Shanghai Tour 1 - Hongqiao 01 (虹桥)

Explore the blend of modern malls, placid parks, and global favors on this cycling route through Shanghai's Hongqiao area.

Total Distance: 7 km (31.4 km personally) | Total Hours: 4 Hours (Light Biking, Heavy Touring)

Main Destinations:

1. Minhang Cultural Park (闵行文化公园)

2. Hongqiao Korean Street (虹桥韩国街)

3. MixC Mall (万象城)

4. Aegean Place Mall (爱琴海购物中心)

5. Minhang Sports Park (闵行体育公园)

   
   

Map:

Map of Shanghai Tour 1 Destinations

Main Blog:

On September 11th, the Bike in Shanghai began with a remarkable first trip around the Hongqiao area, weaving through the vibrant contrasts of Changning district’s international flair and Minhang district’s suburban charm.

1.     Minhang Cultural Park (闵行文化公园)

Minhang Cultural Park is a spacious green escape in southwest Shanghai, blending serene lakes, tree-lined paths, and open lawns with cultural sculptures and quiet pavilions. It’s a favorite for joggers and anyone seeking a peaceful break from the city’s bustle.

On a sunny afternoon, Sam and I entered the Minhang Cultural Park through gate 4. The park is divided into two zones—north and south—with a road in between.

On the north side, there are three regular-size soccer fields, a red sports complex comprising commercial retail and sports/fitness facilities, and a small park area. Also, do note that if you get here by metro, you must exit the 航中路 station via exit 2, in order to get straight into the park.

Crossing the road to get to the south part of the park, you see the main entrance (entrance 4 on map) with a red cloud-looking object with a few Chinese words jotted (see the red object below). The red decorative structure is a Core Socialist Values display (社会主义核心价值观宣传牌), something you’ll see in almost every park, school, and public square in China. The circles display the 12 official values promoted by the Chinese government: (from the left) prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, rule of law, patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendship.

The park comprises a unique structure, with an inner circle, an outer circle, and a small lake in between. As you enter the park, you will see people casually relaxing on small boats, as you can see in the picture above. Also, do note that personal bike rides are strictly prohibited in the park. However, the park provides electric carts and similar vehicles for 50 RMB per hour for tourists.

 The two statues above feature Chinese historical figures: 黄歇 (Huáng Xiē) and 秦裕伯 (Qín Yùbó), respectively. Huang Xie, also known as Lord Chunshen (春申君), was one of the Four Lords of the Warring States period and a famous statesman of the Chu state known for his political influence and patronage of scholars. Qin Yubo, from the Yuan Dynasty, was best known for his honesty and service in water management and local governance.

We took a stroll along the inner circle path, under lots of shade—even though it was a hot Shanghai summer afternoon, it wasn’t particularly hot in the park, walking under the natural shade.

As you walk along the trail, you see an open grass field, accompanied by colorful horse statues and a business area behind. As one of the highlights of this park, the spacious green area attracts families and couples all around the year for a short relaxation from the bustling city.

         The park also comprises the Minhang Museum and Art Exhibition right next to the open grass field, so anyone interested could check these out as well.

As you walk approximately three-fourths around the inner circle, you encounter a light-blue building. Pictures never fail here, but do make sure you take a picture from the outer circle. When taken from outer circle, you may capture a reflection of the building and the three domes (which are at the front, not featured in the photos above) on the lake, giving Santorini vibes.

One note I want to make here is with these vending machines. These are not ordinary vending machines: they are fridges that open once you complete payment through WeChat or Alipay. However, for most foreigners, including myself, don’t have enough “points” to open these fridges, so even if you see these vending machines, it may be a better idea to just walk pass them.

As you encounter one of the two statues from above, you may exit, and bike around 2 km, to get to our next destination: the Hongqiao Korean Street.

2.     Honqiao Korean Street虹桥韩国街

A bustling strip packed with Korean restaurants, markets, and beauty shops. Feels like a mini Seoul tucked into west Shanghai.

Biking for around 5-10 minutes, you start to realize you see more Korean than you see Chinese—that’s when you have arrived to the Hongqiao Korean Street, a.k.a. Shanghai Korea Town.

As a Korean myself, I usually go to the most popular deli, Kmart, and grab a Korean bottled drink before I go to restaurants. Among many restaurants in K-town, I want to introduce one place in particular, the Do-do-won Korean-Chinese food. For approximately 40 RMB, you can get a bowl of Jjajangmyeon (韩式炸酱面), a noodle dish topped with a thick, savory onion-black-bean sauce, stir-fried with diced pork and vegetables. Though originally from China, it’s been fully adopted into Korean cuisine, especially as a go-to comfort food. This restaurant does it better than any Korean-Chinese restaurant in China, so please do consider visiting. Five stars. The restaurant is located in a large mall known as 井亭大厦 (Jǐng Tíng Dà shà).

Another highlight of the Shanghai K-town is the Seoul Night market. As you enter the main entrance featuring a water fountain, you see many small shops, bars, and restaurants—perfect to grab the Korean-style fried-chicken-and-beer dinner, enjoying the music and the vibes. This place is also a great place for snacking after a meal, as the choices range from Dalgona, a Korean honeycomb toffee made from melted sugar and baking Soda popularized among foreigners by Squid Game,  to Korean-style Tornado Potato, a spiral-cut whole potato stretched on a stick, deep-fried until crispy, and often seasoned with cheese, chili, or onion powder.

The next destination is the MixC mall, one of Shanghai’s most well known malls, only 1 km away from K-town.

3.     MixC Mall (万象城)

One of Shanghai’s most popular malls, offering everything from luxury brands to trendy cafes, and even an ice skate rink. Great spot to cool down, grab a drink, or people-watch.

Always crowded with people, the MixC mall is local Shanghainese-favorite. Though, I want to elaborate on two special locations—the % Arabica coffee and T9 Premium Tea shop, as you can see in the top-right picture. % Arabica Coffee is known for high-quality beans, often single-origin, roasted in-house. It features a signature drink Spanish latte, giving off minimalist, Instagram-able design with white interiors, sleek wood, and clean typography. However, it is on the more expensive side for drinks, compared to the popular brands, such as Coco and Yi Dian Dian. The mall even has an indoor ice-skating rink—120 RMB per one session (2 hours).

4.     Aegean Place Mall (爱琴海购物中心)

A colorful, family-friendly mall known for its beautiful water fountain show and grand multifunctional bookstore/café/gallery called the Light Space.

The Aegean Place is another mall straight across street from the MixC mall, introduced to you above. It does feature a unique bookstore and a rooftop family area where you can view the Shanghai nightscape. There are also regular fountain shows that take place here.

If you do feel it’s redundant to go to two different malls in a row, either skip this place or go watch the Aegean Place fountain show that takes place daily every 30 minutes from 6:00 pm for around 10-20 minutes.

5.     Minhang Sports Park闵行体育公园 

A spacious park with tracks, courts, and Minhang Athletics Stadium. Locals often gather here for group workouts or casual strolls.

Our final destination in the trip is the Minhang Sports Park. As mentioned above, you see the red decorative structure again. There are many people at the park for a little stroll or family-bonding activities. As named “sports park,” the Minhang Sports Park includes the Minhang Athletic Stadium, with a regular-sized soccer field, basketball courts, and tennis courts. Though, when we visited, they were under construction. The park is almost as big as the Minhang Cultural Park (destination 1), but there are no short-cutes, like the inner circle earlier.

This marks the end of our very first Shanghai tour, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as we did. Stay tuned for our bimonthly trip updates!