Shanghai.
I mean, there’s cities and then there’s this place.
Hangzhou & Shanghai (October 2025).
We travelled to China in October, flying with China Eastern from Heathrow Terminal 3 into Pudong Airport in Shanghai. It was a long journey — around 13 hours in the air — but straightforward, and a decent introduction to what turned out to be a well-paced trip.
This was a guided trip, graciously provided by a partner company of ours (thank’s HikVision) so travel between cities was by coach rather than the high-speed trains China is famous for. Normally that might feel like a compromise, but after such a long flight it actually worked well. Sitting back, watching the scenery change outside the window, and easing into the country felt like the right way to start.
Hangzhou.
(pronounced like HONG CHO)
Hangzhou was our first stop and it set a calmer tone straight away. We stayed at the Shangri-La, which suited the city perfectly. It was comfortable, well located, and a good place to come back to after long days out. Hangzhou itself feels slower and greener, and less intense than Shanghai. West Lake sits right at the heart of it, and cruising across the lake was one of the early highlights. The water, the bridges, and the surrounding trees gave the place a softness that felt especially right in October.
Some of the best moments in Hangzhou were completely unplanned. At one point we stopped near a park and came across a group of senior citizens singing together. No performance, no audience — just people enjoying themselves. It was simple, relaxed, and oddly moving, and it felt like a genuine glimpse into everyday life rather than something staged.
We also visited several Buddhist temples, which added another layer to the city. They were calm and reflective spaces, a real contrast to the pace of modern life elsewhere. A trip out to a tea plantation followed, where we learned more about Longjing tea and tried it fresh. The landscape around the plantations is gentle and green, and the whole experience felt very grounded and unhurried.
One of the more unexpected highlights was the evening show at SongCheng. It’s big, dramatic, and unapologetically epic — a full-scale production that tells stories from Chinese history using huge sets, music, and choreography. It’s not subtle, but it’s impressive and memorable, and it gave a sense of how entertainment is done at scale.
Honestly my pics & videos don’t even half capture the scale of this show
Outside of the planned itinerary, Hangzhou still delivered some of the most memorable moments. One evening ended up drinking with locals down a narrow alley, sitting outside on small stools, sharing drinks and snacks, and communicating mostly through gestures and broken translations. It felt friendly, spontaneous, and very real.
Food in Hangzhou was consistently excellent. Most meals were shared, with lots of dishes arriving together and placed on lazy Susans in the middle of the table. It was social and relaxed, with long meals and no pressure to rush.
Shanghai
This was a noticeable shift in energy. We stayed at the Hotel Indigo on the Bund, which immediately matched the city’s pace and character. Both the room and the public spaces had incredible views, and the rooftop bar in particular was ridiculous — one of those places where you just end up standing there for a while taking it all in.
Shanghai itself is bigger, faster, and feels like it’s constantly changing. There’s a strong sense that the city is evolving in real time — buildings going up, neighbourhoods being redeveloped, and new brands and ideas appearing everywhere.
One of the standout meals in Shanghai was lunch at the original Xiao Long Bao restaurant in the old part of the city. Sitting there, eating perfectly made soup dumplings in a place with so much history, felt like a small but important box ticked.
The following morning started a little slower than planned. A late night had involved tracking down the Irish bar in Shanghai — there’s always one — which resulted in a slightly hungover trip up the Pearl Tower. Despite that, the views from the top were worth it, giving a real sense of just how vast the city is and how quickly it’s changing.
