Exploring Sheshan in Shanghai for Culinary Delights

**Shanghai Sheshan Getaway: A Weekend of Gourmet Delights and Serenity** **Duration:** 2 days **Time[...]

**Shanghai Sheshan Getaway: A Weekend of Gourmet Delights and Serenity**

**Duration:** 2 days
**Time:** July
**Average Cost per Person:** 800 Yuan
**Companions:** Friends
**Activities:** Gourmet food, free travel, petite bourgeoisie, weekend getaway, gourmet forest

**Itinerary Highlights:**
– The Bund in Shanghai
– Dong Sheshan Forest Hotel
– Lan Chun Villa
– Guangfulin Ruins

**Published on 2020-07-24 00:15**

I have been to Shanghai many times and seen its myriad faces, from the dazzling lights of the Bund to the childlike innocence of Disneyland. Recently, the Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai area has been in the plum rain season, which does have some impact on travel. However, it’s not a problem! There’s always a suitable leisure activity to be found, so this time in Shanghai, I focused on Sheshan, a place I had not visited before.

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**Sheshan: A Hidden Gem**

What is Sheshan like? Known as the backyard of Shanghai residents, it is located in Songjiang District and is divided into West Sheshan and East Sheshan. West Sheshan has an elevation of about 100 meters, which, although it sounds low, is already the highest peak on land for the flat terrain of Shanghai. East Sheshan is slightly shorter, with an elevation of 72.4 meters. With its excellent ecological environment, it is a place for health and wellness, so even when the weather is good, one can enjoy the beautiful scenery. On rainy days, the experience is not diminished because, like me, you can mainly come to experience the food and culture here.

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**Travel Route and Accommodation**

The travel route this time is relatively simple. I took the high-speed train from Changzhou to Shanghai, with trains as frequent as buses. Then I took a taxi directly from Hongqiao Station to Sheshan Forest Hotel. After lunch at the hotel, I rested in the afternoon, had dinner at Lan Chun Villa in the evening, and visited the Guangfulin Scenic Area the next morning.

Sheshan Forest Hotel is a hidden gem amidst the bustling city of Shanghai, located at the southwest foot of Sheshan Forest Park, a star-rated hotel built on the mountain. The first feeling upon arriving here is being surrounded by mountains and forests, with green bamboo and green mountains in full view, truly away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

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**Accommodation Experience**

The hotel’s front desk gives a very comfortable feeling, and there is a lobby bar to rest, have a cup of coffee, and flip through a book, quietly waiting for the rain outside to subside… I can’t help but ask myself, is this really the fast-paced Shanghai? At least not here in Sheshan.

The accommodation at the Forest Hotel is also different from the hotels in the high-rise buildings of downtown Shanghai. Here, red-roofed villas are hidden among the mountains and forests. I stayed in Building 2 of the hotel, which looks like a typical Shanghai ‘small western-style building’ from the outside, very attractive.

The front desk’s decorative style also indicates a certain European feeling, and the guest room area is no exception. Walking into the small western-style building, the glass windows in the stairwell are particularly refreshing.

The room I stayed in was a standard room, with a configuration that is moderate and matches the room price very well. What I didn’t expect was the large space of the guest room. Because I have stayed in many hotels in the city before, where land is very valuable, even some high-end hotels have relatively small spaces. I didn’t expect that in Sheshan, also in Shanghai, I could experience such a spacious room, with a spacious desk, which is convenient for me to stay in the hotel for an afternoon.

There is even a sofa, so even if there are guests, it won’t be embarrassing. Of course, staying at Sheshan Hotel is not just for the accommodation experience, the food here is also commendable.

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**Gourmet Experience**

At noon, I had lunch with friends at the hotel’s Forest Home Restaurant and ordered many specialty dishes. The average price per person here is just over 100, and now I will give everyone a review and introduction one by one. If you are reading this travelogue on an empty stomach, be prepared to wipe your mouth.

