1. One nice place to visit near Shanghai is HongCun village (Chinese: 宏村; pinyin: Hóngcūn) (Yi County county, Anhui Province).
I stumble across Paul's blog who has caputred so wonderfully in his camera the beauty of HongCun. (Paul's Travel Blog)
Another of beautiful picture of this town with Chinese new year (Chun Jie) decoration -
(Source:http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/photo/2013-04/13/c_132305234_3.htm)
How to reach to HongCun from Shanghai ?
HongCun is near to HuangShan scenic area, there are buses running from Shanghai South bus station to Huangshan regularly.
More information about the buses between Shanghai and HuangShan can be found at below URL.
http://community.travelchinaguide.com/forum2.asp?i=51834&page=5
That brings us to our 2nd attractions near Shanghai.
2. Huangshan (simplified Chinese: 黄山; traditional Chinese: 黃山; pinyin: Huángshān; literally "Yellow Mountain"),[2] is amountain range in southern Anhui province in eastern China.
In 1985, Yellow Mountain was elected as one of Top 10 Scenic Areas of China.
3. Suzou Chinese: 苏州; pinyin: Sūzhōu; (Su1 is an abbrveation for Jiangsu Province and Zhou is prefecture)
Suzou river is the mother river of Shanghai.
Suzhou is famous for its classical gardens, in Mandarin collectively called 苏州园林 (Sūzhōu yuánlín). Zhuōzhèng Yuán (Humble Administrator's Garden; 拙政园) and Liúyuán (Lingering Garden; 留园 ) are among the four most famous classical gardens in China.
Suzhou was one of the few cities in China to escape the ravages of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution and its famous gardens survived almost intact.
Hǔqiū (Tiger Hill; 虎丘) is a popular tourist destination and is known for its natural beauty as well as historical sites. The hill is so named because it is said to look like a crouching tiger.
Pan Gate, Pan Men, Panmen or Panmen Gate (simplified Chinese: 盘门; traditional Chinese: 盤門; pinyin: pánmén) is a famous historical landmark in Suzhou, China.
Suzhou (Pan Men)
Famous dish in Suzhou is "Yangcheng Lake Large Crab" is a delicacy of Suzhou. It is a sweet, lake crab eaten with a ginger-and-vinegar sauce.
After the Mid-autumn, fresh plump Yang-cheng crabs appear on the markets in large quantities, adding to the dining-boards another delicious throughout china.
Yangcheng Lake lies in the northeast of suzhou , traversing the cities of Wu Xian, Changshu and Kunshan. It has an area of some 80 square li. The clear water and abundant insects and grasses provide an excellent environment for the crabs. Crab is a kind of migration fish. It stays in freshwater lakes before September. About a fortnight after the crabs cast their shells in September comes the mating and spawning season. At this time they would crawl eastward to the juncture of the Yangtze River and the sea, thus making an annual crabbing season. The waterways in Kunshan city east to Yangcheng Lake are the only way of these migration crabs, so the place there becomes the main crabbing area. Each year during the period of September and October, the fishermen go there crabbing with nets, fishing grates, baskets, and even bamboo poles, ,making a scenery bustling with excitement.
Yangcheng Lake Crab
Shanghai Hairy Crabs 大閘蟹 (Dàzháxiè) -
Eating Hairy Crabs 大閘蟹 is a centuries old tradition in Shanghai. Hairy Crab season in Shanghai is like durian season in Malaysia and Singapore. When in season, Hairy Crab sellers pop up all over Shanghai city. The Hairy Crab season is from September to December, with the peak in October and November.
As all Hairy Crabs look exactly the same, traders are known to transplant crabs from other locations to Yangcheng Lake for a month and then claim that they areYangcheng Lake crabs. Real Yangcheng Lake crabs are tagged with an official seal but these are still no guarantee that they are the real item. So, the only way to get real Yangcheng Lake crabs is from a reliable, trustworthy source.
The most common and preferred way to eat Hairy Crabs is simply to steam it for 15 to 20 minutes. Many people eat the crabs with soy sauce, vinegar and shredded ginger. Other people like to eat the crabs neat, just by itself with nothing added.
The crab meat is sweet and slightly nutty. Hairy Crabs aren't more meaty than other species and neither are it's claws large. Every part of the crab is eaten except for the gills. The fats when cooked are bitter and savoury and has texture like cheese. The cooked roe is sweet and savoury. Both the fats and the roe are rather seductive in flavour and taste.
Actually, crabs are available in both sex and you can differentiate by looking at stomach.
4. Zhouzhuang (Chinese: 周庄; pinyin: Zhōuzhuāng, based on the name of a famous buddhist - Zhou Digong)
Zhouzhuang is a popular tourist destination, classified as a AAAAA scenic area . Some people calls it the "Venice of the East".
It is noted for its profound cultural background, the well preserved ancient residential houses, the elegant watery views and the strong local colored traditions and customs.
There are multiple modes of transportation available (each takes around 2 hours) from Shanghai and Suzhou, You can refer to below link for more details on transportation -
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