5 things to do in Shanghai 2021!

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I recently traveled to Shanghai, China during the COVID-19 pandemic for a small vacay! This trip was my second time in Shanghai. I had traveled there several years ago however, my experiences on this trip were more favorable and more relaxing than the previous trip. I’ll explain later.

Throughout this post, I’ll detail and provide cool photos & videos of some of what I saw during this trip. Guess what? I only traveled with my rucksack, click here to read how I travel light & save so much money by taking advantage of the free carry-on offer. Read along to explore 5 things you can do in Shanghai right now in 2021!

#1 Lot’s of Art museums!

Visit West Bund Museum, Yuz Musuem, etc

I am a huge art lover, so when I travel finding local art is usually my main objective, tbh! Shanghai doesn’t disappoint in this area at all! My friend and I checked out the West Bund Museum and Yuz Musuem, both of which features international & local contemporary artists. Both venues are decently sized and their layouts are well designed. Some pieces that stood out to me at the West Bund Musuem were Yaacov Agam’s Living Images and Laurent Grasso’s Artificialis.

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At Yuz Museum, there was only one exhibit by a local Chinese painter, Chen Fei, Morning Market. It was free entry and this is Chen’s first solo debut. Needless to say, many of his work were thought provoking and allowed me and my friend to discuss what we saw.

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Cool, so art isn’t your thing, no biggie the next other interesting place you can check out is Tianzi Fang!

#2 Walk & shop in Tianzi Fang

This maze like area is full of shops, boutiques, handmade art, snacks and full of people! It’s a small intimate touristy area that showcases authentic Chinese like boutiques and old school street foods. There are over 200 shops within the Fang so keep your eyes and ears open or you might miss a hole in the wall shop in one of those tiny back allies.

#3 Grab a drink, dance and eat at Found 158

Found 158 is an underground walking strip near downtown that is filled with locals and foreigners alike who want to eat junk food, drink beers/ wine and dance the night away! There are several dance clubs within the strip, my friend and I checked a Brazilian club; she enjoyed it much better than I did (i.e. Brazilian music is too fast for me >.<!), some of the other clubs seemed to be EDM, semi- hip hop, etc.. Check it out to get the feel of the young folks!

#4 Watch a comedy show & drink at Park Tavern

One of my friends is an American comedian who now lives in Shanghai. He invited us to one of his shows that night at Park Tavern. His name is Mac, check him out if you’re ever in the area.

We watched other comedians many were Americans, a Canadian however, there were a couple of Chinese. I giggled a bit, lol! If you’re into comedy this spot is for you!

#5 take some selfies at the art galleries at M50

This is another must visit for art fans! Similar to Beijing’s 798 art district but on a much smaller scale and way tamer. What is M50? It’s an intimate outdoors pedestrian maze like strip showcasing art work from various artists, plus cafes and snacks in a safe space. What I really like about this venue that you can sometimes meet the artists as many of them are in their studios making new pieces.

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Sidebar: The firs time I went to shanghai, I traveled via CouchSurfing. Click here to read about it. The Chinese male host allowed me to stay in his home for three days for free and completely alone, he had a business trip in another city. The thing though is that his apartment was a bit far away from all of the fun stuff, so I had to commute a lot and for a long period of time. However, when I was there the weather was sunny and hot but again I was alone. I didn’t have anyone to really chat with or to share those interesting experiences with as I’ve discussed in this post about traveling alone and how it can sometimes be lonely.

Secondly, for some reason or another, Chinese people kept misgendering me as a “male”/ “man”/ “boy”. Idk, maybe it’s still an anomaly for Chinese people to see strong, confident looking independent woman walking around alone in a foreign country without having a child affixed to their body or hands. IDK, either way it was pretty annoying lol! So that’s it! I didn’t really experience that during this trip but ignorance is everywhere isn’t it? *shrug*.

Here is a cool summary video of this recent Shanghai trip:

If the words were too much for you lol, watch this video.

Which do you like the most?

Do you want to visit?

Please share, comment and subscribe folks. =)

-B