http://shanghai.faysrooms.com Short-term apartment and room rentals network in shanghai Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:36:46 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Shanxi is a province with special meaning for me. My dad was born there in 1943 during WWII, and his uncle Yan XiShan (阎锡山）was the de facto ruler of Shanxi for 38 years before retreating to Taiwan with the KMT in 1949. This part of my family history ... http://shanghai.faysrooms.com/shanxi-%e5%b1%b1%e8%a5%bf-the-less-traveled-back-garden-of-beijing/ Here's my personal quick take on the sights. I included links to their official websites where available, but most are in Chinese (or poorly translated English). Culture and History Shanxi Traders' family courtyards 晋商大院- the better three are the Qiao's 乔家, Wang's 王家 , and Chang's 常家. These are ... http://shanghai.faysrooms.com/noteworthy-sights-around-shanxi/ I went over to Taikang Rd over the weekend and friends tipped me off to the old Ka De's reincarnation:  Oscar Club.  Ka De Club was the original mega underground DVD shop on JinXian Rd a few years back.  They had stores on Zhenning Rd and DaGu Rd also but after ... http://shanghai.faysrooms.com/free-drinks-with-overpriced-dvds-at-taikang-rd-oscar-club/ When the famous (infamous) Xiang Yang market shut its door back in June, 2006, local and tourists alike lost their must-visit shopping mecca that had been around since 2000.  What remains are the streetside peddlers holding worn-out catalog cards who promise nice fake LV's, Gucci's, and Rolexes. So where do you find the stuff you still want ... http://shanghai.faysrooms.com/knock-offs-fakes-copies-where-do-you-buy-them-post-xiang-yang-market/ The other day, my friend who can speak Shanghainese took me to the shop where he usually picks up his stash of DVDs. I have always heard about DVD's being cheaper in Pudong but was always too lazy to go over the water and stuck with my Dagu Rd ... http://shanghai.faysrooms.com/quality-movie-dvd-shopping-in-pudong/ Searching for places to eat is a bit of a challenge. The tourist places are definitely not cheap, and may even be on par with Shanghai prices. For the first couple of days, we went to the ol' McDonald's for breakfast/lunch. There is only one M in ... http://shanghai.faysrooms.com/hainan-sanya-chinas-hawaii-waikiki-part-2-food/ I recently spent a week down in Hainan Island's Sanya to check out some real estate and also to get away from the cold in Shanghai. After a 3 hour direct flight, I arrived at Sanya airport. The cheapest way to get into town is to take the ... http://shanghai.faysrooms.com/hainan-sanya-chinas-own-hawaii-waikiki-part-1-accommodation/ Located right next to the Element Fresh in the Shanghai Centre- Portman complex, this is one of a series of Paul Bakeries that have opened around Shanghai in rapid fire in the last 6 months. Hailed from France, Paul's key selling point is that they even import the flour ... http://shanghai.faysrooms.com/paul-bakery-cafe-at-the-shanghai-centre/ In the dead of winter, what's better than rounding up a group of friends and heading for a delicious hotpot dinner? Laifu is a reliable place in the French Concession that is not outrageously expensive. We spent about $80RMB/person, including a couple beers. The decor is more ... http://shanghai.faysrooms.com/laifu-hotpot-at-fuxing-rd-huaihai-rd/ I'm parking the info I found so far on Moganshan here.  The mountain area is only 3-4 hours away from Shanghai (one hour from HangZhou) and supposed to be the perfect getaway for people who are trapped in Shanghai with no beach, no mountain, etc.  I've wanting to check it out all ... http://shanghai.faysrooms.com/moganshan-%e8%8e%ab%e5%b9%b2%e5%b1%b1-mountain-retreat-for-a-long-weekend/