Grand Central Hotel and Nanjing Road, Shanghai

Previously:

Turkish Airlines Lounge in Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Bangkok

We stayed at a hotel called Grand Central Hotel located in Jiujiang road which is one street behind the main pedestrian shopping street, Nanjing Road.  Location wise, it is superb.  Close to everything.  The hotel itself looks elegant and grand.  The room is so spacious and clean.  The service here is also satisfactory.  We totally enjoyed our stay there.

Upon passing a small alley opposite our hotel, we found ourselves on the brightest, busiest and most renowned road of Shanghai, none other than Nanjing Lu or Nanjing Road.  And from there it takes around 20 minutes' walk to The Bund.  Along the way, we can find mall after mall, shops, and plenty of restaurants.  This is the main shopping district of Shanghai.  At night, when the clock strikes 6, all lights around The Bund area turn on as well as buildings on the other side of the river.  It is so magical.  The town becomes so lively all of sudden. 

Before and after

The Bund

The Bund

Blueberry tanghulu - sugar coated fresh fruits

Beef skewers sprinkled with some spices

White Rabbit candy store on Nanjing Road

When I was young, this candy has always amused me.  I still remember the first time I tried this candy when my parent told me to eat that paper wrapper.  Not the outer part where it has the brand on it but the inner wrapper, the thin clear paper.  I was confused at first and though that they were just joking with me.  Once I tried that, it was melted in my mouth.  For an innocent little kid like me, I was so excited.  And this candy became very memorable to me.  

I am so glad to find the shop of China National candy and never have known that not only they have that original flavour candy which in white and where their name derived.  They have more than ten other flavours, like coffee, green tea, mango, durian, even wasabi flavour.  In here, you can also find many varieties of Shanghainese snacks and souvenirs.  One stop shop. 

If you are into collectible art toys or blind box toys, you will not miss this flagship Pop Mart store in Shanghai.  The 2-storey store is probably the biggest in the world.  This soft purplish pink colour building so catchy and can be seen from meters away.  However, inside the store was too overcrowded, made it so hard to browsing.  Me personally, prefer smaller stores in other area like the later one we found in Yu Garden.  Although, the other stores do not offer as extensive selections as the main store, I had a way easier time browsing and a total breeze to explore.  I didn't end up buying anything here, but I scored some great finds at the smaller stores.  All in all, it was still a pretty fun experience though.

 

Grand Central Hotel

505 Jiujiang Road, Huangpu, Shanghai

Pop Mart (Main store)

299 Nanjing East Road, Hongyi Plaza, Huangpu, Shanghai

Stay tuned for the next blog still in Shanghai:

Hefu Noodle in Hongyi Plaza, Shanghai