Wedding Celebration Dinner
Kelvin & Claire
Shanghai
Dear family and friends,
We are (finally) getting married. First we will sign the papers in the Netherlands in the summer and in the autumn we are hosting a celebration dinner in Shanghai. We wanted to make the celebration in Shanghai more special by planning the dinner on the same day as Claire’s grandmother’s 90th birthday, in a restaurant with the same name as Claire’s mother.
Location: Gui Hua Lou restaurant, which is in the Shangri-La, Pudong, Shanghai.
We would love it if you could join us.
Travel information
There are two airports in Shanghai:
-Shanghai Hongqiao airport (domestic)
-Shanghai Pudong airport (international)
Both airports are connected to the metro system, so it is easy to travel to the city centre. Follow the signs, there are pictures of the metro, 地铁 is the Chinese character for metro.
It is also possible to take a taxi or didi to the city. There are taxi stands at both airports, when you arrive, again just follow the signs.
This character means taxi: 出租车. Taxi prices are higher in the evening.
Taxi prices:
-From Pudong to city centre: depending on where you are staying in the city, but the drive takes around 50-60min, and costs around 200-250 RMB.
-From Hongqiao to city centre: again depending on where you are staying, but the drive takes around 30 min, and costs around 100-150 RMB.
Accommodation Information
Here are some hotel options in Shanghai that we recommend.
-Shangri-La Pudong: This is also where the celebration dinner will take place. Around 180 euros a night.
-Shanghai Fish Inn Bund: A cheaper option, which is relatively close (for Shanghai terms). It is easily accessible with public transport, the metrostation East Nanjing Road (metro line 2 and 10), is the closest at 150m distance. Around 70 euros a night.
-Grand Millennium: in the Gubei area, which is closer to the Hongqiao airport. Around 90 euros a night.
Schedule
Saturday 04-10-2025
18:30-21:30 Celebration dinner at Gui Hua Lou restaurant
21:30-00:00 Karaoke
Optional:
Sunday 05-10-2025
14:00 Visit Yuyuan Garden
17:00 Walk towards the bund
19:30-22:00 Dinner
22:00 Walk past Jingan temple, back to hotels
Monday 06-10-2025
10:00-11:00 Brunch Gubei area
13:00 Guilin Park
15:00 Qibao water town
18:00 Goodbye dinner
Dress Code
Cocktail
Gifts
Your presence is our gift. We are very happy you are making the trip to join us, and are not expecting anything else from you, only to have fun!
RSVP
Please let us know if you are able to join us on the fourth of October.
It is optional to join us on Sunday and Monday. The costs for these days will be at your own expense (around 60 euro’s p.p. /day).
Let us know before the first of May if you able to join us, and if applicable, which optional days you will be joining.
Other places to visit in Shanghai
Take 3-4 days in Shanghai to visit the highlights
-Lujiazui at dusk (nice views of the tall buildings)
-Shanghai South Bund fabric market for tailor-made cloths, be ready to haggle for prices
-Visit the site of the first national congress of Chinese communist Party
-Tian Zi Fang
-Afternoon tea at Park Hyatt for skyline views of the city
-Walk along the Suzhou creek
-Nanjing road and Peoples park
-Shanghai museum (free, closed on mondays)
-Shanghai History museum (free + nice building)
-Shanghai Art Museum
-Shanghai Film Museum
-Shanghai Postal Museum (free)
-Peace hotel jazz band (expensive and tourist trap, but a good one)
-Disneyland
Weather in Shanghai
The weather in October is usually mild, around 20 degrees Celcius.
Food in Shanghai
Some restaurants we recommend:
-Ruifuyuan 瑞福园 - Classic Shanghainese
-Old Jesse 老吉士 - Famous Shanghainese
-Yang’s dumplings 小杨生煎 - for the shengjianbao (fried soup dumpling), see picture. Iconic Shanghainese, but tread carefully, because the soup inside is very hot.
-Luckin coffee (for cheap coffee, Kelvin’s favorite)
Tips before arrival
-Download Alipay: this is an essential app for China. You can use it to pay, use public transport, rent shared bikes (the blue ones), book tickets, and more. Almost every place accepts Alipay. They will have a QR code for you to scan or they will scan your QR code. It is possible to link a foreign credit card to your Alipay account with your regular phone number. Since the Covid-19 pandemic, most payments are now through online methods. It is still possible to pay with cash of course, but this is not done often.
