This is Xintiandi, Where Every Corner Feels Different.

It’s already the monsoon season in Shanghai. Endless rain even during the weekend. But thankfully, the rain stopped around the evening. So I hurried my way to Xintiandi with my camera.

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Inside the taxi on my way to Xintiandi. In Shanghai’s taxi, as seen in the picture, behind the passenger seat there is a mini advertisement board. Not only does it provide information of Shanghai’s tourist spot and famous restaurants and bars, but has built-in ads such as cosmetics, clothes and cell phones as well. The touch function makes it not only convenient but also fun. I was bored on my way to the destination one day and started touching it and saw this dress that made we want to buy it so badly. So there was the unplanned spending. Suddenly I couldn’t help but think that this is strategic marketing. So many ideas in such a populous country.

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This is the street where Xintiandi begins. Originally the fountain is much more fascinating with brilliant lightning, but maybe due to the rain or the late hour, the calmer lighting made Xintiandi look composed. Perhaps it’s because I took the picture with the camera set on calm mode? Haha.

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Despite the rain during the whole afternoon, the outdoor cafes, restaurants and bar were full of people. Its exotic buildings and foreigners make you wonder whether this is really China. Bars lining down the street blasting out different music. Take one step and you will hear Jazz. Take another step to hear exciting Latin American beat. This is Xintiandi, where every corner feels different.

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A fountain located at the center of Xintiandi. Because of the bright lighting, neither auto-mode nor manual-mode nor night-mode would correct the shaking. But dual-mode solved the problem at once. I once again felt that for an amateur who lack skills like myself, a smart digital camera is a must.

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A clothing store that sells Chinese traditional costume Chipao, bags and shoes.

If you go inside, there are so many sophisticated and beautiful Chipaos that I get the urge to buy them. An interesting place where the vintage feel given off by the brick coexists with the chic and modern feel of the window display.

It’s too bad that I couldn’t’ take the picture of the interior because I got stopped by the employee.

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A foreigner bargaining with the seller to buy a souvenir. One of the interesting things about China is that if you can bargain, you can buy the merchandise for half the original price. But unfortunately, this doesn’t work at this shop located at Xintiandi.

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This is also a souvenir shop.

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In Xintiandi, there are a lot of alleys looking like this. It feels like if you keep on walking, a very small yet a bit old secret room will appear. The charm of this alley is that it makes you imagine that when you get there, it’ll make you tell all the secret stories that you’ve kept to yourself.

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In no time, the rain started to fall again, so I decided to head back home. While I was trying to hail a cab, I saw these two very brave people in their pajamas that once again made me laugh. Oh, by the way, I’m missing, no, I’m desperate for the serene weather in Shanghai these days… but thanks to the short break from the rain, I was able to enjoy the time out. Sorry, but that’s it for today!

 

All of images had taken with WB500