Sunday – March 29, 2026 – Shanghai
Today’s featured photo is of a camera in Shanghai outside a temple we visited. Perhaps it was because I knew we were entering China and I had heard that China has many surveillance cameras that I started looking for them. They seem to be everywhere. Not only that, but your passport (with your photo) is your means of admission to many places in China. I saw one light pole in Tiananmen Square that had 18 cameras mounted on it (should have taken a photo). So, if in China, remember you are always being watched.
Today we leave the ship and will return on April 1st. We were told to assemble in the Topazio Bar before 7:00 am so we could go as a group (32 passengers and one interpreter) through Chinese immigration and customs. Eventually we left the ship and cleared both those hurdles. We found that our passports would be used throughout the time in China as our tickets to admission for most of the sites we visited. As we walked through the cruise terminal there was an interesting notice (see photo in the gallery). Essentially it said that if you bring anything they don’t like in printed or electronic form you may be in trouble.
On the bus we learned that although the tour would be in English, the majority of the passengers (I would guess 25 of 32) were not English but Italian, Spanish and French. Those not English were given electronic translators – you set the language you are converting from (English) and the language you wish to hear. Doing so allows the guide to speak in only one language. It seemed like a good idea at the time but didn’t work that well. We ended up with the person from the ship conveying the English instructions in Italian, Spanish and French. Oh well…
We’ll be busy today doing the following: Shanghai Tower, Yu Garden, dim sum lunch, airport, fly to Beijing, drive to and check into Regent Hotel. One thing that wasn’t in the schedule and was added was a buffet meal for us (from 8:30 pm to 10:30 pm) at the Regent once we arrived.
As we started to tick off items on our itinerary, the weather in Shanghai was coorerative – blue skies and mild temps. We arrived at the Shanghai Tower mid morning and immediately lined up to take the super-fast elevator to floor 118. The trip from below street level to 118 was 55 seconds. There is a video clip in the gallery showing our progress and the associated speed and floor information. Once at that level we were hoping to get a great view of Shanghai. Not to be – too much pollution as you’ll see in the photos. We went to floor 119 hoping the view would improve (not really). It was just as disappointing. You can see things that are close to the building but they are not clear. We took the elevator down (it actually goes slower on the way down – 10m/sec vs. 18m/sec on the way up) and boarded our bus. By the way, with 33 passengers in a full-sized bus there is plenty of room to stretch out.
Off we went to Yu Garden. What we didn’t realize was that the garden would be packed with little room to move once inside the walls. There were other excursions from MSC Magnifica and other cruise ships in Shanghai that day. We queued for entry and eventually forced our way into the compound. Weren’t close enough to our guide in Shanghai to hear the history of the garden but the architecture was interesting. There are several photos in the gallery from the garden. Notice that the feet of the dragons only have 3 toes. If you had 5 you could be killed by the emperor so the owner of the garden broke off 2 toes from each of the dragons in the garden.
We walked from the garden to the restaurant where tables were prepared for our dim sum lunch. I had not had dim sum until that day. I liked what we were served and will look for dim sum in the future. The lunch included hot and cold soup, lots of oriental vegetables, noodles, beef, chicken, shrimp, fish and of course the dim sum. I really liked the Chinese broccoli and the hot soup with noodles, mushrooms and onions.
After lunch we walked through the streets near the restaurant then to our waiting bus for a ride to the airport. One thing we had been advised was that if we had power banks with us, they must have a stamp CCC which indicates they are safe for domestic flights in China. We had left our power banks on the ship because those do not have that stamp. We were hoping we could find some at the airport. This stamp is not required for international flights from or to China – only domestic flights. All the members of our tour group with non-compliant chargers gave them to the guide so they could be delivered to MSC Magnifica and picked up when we boarded on April 1st.
At the airport we used our passports several times in order to obtain our boarding passes and gain access to the boarding gate. Jan, Kelsey and I did not sit together – we all had middle seats in different rows – mine was in an exit row. It was explained that the reason this happened is that on domestic flights the bulk of purchases are made online and the purchasers can choose their seat assignment at purchase. Most passengers like either window or aisle seats so middle is what is left. The reservations for our group did not choose seats at purchase – don’t know why. I asked that the 3 of us have adjoining seats on the upcoming flight from Beijing to Hong Kong.
Flight was on time leaving and landing. Had a snack during the 2 ½ hour flight to Beijing. We were met at Beijing International Airport by our guide while in town – Ting Ting. She helped us gather our bags (for those who checked luggage) and navigate to the bus that would take us to the Regent Hotel. On the way to the hotel we noticed that should we have the urge to purchase a sports car, there was an Aston Martin dealer in the hotel building and a Ferrari dealer next door. The 3 of us didn’t have room in our carry-on bags so we passed on that option.
We were given a room on the 33rd floor with a view facing East (hard to tell at 8:00 pm). The room was spacious and well appointed (should be for a 5-star hotel). The hotel was opening their buffet area for dinner for us that we could use from 8:30 pm until 10:30 pm. We were hungry and looking forward to something a step up from the airline snack. We were not prepared for the buffet. It was stupendous! They even had a noodle soup area much like the made-for-you omelet stations offered in better hotels for breakfast. Included in the gallery are some photos of the hotel room, view and the noodle soup buffet.
That was our first day in China. Tomorrow we travel to the Great Wall. Can’t wait to see one of the wonders of the world!
Photos from our China Excursion begin here.