**First Course:** Grandma’s Home-Style Rice with Braised Pork. The braised pork in Shanghai has a slight sweetness to it. The Forest Home’s braised pork is carefully selected for its rich meat flavor and appropriate fat content, made from black-haired pigs. The sweet aftertaste is pleasant and not overly sweet, with the sauce perfectly soaked into the rice, making it incredibly flavorful and a unique masterpiece.

**Second Dish:** Scallion-Wrapped Pork RibsThe curry in this dish has a rich flavor, a true feast for the taste buds. The beef brisket in the stone pot is stewed until tender, and the potatoes are fragrant and soft, requiring little effort to bite into.

Another creative dish from the restaurant is Fresh Pineapple Stir-Fried Shrimp Balls. The combination of shrimp balls with asparagus and pineapple is a refreshing and delicious dish, perfect for summer consumption. Have you always thought that shrimp balls can only be used for hot pot? It turns out they can be made into such a unique and refreshing dish.

The final dish is the universally praised Signature Coral Fish Head Soup. Living in Changzhou, I often have the opportunity to drink the fish head soup from Tianmu Lake, but this fish head soup from the Forest Home is different from the traditional one. The milky white fish soup is universally loved, and here it is paired with handmade large fish balls, which have a very delicate and smooth texture, full of collagen, and sprinkled with pepper and cilantro, with almost everyone starting with at least three bowls!

The dishes from the Forest Home have been introduced to this point, and while editing the photos and writing the text, I am still reminiscing about this grand feast. After the meal, I saw many awards on the wall at the entrance of the restaurant, no wonder there are so many repeat customers coming to Sheshan. Even if you don’t stay in the hotel, you can still come to the Forest Home for a meal. There are many gold and silver cups, and the restaurant has also earned the reputation of the common people!

The dinner at Lan Shun Villa was also at the Lan Shun Villa, which is just around the corner from the Forest Home, and it’s only 10 meters away! Why switch to another restaurant? Obviously, we want to experience more during our travels, and Lan Shun Villa is also a comprehensive place that integrates dining and accommodation. Lan Shun Villa presents a European architectural style, with pointed castle roofs, red tiles, and white walls, like a fairy tale.

The authentic Shanghai cuisine served at Lan Shun Villa includes dishes like Black Pepper Beef Fillet, Crystal Shrimp, Seafood Tofu Casserole, and Home-Style Steamed Three Delicacies, etc. The characteristics of Shanghai cuisine are rich and thick sauces, moderate saltiness, preservation of original flavors, and rich and delicious taste. The dishes ordered this time fully meet these characteristics in terms of color and taste. Shanghai cuisine likes to use sugar, but compared to the sweetness of Wuxi and Suzhou areas, it is much more moderate, playing a role in enhancing the freshness without being overly sweet and greasy.

The special gluten burger served at Lan Shun Villa is worth mentioning. In Jiangsu, we often eat gluten stuffed with meat, usually with pure braised gluten, and this special gluten burger has a layer of fish paste on it. However, it is not as large as the stuffed gluten, but rather a layer attached to the gluten skin, which is not too filling when bitten and incredibly delicious.

There is also a dish called Huadiao Taoyuan Chicken. When the chicken cooked with Huadiao wine is served, a faint aroma of wine will come. Huadiao wine does not have a very high alcohol content. Even people who never touch alcohol will not feel uncomfortable eating this dish. Appropriate Huadiao wine also removes the fishy smell of chicken, making the meat tender and not tough, very delicious and goes well with rice.

Finally, I would like to popularize the name of the mountain villa again. ‘Sheshan Lansun’ became famous far and wide because it was favored by Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty. At that time, Sheshan was also named ‘Lansun Mountain’. It is something with very geographical identification. Nowadays, every year in Sheshan, a cultural festival with Lansun as the theme is held. With ‘digging bamboo shoots, tasting bamboo shoots, picking tea, and tasting tea’ as the main contents, more tourists can know and appreciate Lansun and taste Lansun. This is also a major feature of tourism in Sheshan. Therefore, Lansun Mountain Villa can be said to be a must-visit place locally.

