An Artist's Life - M50 Art District, Shanghai || Photo Diary

M50 - the art district of China, where artists hideaway in this little corner of Shanghai and produce some of the best and unusual work amongst the city. From film cameras to finger painting, the area shows off each talents work perfectly. Neither of us had been before but very eager to, we took a whole day to venture to this hidden spot and wander round some of the galleries and the very famous graffiti road (to get those all important candid photos right?) Some of the work I saw I would have bought there and then, that's if I was a millionaire as the prices were a little over budget.

Top 8 Freebies in Shanghai

Let's be honest, who doesn't love a freebie in a new place? It saves money, could result in a fun day out, or may be a disappointment, but you'll never know if you don't take the risk. 

Shanghai Wilderness || Photo Diary

You never really hear much about the greenery or parks across Shanghai and they're all very underrated. As you probably know by now I am a country girl as I've grown up in the country and lived in the country for most of my childhood. Therefore, city life isn't all my cup of tea. I have been living in a city since I've been at university and I can't say I've enjoyed every minute of it but it's really convenient to have everything nearby rather than having to drive everywhere to get to the closest supermarket etc. 

What is the Chinese Culture like?

Coming from the UK, some of the scenarios you come across and the way of life amongst the Chinese people is vastly different to what we are used to. Some good, nice, amazing to see in everyday life; others just unpleasant, horrid and rude. The habits in which Chinese people have can be quite shocking to what you may be used to. Sadly, you are likely to pick up these habits that are embedded into the Chinese culture and lifestyle, it comes natural after a while. So natural that you don't realise you have become a part of that culture yourself.

Few Perks of Living in Shanghai

Yes, China does have a lot of issues with it's country and environment etc. But, when it comes to leaving Shanghai in summer, I will really miss it. There are perks which you just don't get back in the UK, and sights which you will never see, and people who you will never meet. China is an extraordinary country and it seems that people outside of China only here the negative side of things.

Life Update || Travelling Again in Two Weeks

Time to freak out slightly.

- Semester 1 ends in a weeks time.
- I start travelling again in 2 weeks time.
- Still yet to book one more flight.
- Have to start thinking about packing.
- Need to get my life together.

Experiencing my First Chinese Massage

A few weeks ago me and my friend decided to get a massage to get rid of some of those tight muscles and relax for a bit before our work load gets more and more! Tilly had already been to one before so she had a good idea of what it would be like, little did I know, it would be slightly painful. By slightly painful, I mean agony!

Christmas in Shanghai

Shanghai Christmas will never compare to Christmas back home. However, a few friends and I have made the most of keeping ourselves in the Christmas spirit by travelling around Shanghai to find Christmas markets, shops, events, parties and more. Even though it isn't England, and we aren't with our families, we are not being grumpy and sad about it, we are trying to keep it as Christmassy and happy as any other Christmas. I think this is actually the first Christmas I have spent away from my parents. When I say that, it actually makes me feel very homesick, which I have been feeling a bit of lately, but I am travelling down to Hong Kong to spend it with my friends family so at least I am taking a break from Shanghai and have a sense of home from them.

Exploring All of Shanghai

Thought I would create a post mainly showing photos that I have taken from my adventures around Shanghai so far. I will keep updating it as the year goes on.
There are some famous and well known places and some unknowns which aren't usually shown across the media.

Zhujiajiao - The Venice of Shanghai

This post will mainly be photographs as I wanted to show off a bit of my photography. I have been taking my camera out a lot more lately and I am loving some of the moments I capture. 

Zhujiajiao is known as one of the few famous water towns on the suburbs of Shanghai. I have been wanting to go here for a good month now and thought it was a good time to get out of the dorms and city after our mid-terms. 

With 2 people down, the 3 of us had an early start so we could try and find the bus station in time. Little did we know, it took a few wrong turns to eventually find it. It doesn't help that People's Square station has about 16 exits, makes it so confusing. A good hour later and 3 numb bums (the seats on the bus were not comfortable), we arrived to the beautiful town of Zhujiajiao. 

The plan was to get a ticket to all the hot spots in the town and a boat ride across the canal. The tickets were about £8 each for all of this, still can't get over how cheap places like these are. 

Immediately after buying the tickets, we started to browse all the cute little town shops and make our way towards the entrance. The architecture in this town was something else. You could definitely tell it was an old town, with the bridges being built during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. 

