Review: Shanghai International Circuit

China's only Formula 1 standard racing circuit is not an obvious family attraction, but as I'm an ardent F1 fan and very rarely miss watching a race on the TV, I was not going to pass up an opportunity to go to the Grand Prix while it was on. Luckily the date of the 2011 race coincided with our trip to Shanghai.

It was not my first time to the Shanghai F1 Grand Prix as I attended the race in September 2005, the second race that had been held at the circuit. On that occasion I went with my brother-in-law who was travelling with us.

My 7-year-old daughter often watches bits of races with me at home and recognises several of the drivers, but it doesn't hold her attention for very long. I thought it may be an opportunity to see if she would like to go and see the Formula 1 cars in the flesh ...

Review: Bund Tourist Tunnel

What They Say

“

A baffling audio-visual ride under the Huangpu
The Bund Tourist Tunnel is one of Shanghai's top five tourist attractions and it's also one of its strangest. Bizarre, trippy audio-visual effects play as you travel in an automated car 'into the core of the Earth' under the Huangpu river.

”

-- Time Out

What We Say

We didn't set out that day intending to take the Bund Tourist Tunnel, the plan was to visit the Bund and take some photos, get some lunch in one of the shopping malls near Oriental Pearl Tower and then on to Century Park in the afternoon. By the time we had finished on the Bund, our 7-yr old daughter was quite tired and didn't want to make the 10 or so minute walk back to Nanjing East Rd station to get the metro across the river to Pudong. We knew there was a tunnel actually on the Bund to take people to the Pudong side, but the signage wasn't the best and we had to ask a local for directions. Eventually we found the ticket office in a small underground arcade beneath the Bund.

The best time of the year to visit Shanghai

Shanghai has four distinct seasons - Spring is pleasant and warm, Summer is very hot and rainy, Autumn is comfortably cool and Winter is overcast and cold.

We find the best time of the year to visit Shanghai is either Autumn or Spring. Autumn tends to be drier than Spring.

• April or May are the best Spring months to visit with a temperature around 20°C.
• In Summer the temperature is typically mid- to high-30°C during the day and very humid, the hottest time being July and August. The monsoon season starts from mid-June and lasts about a month, so best avoid visting around that time.
• Late September or early October are the most comfortable months in the Autumn with a temperature of mid-20°C. Typhoon season is from late August to mid-September and can bring heavy rainfall and is best avoided.
• During Winter, the temperature gets as low as single figures in °C with late January to early February being the coldest time of the year and means you'll need a thick coat to keep warm.

2008 Attractions Visited

We visited Shanghai in April 2008 with our then 4-years old daughter and stayed for 14 nights. Here is a list of the places we visited and our verdict on each using a simple (like), (dislike) or (OK) rating.

2011 Attractions Visited

On our visit in April 2011 our daughter was 7 years old. This time we stayed in Shanghai for 11 nights and then flew to Hong Kong for few days. Here is a list of the places we visited in Shanghai and our verdict on each using a simple (like), (dislike) or (OK) rating.