5 markets in Shanghai you must visit once in your life

In this flourishing and prosperous city Shanghai, you’ll not only find modernly furnished shopping centers featuring designer labels, but markets devoted to traditional Chinese culture. Here’s the five best markets in Shanghai where you can experience Shanghainese culture.

1. Tian Zi Fang

In the Old French Concession quarter of Shanghai lies the arts and crafts enclave Tian Zi Fang. There are three distinguishing features about Tian Zi Fang. Firstly, the 50-year-old archaic bungalows reflect the primitive simplicity of the early republican era in China. Secondly, the buildings have been revitalized to become a creative market where you can find hilarious kungfu esoterica, nostalgic art pieces or coins from the Qing Dynasty. Thirdly, Tian Zi Fang is a place where coffeehouses converge within its stone-ringed architecture, and these serve roast coffee and Western cuisine in an open-air terrace. Strolling around, you’re transported back to the beginning of civilization on these lanes, filled with an Old Shanghai ambiance.

Lane 210, Taikang Road, Hangpu, Shanghai, China

2. Dong Tai Lu Antique Market

There are two world-renowned antique markets in China, one is the Liulichang, located in Beijing, and the other is the Dong Tai Road Antique Market. With over 200 stores arranged in close rows in this 500-meter-long walking zone, you’ll get dazzled by the endless array of antiques and grotesque stuff. Classic antiques, like sculptures, porcelain, jadeware, the ancient stationeries ‘scholar’s four jewels’, and embroideries, are just tip of the iceberg. Don’t let your jaws dropped if you find shops bragging about their crusted three-inch golden lotus shoes and baskets, used scholars during the Ming Dynasty to carry their books. Without any state-owned brands nor unified pricing, you can bargain with the dealer for a more reasonable price.

168 Dongmen Road, Shanghai, China

3. Duolun Road

Dated back to the 1930s, Duolun Road is the rallying point for the Chinese literary giants Lu Xun, Mao Dun, and Guo Mo, where they discussed political issues. Back in modern Shanghai, Duolun Road plays a paramount role in contemporary literary development, with the remains of historical relics including the Fitch Memorial Church and the Celebrity Tea House. Duolun Road consists of small houses along a path displaying mahogany sculptures, scripts, and calligraphy. On this short and wriggly lane, you’ll find various galleries selling exotic stones, chopsticks from all over the world as well as ancient clocks from Nanjing. What’s so special about Duolun Road is that there’s a chessboard café offering Chinese Weiqi chess – play for RMB$10 an hour with supplies of coffee and tea.

Duo Lun Lu Wen Hua Ming Ren Jie, SiChuan BeiLu, Hongkou Qu, Shanghai Shi, China

4. Tianshan Tea City

Curious about the Chinese tea industry and its history? You should not miss the Tianshan Tea City, pioneered by the masters of the Chinese tea industry Su Jinping and Lu Ling. Converging tea leaves from all provinces of China, herbal tea, tea artworks, and the aesthetic performance of tea making, tea connoisseurs can find everything related to tea culture. Drop by any of the 300 tea stores in this giant three-storey complex, and you can have a rapport with knowledgeable tea dealers and learn essential skills, including tea tasting, tea making, and even how to sort good tea leaves. You can find famous premium dragon well tea and red-robe tea here too.

518-520 Zhongshan W Rd, Changning, Shanghai, China

5. Chang Li Lu Food Market

To experience the authentic street food culture in Shanghai, make a visit to Chang Li Lu Food Market to enjoy local tidbits in Shanghai. At night, Chang Li Lu is crammed with pedestrians making their way through the crowd. Adjoining stalls are packed together, with stools and tables spreading on the street, and folks get carried away by serving dishes. While multifarious yet bizarre choices of dishesare rampant here, from the meat of cats and dogs to Hong-Kong-style fermented bean curd, the delectable yakitori cooked over charcoal with smoky aromas emanating throughout the street are the most popular option among diners.

Chang Li Lu, Pudong Xinqu, Shanghai Shi, China

See more: Don’t forget to try signature dishes from Shanghai

Source: theculturetrip

8 useful ways to earn money while traveling

Have you ever asked yourself, “How will I possibly make money while traveling?” or “How will I survive on the road?” or maybe “How can I cannot start traveling when I don’t have much money?”.

Chances are that these very thoughts have indeed crossed your mind and there is also a chance that you have not found any answers. As a result, you have still yet to take that first step and start traveling and as time passes by, you start to wonder if you will ever achieve your travel goals.

Teaching English abroad

For native speakers with a bachelor degree, teaching English is one of the easiest ways to work abroad. It offers you the ability to spend a significant amount of time in a country, while making good money. There are job opportunities almost everywhere, many companies will pay your flights and apartment. South Korea and Japan are well paid countries for English teachers.

Teach English Online

Teaching English online is a consistent, very accessible way for backpackers and nomads to earn an online income. You don’t need any special coding, tech, writing, or photography skills to become a digital nomad these days. Thanks to the power of the internet, the world of teaching English online has opened new doors to native English speakers wanting to work from—well— anywhere with a solid internet connection.

