Hello,
My wife and I are visiting Shanghai for the first time in early April for 1 week. We're very excited but had some questions.

1. Can you recommend any day trips out of SH?

2. Is it worth it to take a train and stay overnight to see the Great Wall / Forbidden City / etc in Beijing?

3. Rumors have arisen regarding the textile / fake market closure. Can anyone confirm?

4. What things are a 'must' in SH?

Note: We will be relying completely on a phrase book for communication since our language skills are non existent

Thanks!

marinated_smurf

here are answers,

1. Day trips out of SH: HangZhou city by train (2 hours), NanJing City by train (3 h), ZhouZhuang by car( 2-3 h) (note: TongLi, WuZheng, QiBao are all similar places)

2.it's absolutely worth to stay 2 days in Beijing if u like history or culture. great wall , Tian'an men square , forbidden city , and royal garden ...

3. one day trip in SH , the 'musts': YuYuan, concerning the bond i recommend the PuDong district side to avoid crowds of tourists and also enjoy more scenery like TV tower, the JinMao building (88 floors), XiangYang market and HuaiHai Rd for shopping. well, nice foods are everywhere, hard to recommend, maybe give it a try on hotpot.


have fun!

poster,
Thanks for the information and recommendations.

1. Hangzhou, Xitang, Tongli and Suzhou (in order of preference). Don't go to Zhouzhuang! I recommend staying overnight for Hangzhou and Xitang, especially since Xitang is especially beautiful and tranquil in the evening.
2. Beijing definitely warrants more than an overnight trip. Save it for another trip when you can do it justice.
4. Depends on what you're usually interested in, and what your budget is like. The Bund, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Municipal History Museum (in the base of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower), Yuyuan Bazaar and Garden, the French Concession area, bird's-eye view of Shanghai from Oriental Pearl TV Tower/Jinmao Tower, Nanjing Lu pedestrian street, etc.
Let me know if you'd like me to help with anything... I study here and regularly help out travellers coming to Shanghai/China.