Shanghai: Winter Morning Walk - Starbucks Roastery, People's Park Matchmaking

Shanghai Winter Walk : Starbucks Reserve Roastery and People's Park Matchmaking

Although Shanghai is a great megapolis, a constant challenge is finding a good local Asian breakfast(serving coffee) cafe. Thus, XinWang Cafe(新旺) that opens 24 hours (except 5-6am?) on ChangLe Lu（常乐路） has alway been our go-to place for early weekend breakfasts apart from Macdonalds delivery or walking to pret-a-manger/starbucks.
After a 'over-filling' breakfast of radish cake+cheong fan, porridge and vermicelli, washed down with a cup of Hong Kong milk tea, we had to take a walk back to Pudong. From ChangLe Lu -> Nanjing Xi Lu(南京西路） -> Nanjing Dong Lu（南京东路） ->  bund（外滩） ferry -> PuDong.

Starbuck Reserve Roastery

When we were at Nanjing Xi Lu, we saw the Starbucks Roastery that we missed on a previous walk!

Shanghai Starbucks Reserve Roastery                   

We entered the building and were literally wowed by the size of the roasters, the facility, food, the crowd and the building set-up.


Various sections of coffee counters, cakes, chocolates, merchandise and liquor areas are spread out through the 2-storey building. There is even a bean-roasting along with other different types demonstrations.

We could have walked around the place, and then left without buying a drink(It was really crowded), but instead, we bought a small cappuccino and went searching for seats. There were no seat on the 2nd floor, and it didn't look like there were going to be anytime soon. we went down to the ground floor again and manage to locate the vacant seat.
             The coffee is good. "How much is the coffee?" 
             "45 rmb" ---- That is Expensive!

After drinking off the last drop of our coffee, we continued our walk.
https://www.starbucksreserve.com/roasteries/shanghai/

People's Park Matchmaking

While walking along the People's Park to get to Nanjing Dong Lu, I overheard an elderly lady telling a journalist/reporter (she was carrying a microphone)，
    "如果缘纷可定，就皆大欢喜 " 
badly/roughly translated to -》"If the fate can be confirmed, then it will be of great joy".
Suddenly, we remembered that the park is a favorite matchmaking spot.
Looking around, we saw rows of umbrellas, and we headed towards them. There were so many rows of them being displayed along the pavements. On each umbrella, details of the 'candidate' were given.  Usually, on a male 'candidate' umbrella, there are details regarding his age, qualification, working experience and assets(usually apartment/car) and what he is looking for in a female such as age and  personality. On the 'female' umbrella, there are details  specifying her qualifications, experience and also her expectation.

There was also a section for candidates living overseas, and also for posters(non-umbrellas) on the pavement walkway.

There are many people milling around the umbrellas, people talking to one another and people just sitting on benches. I believe many of the advertisement were placed by the parents.
It is really 天下父母心 -》 The heart of a loving parents.
There is a hot-water dispenser near the entrance of the park. A thoughtful and well-needed facility for the elderly on a cold wintry morning.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Park_(Shanghai)
After the stroll in the park, we continued our walk through Nanjing Dong Lu Pedestrian Walk, the Bund and then took the ferry back to Pudong.

There is always something interesting to discover in Shanghai. I would like to visit the park again to check if umbrellas are used in other seasons.

Other Shanghai Blog
Shanghai (I) : Lujiazu
Shanghai(II) : A walk from JingAn to the Bund