The Urban Edit
China’s a big old place – fourth largest nation on earth to be precise – and intercity ‘hops’ to the country’s highlights can easily exceed a thousand kilometers, so choosing your mode of transport is important. Once you rule out driving (seriously, no one wants to spend this long on China’s clogged highways, trust us on this) there are essentially two options – high-speed train or domestic flight – the pros and cons of which we have laid out below.
Bullet Train
If you’ve ever been to an Aman resort before you’ll know very well that they are not given to doing things by halves, and the hotel group’s latest Shanghai resort – the Amanyangyun – is no exception. In fact, given that many of the buildings here were picked up and moved hundreds of kilometres from a village in Jiangxi Province, this has been widely touted as their most ambitious opening yet.
Slated for demolition in their original location due to the construction of a reservoir, these beautiful old mansions were painstakingly dismantled and then reassembled on the outskirts of Shanghai.
We’re often asked to recommend the most authentic Chinese food Shanghai has to offer. But what does ‘authentic’ really mean? Sure, we love the classics: jostling for xiaolongbao at Jia Jia, or slurping the sesame noodles on shared tables at Wei Xiang Zhai… but Chinese cuisine is an art that has evolved over many hundreds of years and is still changing – arguably faster than ever.
That’s why we’re just as excited about the local chefs that have been quietly pushing the boundaries of what is considered traditional for a few months now, and creating delicious dishes in the process. Here are three of our faves:
Ok, let’s jump right in. Why should fans of your book go on the Official Midnight in Peking Walking Tour
The original aim of the Midnight in Peking Walking Tour was two-fold – to bring the book, which is a true story, to life by visiting the major locations featured – the Fox Tower, Kuei Chia Chang hutong, the Legation Quarter, the old Badlands etc – and to see parts of Beijing perhaps even longer term residents haven’t fully explored…
Amazingly, Kuei Chia Hutong has survived almost intact and we can see the Werner courtyard. The Fox Tower, again amazingly, is the only corner tower on the old city wall to have survived and is magnificent up close. That Chuanban and Huoguo hutongs, the old Badlands and Heroin Alley, still survive and are actually being somewhat restored in the area around the old Methodist compound. The Legation Quarter is also still mostly intact though rather impenetrable – the Midnight in Peking Walking Tour is a great way to really examine this unique area of western architecture in the middle of a Chinese city.
If you want a great cocktail but aren’t in the mood to navigate the complex world of hidden doorways, vintage whiskies and expensive libations that 2017 bar-going seems to expect of you, then new Jing’an lounge Wonderland might just be the place for you.