-Download a VPN: to use apps such as Whatsapp, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube, you need a VPN app. I usually use Star VPN. But there are others. (Apple Maps works without VPN).
-Didi is the Chinese uber which can be set to English. Nowadays, it is very hard to just get a cab from the streets. If you want to take a cab, Didi is the easiest way.
-Check if you need a visa. For citizens of the Netherlands, it is now possible to visit China for 30 days visa free.
-Check your insurance and vaccinations.
Tips after arrival
-Shanghai is very international, you will find that most Gen Z and Millennials usually speak English, but the older generation do not.
-China telecom store provides temporary Chinese telefoon numbers and internet for foreigners. You can also get an e-sim, we haven’t tried this yet.
-How to get around in Shanghai: using the metro is the easiest way to get around in Shanghai. There are signs all over the city, indicating where the metro stations are.
-Getting around by bike is also a nice way to see the city. You will need the Alipay app and internet for this.
-Traffic: You cannot assume vehicles will stop for you. If you unfortunately end up in an accident, do not leave the scene until the police arrive. While biking in Shanghai (which is a great way to explore the city), please be carefull of all the cars en especially electric scooters that zoom by.
-Do not drink tap water in China. You can buy filtered water in the supermarkets.
Traveling to other cities:
If you are planning to visit other cities in China, the easiest way is to take the high speed train from Hong Qiao Railway station. You can book tickets via the Trip app. We recommend the following cities (in order of closest to Shanghai to furthest):
-Suzhou: Only a 1 hour train ride from Shanghai, takes you to a city well known for its canals, bridges and classical gardens. Visit the Humble Administrators Garden, and the Suzhou museum. Food: the sweet and sour mandarin fish is a traditional specialty. Be warned, you do get a whole fish, with head and all (in China, this means the fish was fresh), in case you are really squeamish about this, don’t order this dish. But we really recommend you try, this is a favourite amongst foreigners, the fish is easy to eat without bones. Recommend 1-2 days.
-Yellow mountain: For the adventure seekers who do not have a fear of heights (so not Kelvin), the Yellow Mountain is a must visit. The weekends are busy, so try to visit during the weekdays. It only takes around 3-4 hours to get there from Shanghai by train. It is also nice to visit the Hongcun ancient village. Recommend 3 days.
- Beijing: It only takes a 4,5 hour train ride, to get the capital city of China! Visit the Great wall, Forbidden City, Summer palace, the temple of Heaven and much more. Food: Eat Beijing Duck at one of the many restaurants, the most famous is the Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant (全聚德 Quánjùdé), founded in 1864. They have many branches. Jiaozi: a type of dumpling is a must eat in Beijing. Recommend 3-4 days.
-Guilin (Yangshou county): For more nature, visit Guilin, around 9 hour train ride from Shanghai. See the beautiful karst landscapes, rivers and Longji Rice terraces. Bike around, enjoy the views, or go bamboo rafting on the river. Food: famous for its rice noodles (mifen). Recommend 2-3 days.
-Chongqing: It takes about 10-12 hour by train, or 3 hour by plane. This is the tiktok famous city, famous for its crazy architecture and spicy food. Maybe you have seen the videos of the metro going through a building (Liziba station). There is also the Hongya Cave, a good place for some amazing night views. For a day trip, if you want to escape the city, visit the Wulong Karst geological park. Food: Chongqing hotpot! Recommend 2-3 days.
-Chengdu: Only a 2-3 hour train ride from Chongqing, this city really captured our hearts with its surprising tranquility and delicious (spicy) food. Visit the famous Chengdu Research Base to see the Giant Pandas, we would plan a day for this, the area is quite big. Food: Again famous for its spicy food. We really enjoyed the dan dan noodles and chili oil wontons from Chunyangguan. See this food guide for more: https://www.thefoodranger.com/the-ultimate-chengdu-food-tour/. Recommend 2-3 days.
-Zhangjiajie : For fans of the Avatar movie (the one with the blue people), visit the Zhangjiajie National Forest Park where you can recognise the beautiful mountains from the movie. For some extra adrenaline, walk across the longest and highest glass bridge in the world. For the scariest stairs I’ve ever been on, go to Tianmen Mountain (I recommend going up the stairs and taking the escalator down, cause it is really steep). The area is huge, take at least 3 days for Zhangjiajie.
-Some off the Beaten path places to visit: Silk Road Dunhuang hotel with the desert and oasis or the Mogul caves.
Forbidden city
Yellow Mountain
The Great Wall
Liziba station
Chengdu dumplings and noodles