As part of Time Out's guide to exploring the outer reaches of Shanghai we take a look at the best things to do in the north of the city, from Yangpu to Jiading, including the birthplace of xiaolongbao, and the Kuomintang’s ‘new Shanghai’.
Click through the links below for our guide to Shanghai's suburbs
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Hunt down a bargain at Mulan Huage junkyard
Commonly referred to as an antiques market or a curio shop, Mulan
Huage is more akin to a junkyard, with teetering towers of wooden furniture
looming over old tea leaf tins in various states of corrosion and piles of
Buddhas, often lying separately from their heads. Located in a small industrial
estate beside Lingzhao Xincun metro station, it’s a chaotic, dust-cloaked mess
of collectibles that in places is almost impossible to navigate – but therein
lies its beauty.
How much value you find in Mulan Huage’s oddball collection
relies entirely on your mindset. To some, the cluttered layout only serves to
reinforce the impression that the large hangar-like space is full of junk; for
others, it’s worth spending a few hours sifting through the dusty jumble in
search of something unique – with far more interesting retro goodies on offer
than at Dongtai Lu.
Should you hit upon something you want to take home, prices
are reasonable. Tea leaf tins of the sort that Jonas Design turn into clocks are available from 20RMB, depending on size and corrosion;
small jewellery boxes hand-painted with the characters for double happiness are
around 60RMB and bird cages start at 100RMB.
More expensive items are available – a large teak chest of
drawers has an asking price of 800RMB and a double-headed gramophone is
available for 2,300RMB. Bargaining on price is advised, but bear in mind that
you can ask Mr Sun, who runs Mulan Huage, for repairs, fresh licks of paint and
even home delivery for your purchases as part of the negotiations.
Get there Take exit 1 from Lingzhao Xincun metro
station and take the lane on your immediate left. Bear right, and around 200
metres in you’ll see piles of wooden tables and chairs in front of a blue
corrugated metal shed.
Mulan Huage Jiajuli, 269, Lane 1788 Jiyang Lu, near
Shangpu Xi Lu. See full address details.
Drop the kids off at one of the city’s best children’s
play areas
The Adventure Zone at the Kerry Hotel Pudong is the
sort of play area that makes you want to be eight again. There’s a great jungle
gym, three fun slides and a range of various themed party rooms for kids to run
riot in. A small cafe next door
provides a more sedate spot to unwind for waiting parents, or there’s always
The BREW, The COOK or The MEET elsewhere in the hotel.
Get there Kerry Hotel Pudong Fourth Floor, 1388
Huamu Lu, near Fangdian Lu. See full address details
Soak up some top-notch bathhouses
Traditionally, you’ve had to head to Gubei to experience Shanghai’s best
bathhouses, but Pudong now boasts two fantastic options of its own for getting
naked and steamy. One is the latest outpost of Gubei mainstay New Star (88RMB), which features a great outdoor pool alongside the usual mix of
baths and post-dip relaxation areas, saunas and a Korean restaurant.
Slightly pricier at 128RMB but therefore less crowded and
arguably a more pleasant place to spend a few hours, the Japanese-style Gokurakuyu
has a more refined feel. A wide range of sleek, minimalist baths are joined
by ‘hobbit house’ steam rooms, saunas, a Japanese restaurant, manga library and
private treatment rooms, all spread out over a spacious three-storey building.
The highlight is an open air roten buro – a series of half-shaded rock
pools and oversized ‘cauldrons’ set in a tasteful bamboo-lined outdoor space.
Get there New Star’s Pudong branch is a short walk
east of Lancun Lu metro station, near the southwest corner of Century Park. 288 Dongxiu Lu, near Meihua Lu. See full address details.
Gokurakuyu 600 Xinjinqiao Lu Jinzang Lu. See full address.
Take a scenic cycle ride along Pudong’s pleasant
waterways
While there are few remnants left of the canal towns that
formerly populated the eastern side of the Huangpu, many of the waterways that
once linked the small settlements have been maintained. Following these on two
wheels gets you away from the big, wide highways usually associated with Pudong
and onto tranquil little lanes shrowded by willow trees. One of our favourites
is the pretty Zhaojiabang Canal, close to Century Park
and easily accessible by bicycle.
Get there For an easy, roughly nine mile, two-hour
cycle route that takes you from Century
Park metro station via Kerry Parkside
and along Zhaojiabang
Canal see the full Pudong cycle route.
Visit two of the city’s finest museums
Pudong institutions scooped two of the top three spots on
our 2012 list of the best museums in the city, with the Animation Museum
and the Science and Technology Museum taking third and second place
respectively. The former allows kids to ‘meet’ their cartoon heroes; the latter covers everything from insects to space
exploration.
Get there
Shanghai Animation Museum 69 Zhangjiang Lu,
near Guoshoujing Lu. See full address details.
Shanghai Science and
Technology Museum, 2000 Century Avenue, near Jinxiu Lu. See full address details.
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