Week 1 - Arrival in Shanghai

On May 7, 2025, the time had finally come. We boarded the plane in Frankfurt heading to Shanghai.

After a 19-hour journey with a layover in Abu Dhabi, we arrived in Shanghai.

Here we visit Felix, a good friend of Julian. Felix had properly instructed us, so the metro ride was no problem.

In pouring rain, we searched for our hotel. A woman gave us an umbrella out of pity. We definitely had a different idea of how it would go.

In the following days, we explored the city either alone or together with Felix.

For example, we went to the Shanghai Tower, the third tallest building in the world. The tower features the fastest elevator in the world at 18m/s.

Next to it, at the Pearl Tower, there is a roundabout where pedestrians have their own circular path on pillars. From here you also get a great view of both the Shanghai Tower and the Pearl Tower.

We visited The Bund. This is the waterfront promenade by a large river in Shanghai. Here you can stroll and enjoy the view of the skyline across the water.

With Felix, we visited the Wukang Building, one of the most visited buildings. For us Europeans, the building is quite normal, but for the Chinese, it is a highlight. We had not experienced such crowds in Shanghai before.

Food has been pretty easy and delicious so far. There are little shops or restaurants at every corner. Even vegetarians can get full here.

We are also surprised by the cleanliness and that due to e-scooters and e-cars, Shanghai is a quiet city without smog.

Overall, we like it very much. Even though we had no concrete expectations, we are positively surprised.