Work in Hostels and Hotels

Many hostels, hotels and resorts are looking for staff, either for short time (during high season) or long-term. Jobs vary from reception staff, house-keeping, driver for airport pick-ups, etc. Some of these jobs are paid, others are on a voluntary basis. Work in exchange for a free bed and food is quite common. Not ideal if you want to earn money, but at least a way to save money for travel.

Online Freelance Work

Whether you have a background or interest in web design, programming, illustration, writing, marketing, consulting, legal work, engineering or able to do any type of admin work, you should definitely look at websites. These are platforms that connect freelancers with people and companies who need work done. Even if your background is in something else, have a look anyway as there is freelance work to be found in dozens of different fields.

Travel Blogging

It is not easy to earn a big income with a travel blog. The amount of time/effort required to do so is much more than most people imagine. But if you are looking for some extra cash to help fund part of your travels, while keeping the world informed of your adventures, starting a travel blog might be your answer.

Scuba Instructor

Being a certified Scuba Diver Instructor takes a bit of investment, but can be one of the most fun ways to work and travel the world. You need a handful of courses and certifications, as well as having logged in a amount of hours underwater yourself.

If you are already certified, get excited. If you are not, you can do it at home, or take advantage of many programs that exist in countries like Thailand and The Philippines.

Yoga Teacher

You have been doing yoga for some time and it became an important part of your life? Why not teach yoga and inspire others to do so? Yoga is more popular than ever and studios are all around the world. You could teach at a yoga retreat (so many of them in Bali!) or just apply for a yoga teacher job at a resort.

Translator

If you can write and speak more than one language fluently, you could look for translating jobs. Spanish, Chinese, French and Japanese are very popular right now. Even if you speak another language than the ones I just listed, check out the links below, you might find a translation job for the languages you speak.

Read more: Best travel guide books on budget travel you should get

Source Internet

Top 5 stunning temples in Indonesia

In the heat of equatorial Indonesia, deep within lush landscapes, hides some of the most impressive ancient structures in the world. The Hindu and Buddhist temples of this island nation were painstakingly crafted with stone so they would stand forever.

 Put on a ceremonial sarong, quiet your mind and enjoy spirituality etched in stone that has been handed down through the ages. An overview of the most amazing temples in Indonesia.

Ratu Boko Temple

Standing on the southern side of Central Java, the true ruins of Ratu Boko Temple are perched high on a plateau. Bring water and be prepared for lots of stairs in the heat. The crumbled remains of the structure suggest that the site was a fortified castle or mansion for the royal families of either the Sailendra or Mataram Kingdoms. There is a ruined outer wall, a dry moat, and, at the highest point in the area, a lookout pavilion. If you climb up to the pavilion yourself, you’ll enjoy a panoramic view with a clean look at the nearby Prambanan temple with Mount Merapi. The sunset views are stunning.

Pura Ulun Danu Beratan

The cool air and fog relieve hot travelers ascending Bali island’s central mountains. Up here, you’ll find the impressive Lake Bratan nestled among peaks. The shore-side Ulun Danu Beratan Temple has been serving the Hindu residents of the area since 1633. The temple is built to praise and give offerings to Dewi Danu, the goddess of lakes, rivers, and water. The goddess and Lake Bratan are what give life to crops on the island through a series of irrigation canals. Descend the mountain on the canal and you’ll find a series of smaller temples all dedicated to the water that feeds thirsty crops.

Read more: Six tips for enjoying a rainy day in Bali

Pura Besakih

Bali is an island unto itself amongst the 17,000 islands that make up Indonesia. The island is still Hindu whereas the majority of the archipelago is now Muslim. Pura Besakih is the Hindu island’s largest, most important and holiest temple. Sitting 1,000 meters (3,300 feet) up on slopes of massive Mount Agung in the eastern part of the island, the temple is worth a visit just for the view of the lush, rolling countryside and the towering volcano above. There are 23 related temples that make up Pura Besakih but make sure to visit the largest and most impressive - Pura Besakih Agung. Be prepared for a bombardment of downtrodden locals begging for your rupiah on the way to the temple.

Prambanan

The largest Hindu temple in all of Indonesia sits in the middle of the now-Muslim island of Java. Often referred to as the Hindu Masterpiece, this incomparable Temple is still being reconstructed. In fact, that’s the first thing you’ll notice as you walk into the park of Prambanan as the stone ruins of 224 outer temples lay scattered. As you ascend into the center of the temple area, you’ll find eight major and eight minor temples. These ornately carved spires praise Trimurti, or the expression of God as Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer. Marvel at the preservation of this mid-9th-century construction.

Read more: Places to visit in Makassar, Indonesia

Borobudur

Borobudur in Central Java is the world’s largest Buddhist temple. And the structure is here to stay. Borobudur has survived volcanic eruptions of Gunung Merapi, terrorist bombings and the earthquake of 2006. Rising high above the breathtakingly green rice fields and their accompanying kampung, or rice villages, this monumental structure can make Indonesia’s other temples look pedestrian. It looks like an ornately carved pyramid with fortified walls surrounding the bottom and five stories worth of statues ascending to the top. In fact, the central dome is crowned by an impressive 72 Buddha statues. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the monument is that it was built by hand in the 9th century. And visitors agree - it looks like it will stand forever.

Source Touropia