 Stairs leading up to the famous Fangsheng Bridge

Before making our way up to the bridge, we walked to the side of the bridge to get some photos and got approached by these woman who were selling fish which you would then release into the river. I thought this was a lovely gesture but also felt sorry for the little fish stuck in those plastic bags for that length of time before someone would buy them.

The beautiful olden boats which would take you from one side of the town to the other. These men would do this all day until 4pm.

A very picturesque garden situated in the centre of the town. I couldn't help but take many photos of this garden, and then get some idiotic ones of us of course.

After a long walk around the garden, we hopped on for our boat ride. We had the whole boat for just us 3 as they do not have more than 1 group on.
It was a peaceful journey with stunning perspectives of the town.

We arrived at this shop which sold jewellery but also he made shapes out of toffee which you would then eat. You could either pick one which was already made and displayed or choose your own animal, character or whatever you wanted which he was able to make. I wanted the character 西 Xi (pronounced as She) as that is my last name. I am glad I only got a small one because it was very sickly. Aneta got a dragon, and Tilly got the chinese characters of Zhujiajiao 朱家角.

We ended up back to where we started the day with a gorgeous, colourful sunset setting in the distance behind the town. After quite a few restaurant look-ins, we sat down to have a small dinner before getting the bus back. We had dinner in one of the restaurants right on the water front but sadly were not sat outside as it was very busy during that time.

 The journey back was nothing but uncomfortable. We did not get a seat and, as it was an hours journey back, ended up sitting on the floor. It was very disgusting but there was no way I was going to be standing for that whole journey. It was worth it though to have been able to see that beautiful town.

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My First Visit to Disneyland!

Being my first time to Disneyland, my excitement levels were very high. After an hours journey to get there, I was jumping up and down with happiness to just see the word Disneyland. 

Chinese Marriage Markets

It surprised me, when I asked around, the amount of people who had heard of the famous Chinese Marriage Markets. To be honest, though, I only heard about them from my sister last year and then did some research into them to find out what they were about. And I was truly amazed at how different the people go around getting partners for themselves. However, it isn't necessarily the people themselves who find them a partner...

Why I'm not Flying Back Home in the Holidays

Through the months of January and February, we have our CNY (Chinese New Year) break which consists of a glorious 6-week holiday. This is our only big holiday so we deserve it after a hard, long and quite painful first semester. This is the time where us international students either choose to go travelling or take a trip back to our home countries. It is also when the first semester has ended so some people will be leaving and replaced by new arrivals.

Central Perk - Shanghai Style

A few days ago before this day I was doing some digging into finding some of the 'hidden treasures' in and around Shanghai. Because Shanghai is so big and has a bit of culture everywhere, we were bound to make a day of it.

Life Lately || Buying a Bike and Getting a Job

Bit of an overdue post as it's all oldish news but there's been a few funny incidents since so thought I'd share them with you all.

My third week of lectures I finally gave in and bought a bike. I had been delaying this for several days now and all my fiends had got theirs so thought it was about time I got one. It takes 20 minutes just to get to my classes building...and I live on the same campus, so a bike is necessary.

Ever since I got it, my bike has been my saviour. I don't have to leave as early for class, I can cycle to the closest shopping mall in 20 minutes (rather than 40 minutes), and it saves me taking a taxi whenever I feel lazy and don't want to walk.

There have been a few funny incidents since getting my bike. The other day I got pulled over by the police for doing absolutely nothing wrong. When I saw a guy next to me giving him money I was getting slightly worried. After 10 minutes I just asked a different policemen if I could go and he didn't seem to care less what I did, so I went.
Other incidents that have happened are very common, such as crashing into other bikes or having to suddenly break because of people being in the way (always happens, there's so many damn people in China).
To be honest, being on 2 wheels in a city like Shanghai is the most unsafe way of transport but it is also the easiest to get around with.

The other good news is that I managed to get a teaching job. I teach a 6 six year old girl twice a week a few metro stops downtown. The family is so lovely and I feel very fortunate to have been given this contact so soon. I have now been teaching her for 3 weeks and, even though it can be challenging at times, it is such a good feeling knowing you are helping a child learn and improve on a difficult language. They always invite me to dinner and give me dinner in-between teaching and also invite me out to see and do things, such as Archery.
I am also going to start teaching her to swim better. They have an inside and outside pool in their compound which is very useful.

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6 Must-Have APPs Whilst Living in China

I use the majority of these APPs on a day-to-day basis. Many of them are also needed for the Chinese as they are used for commercial uses as well as personal.