Preparation for Shanghai Holidays
Planning your Shanghai holidays can be very exciting. Here are some practical tips to make your vacation in Shanghai enjoyable:
Travel light. You do not need to bring a lot of luggage for your Shanghai holidays. When you travel by plane within China, you will only be allowed to bring 20 kilograms of inspected luggage. Unlike in international flights, a tourist can bring two pieces of luggage that can weigh up to 30 kilograms a piece.
Weather is a very important consideration when planning activities for your Shanghai holidays. Fortunately, China and the United States have similar seasons and a particular season in China would fall around the same time as in the US. There may be small variations depending upon the region.
Bring plenty of comfortable clothing and foot wear fit for sightseeing because Shanghai and China, for that matter, has a lot of beautiful sights to offer. It might also be a good idea to bring a raincoat but of course, you can get this in the city instead.
If you have chosen to stay at a hotel during your Shanghai holidays, check the inclusions of your accommodation. Most hotels serve breakfast, and sometimes, full-board meals. Usually, tour packages will include daily lunches and dinners served in a restaurant depending on your itinerary.
If you do not want to interrupt your Shanghai holidays with doing the laundry, check if your hotel has laundry services. Of course, the service has a charge to be paid along with your personal room bill before you check out of the hotel.
Almost every traveler brings a digital gadget along. Whether you will be bringing a laptop, an mp3 player or a digital camera, take note that China's standard voltage is 220.
Although, many hotels would provide 110 adapters, it is best that you have your own adapters with you.
One very important thing to remember when taking pictures - you are not allowed to photograph military sites and some cultural sites like the "Terra Cotta Warrior Excavations".
Getting around Shanghai is easy. Taxis are inexpensive but do not expect drivers to speak English so ask a local, ideally, the hotel staff, to write down the directions to wherever you are going in Chinese. Also, be sure to change your dollars to Chinese Renminbi or "RMB" for your Shanghai holidays but always do so with credible institutions like in hotels or airports.
Your Shanghai holidays will not be complete without shopping. Shanghai is a large shopper's paradise so the best shopping tip would be to do your research first prior to your trip, especially if you plan to shop for gemstones, antiques, paintings and other special items because your tour guide may not be expert on these things.