Guangfulin Site Park When coming to Sheshan, in addition to the forest park, you must go to Guangfulin Site Cultural Park to play! If the forest park represents the natural scenery of Sheshan, then Guangfulin is where the cultural context of Sheshan lies. Guangfulin, originally known as Huangfu Lin and Guangfulin. In ancient times, it belonged to the category of Huating Valley and gave birth to the splendid ancient culture of Guangfulin.

The fourth dish is a nostalgic Double Mushroom and Egg White Stir-Fry. According to the restaurant’s introduction, this dish is a childhood memory from the suburbs of Shanghai. The soup base is made from chicken and

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**The Cultural Heart of Ancient Songjiang**

*It was the cultural, political, economic, and transportation center in the east of Soochow in ancient times… Until Huating County was established in the Tang Dynasty. The Ming and Qing dynasties created the brilliance of Songjiang. Therefore, it is also called ‘the root of Shanghai’!*

*Briefly speaking, scientific archaeology has confirmed that as early as 5,000 years ago, the ancestors of Songjiang were working and living here in Guangfulin. In the late Neolithic Age four or five thousand years ago, rice was already widely planted locally. The long history of farming shows that there is an advanced agricultural production method here.*

*After understanding the cultural background of Guangfulin Heritage Park, visiting inside will be more effective. Combined with the scenic spot introduction, you can understand everything here more vividly.*

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**Guangfulin Site Park: A Personal Journey**

*I personally like two places in Guangfulin Site Park. One is the popular Duoyun Bookstore (Guangfulin branch) in Shanghai. In addition to selling books, this bookstore also sells beauty! It focuses on literature, history, calligraphy, and painting, providing a good platform and place for traditional culture, Shanghai culture, and Jiangnan culture.*

*Nowadays, bookstores are no longer simply selling books. They are selling culture and environment. In Duoyun Bookstore, I also found many interesting cultural and creative products. I have collected many similar items at home, but I can’t help but buy some more when I see them. I usually buy things with local cultural characteristics, which can also be regarded as the best memory of a trip.*

*Duoyun Bookstore is a typical old Huizhou architecture. There are wood carvings on the thick beams and a pool in the patio. It also has high appreciation value in architecture itself. Huizhou people regard rainwater as wealth. Modern people know that there is gold in books. The perfect combination of these two points by the bookstore also makes it very fitting to come here on a rainy day.*

*If you are not in a hurry and have a cup of coffee and read a book, it will definitely be a fulfilling and rewarding day.*

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**Dining at ‘Take a Break’**

*The area of Guangfulin Site Park is quite large. After walking around, you will really feel a little tired. At this time, it is time to rest and taste delicious food again.*

*In the alley behind the large screen wall in the scenic area, there is a restaurant called ‘Take a Break’. Here you can eat local specialty noodles. The front hall is also a milk tea shop in a Huizhou architecture. The environment here is a bit more compact than that in Duoyun Bookstore. In fact, it is just next door. It is very convenient to come here to fill your stomach after reading books.*

*At Xiexie Bar, you can order over ten types of noodles. I had the most expensive braised mutton noodles, which cost only 38 yuan per bowl. This price is very cost-effective compared to other scenic spots in Shanghai, such as at Disneyland where a drink might be more expensive!*

*The mutton is authentically braised in large pieces, tender and easily broken with chopsticks, thus providing an excellent texture. My companion ordered a bowl of authentic Songjiang chili sauce noodles, which is more representative of local flavors. Noodles in Shanghai, like those in Southern Jiangsu, are topped with ingredients, and the key lies in the quality of the toppings.*

*Chili sauce noodles are made by heating a wok, adding chopped green onions, chili powder, diced pork, and other ingredients to stir-fry, then adding sauce and sugar to make a chili sauce. After boiling the noodles, they are topped with this chili sauce to create an authentic specialty. The taste is not overly spicy, but rather rich in freshness and aroma.*

*For those who like meat, you can also order a large pork chop or chicken leg here. It’s clear to all food enthusiasts that my Sheshan trip was a culinary journey. