower (Right)

After walking around the large Apple store, we took a leisurely stroll to the three supertall skyscrapers of China. Click here for directions.

Shanghai World Financial Center (SWFC) 上海环球金融中心 is currently the tallest structure in China and the second-tallest building in the world. You can pay to access the observation decks and get a paranomic view of Shanghai.

For entrance fees and more details, visit this useful website. Opening hours are between 8am and 11pm daily (last entry at 10pm).

Jin Mao Tower 金茂大厦, an 88-storey skyscraper, is just beside. The tower has an observation deck as well and the entrance fee is 100RMB. Opening hours are between 8.30am and 9pm.

Last but not least, the under-construction Shanghai Tower 上海中心大厦 completes this awe-inspiring list of three supertall skyscrapers. It will surpass SWFC as the tallest structure in China upon its completion.

Left: SWFC. Right: Shanghai Tower

Godiva Café @ IFC Mall

Godiva Ice-Cream

By now, we had seen enough skyscrapers and decided it was time to visit the popular Godiva Café.

Godiva Café is located at IFC mall, and serves desserts, cakes, as well as the signature Godiva ice cream. We ordered a Godiva ice cream and Godiva cake. Both were heavenly.

The Godiva ice-cream had a rich and delicious chocolate flavour that had us swooning from the first mouthful. The Godiva cake was wonderful too, and complemented the ice cream nicely.

This cafe was the highlight of our day!

Godiva Cake

Another tantalizing Godiva cake which we did not manage to try

Riverside Promenade 滨江大道

After the wonderful desserts, we decided to take a stroll along the Riverside Promenade to digest all the food we had stuffed ourselves with. The promenade is located near IFC mall / Super Brand Mall and there are several cafes and bistros here, including Häagen-Dazs and Starbucks. It only took us about 5 minutes to walk here from IFC mall.

Click here for directions.

The view from here was great. When people think of Shanghai’s skyline, they often associate it with the Oriental Pearl Tower and the three supertall skyscrapers mentioned earlier.

However, from the promenade, you get to see an equally stunning skyline of Shanghai.

After some photo taking and selfies, we proceeded to stroll along the promenade. There is a chain of cafes here, with many people chilling inside the cafes over a cuppa while enjoying the beautiful skyline.

I held Raevian’s hand as we strolled along the promenade in the cool night air. It was hard not to feel the romantic vibe here – quaint cafes, amazing skyline view, wonderful weather, and of course, a beautiful girl by my side.

After that, we did some quick shopping at East Nanjing Road, had a quick bite at Mcdonalds, and returned to our hotel to settle for the night.

This article is part of our completely free and fantastic Ultimate Shanghai Travel Guide. Why spend days researching when all your holiday information is simply a click away? ?

Shanghai Day Two Itinerary

Time
7am	Wake up
8am	Breakfast @ Hyatt Regency Hangzhou
9am	Breakfast @ Hyatt Regency Hangzhou
10am	Train from Hangzhou to Shanghai
11am	Check in at Waldorf Astoria Shanghai. Wash up.
12pm	Check in at Waldorf Astoria Shanghai. Wash up.
1pm	Lunch at South Beauty 俏江南 Restaurant in Super Brand Mall
2pm	Shop at Super Brand Mall
3pm	Visit Oriental Pearl Tower
4pm	Visit Apple Store (IFC Mall)
5pm	Visit the three Supertall Towers (SWFC, Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai Tower)
6pm	Desserts at Godiva Cafe (yummy!)
7pm	Stroll along Riverside Promenade
8pm	Stroll along East Nanjing Road. Dinner @ McDonald’s.
9pm	Return to Hotel
10pm	Sleep
11pm