The Urban Edit

Five Evening Activities for Visitors (That Aren’t Cheesy River Cruises)

September 10, 2015 Shanghai

Tourist sites in China tend to stick to absurdly old-school timing, often slamming the doors shut by 5 p.m. at the latest. If you’d like to explore the city when the lights go down, please don’t feel you need to clamber aboard a neon-clad boat and sail up and down the Huangpu with the tourist hordes – there are plenty more enjoyable ways to pass an evening. And if Bespoke’s fabulous Cocktail Experience or Night Biking just aren’t quite enough for you, here are a few of our favorite ways to see another side of Shanghai.

All that Jazz

Shanghai has a proud jazz heritage that harks back to her 1930s heyday. The Jazz Bar in the Peace Hotel remains the most famous option and with good reason – the veteran performers have an average age of 80! Those wanting to delve a little deeper into the contemporary scene should head into the former French Concession, where the slick JZ Bar and slightly rougher and readier Cotton Club both have nightly performances. (JZ Club: 46 Fuxing Xi Lu; Cotton Club:1416 Huaihai Zhong Lu)

Bespoke’s Latest Tour: Shanghai Night Biking!

September 10, 2015 Shanghai

First thing we’d do as Mayor of Shanghai? Ban motor vehicles from the city center and make the bicycle king of the road again. Yes, there was a time when the tree-lined streets of the former French Concession weren’t clogged with hulking pieces of metal honking and hollering at every intersection. To counter the traffic-shredded nerves that arise from being a modern day bicycle commuter in Shanghai, Team Bespoke has been making regular nocturnal jaunts through the city, and now we’re inviting our visitors to join us to see a side of the city that few do.

Yu GArden — The Yu Gardens as you’ve never seen them before…

Our ride starts at 9pm as Shanghai’s residents tuck themselves up in bed or concern themselves with more sinful pursuits, leaving the streets (relatively) free for us to whizz through. You’ll be led by an experienced rider who knows the city like the back of their hand (as well as being handy with a repair kit, should it come to that), and each rider will be equipped with a sturdy city bike, front and rear lights, and a helmet.

The Sihang Warehouse: Shanghai’s Newest Museum

September 10, 2015 Shanghai

If the 3rd of September rings a bell, then it’s very likely due to the fact that its China’s newest public holiday. Or the fact that its likely to be almost impossible to travel anywhere that day thanks to a military parade of apparently epic proportions taking place in the capital. But with all the bravado from Beijing, it’s easy to forget that this day commemorates events that were hugely significant here in Shanghai.

70 Years Anniversary — The Shanghai government is going all out for the anniversary.

For this date marks the end of, ahem, ‘The War of Chinese People’s Resistance Against Japanese Aggression’ – a war that started in 1937 and would go on to merge with World War II, concluding in 1945 and leaving the region changed forever. Shanghai played various key roles throughout the period of conflict and the city government, never ones to let such an opportunity pass by, have overseen several new projects commemorating the various incidents. The Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum (a Bespoke favorite, and one that we would encourage any inquisitive visitor to include in their itinerary) has just reopened with a new exhibition, including a recreation of the White Horse Café, a 1939 establishment that was said to have sheltered hundreds of the Jewish refugees who arrived in Shanghai from Europe.

An Evening with Madame Xixi

September 10, 2015 Shanghai

Attempts at Chinese fusion cuisine often feels forced, but if there was ever an appropriate location for it it would surely be Shanghai’s former French Concession, where a small patch of China was inhabited by citizens from all over the world. Madame Xixi, we’re told, was a celebrated Chinese resident of the era, who enjoyed noting more than socializing with the city’s elite foreign crowd.

Xixi Bistro Stairs — Enter the dragon. The beautiful staircase.

This new restaurant then, named Xixi Bistro in her honour, has been opened by the hospitable team behind Jing’an wine bar Uva. Its quickly making a splash on booming Wuyuan Lu, a street that was, until the opening of Senator Saloon a couple of years back, more of a passageway to other buzzing locales than a destination in itself.

Dong Liang’s New Digs

September 10, 2015 Shanghai

Dong Liang Cafe — The cafe on the boutique’s ground floor. Photo credit: Dong Liang.

It pains us, we’ll admit, that when asked for Shanghai’s best boutique for homegrown designers we are forced to recommend Beijing-based Dong Liang. But happily, Shanghai is now home to two Dong Liangs versus the capital’s solitary store, so we’re still clearly far cooler than our northern neighbors. Phew!

Just around the corner from their original Fumin Lu store, the new space on Changle Lu is every bit as gorgeous as you would expect from this crew. A four storey lane house has largely been allowed to keep its original form, divided up into separate rooms which each contain exquisite displays. You’ll need to ring the bell to enter, but don’t worry, the Dong Liang team are a friendly bunch and are happy to let you browse at your own pace.

Suzhou’s Quietest Gardens

September 10, 2015 Shanghai

Couple's Retreat Rocks — Elegant simplicity at The Couple’s Retreat Garden.

Suzhou’s a lovely city, in that we have no doubt, but the superlative-laden tourist literature touting it’s heavenly beauty can set expectations unrealistically high. Sure, we love The Humble Administrator’s Garden and the Master of the Nets as much as the next visitor, but packed with megaphone-wielding tour guides herding their charges from one corner to another, you’ll hardly experience the gardens in the tranquility that their designers surely intended. And that’s before we even start on the crazy ticket prices. Team Bespoke has been scouring the backstreets of Suzhou and is happy to offer a couple of tips for those looking for a more peaceful day out.

Tranquility at The Couple's Retreat. — Tranquility at the Couple’s Retreat.

The Couple’s Retreat Garden (Ou Yuan)

On the east side of the old city and surrounded by canals and dating back to the late 19th Century, this is one of the city’s younger gardens and feels wonderfully isolated from the tourist crowds elsewhere. This is a great place to learn the basics of Chinese garden design before you tackle larger spots. Whilst it’s certainly possible to wander the gardens independently, a local guide can add a huge amount to your visit, explaining the complex symbolism that lies behind almost every detail in these splendid complexes. (The Couple’s Retreat Garden, 6 Xiaoxinqiao Lane. 20RMB per person)

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