A happy Darwin Clearwater of New Wave Travel accepts his prize of a trip for two to Shanghai with EVA Air
The room at the swank Sutton Place Hotel was full
Proud members of the Shanghai tourism delegation
A row of smiling faces under Santa hats. A Venice-like series of canals – and spectacular Baroque-style buildings. A gleaming Rolls Royce.
Not how you picture Shanghai, huh?
Certainly not how I pictured it, nor, I suspect, did the 80-odd travel agents from across Toronto who were recently hosted to a breakfast seminar by the Shanghai tourism folks plus a delegation from Taiwan-based Eva Air.
The occasion? The opportunity to educate and inform attendees of the convenience of flying EVA Airlines from North America to Taipei, thence onto mainland China, where it offers connections to 16 cities.
“We currently are offering 777-300 ER service from Vancouver four times a week and three times from Toronto,” said genial Gary Huang, the carrier’s Junior Vice President, based in Los Angeles. And, he added, clients do not need a visa for Taiwan.
The 13-member strong delegation from Shanghai told a fascinating story of history and modern attractions in their city - aerial shots of which make Vancouver, Toronto or Montreal look like mere villages. Not hard when you have 23 million residents, I suppose.
After gently teasing us about the traffic in Toronto being as bad as that in Shanghai, Xia Ohui Chao of the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration gave us some great ideas to suggest to clients. The Shanghai Museum boasts 120,000 artifacts for the history buff. There’s a growing MICE market, thanks to last year’s World Exposition and its legacy buildings and meeting facilities including the Mercedes Benz Arena. Theatre ranges from the traditional to “Cats” – and for clients who want to truly experience local culture, how about the “Being Shanghaiese for a Day” program? For a modest fee – about $15 – clients visit a private home for a cup of tea and perhaps a dumpling-making lesson.
And shoppers take heart! The handy-dandy Shanghai City Tourist Card is available at tourist information centres, banks, hotels and more and is a type of debit card loaded with as much money as you wish. Use it in shops, restos and attractions city-wide and enjoy convenience plus disounts. Genius!
However, as Xia Ouhi Chao remarked, her favourite thing to do in the city is to “walk without a plan. You never know what you might encounter…ancient alleys, beautiful scenery, lots of parks” – and perhaps some happy Canadians also discovering the charms of Shanghai.
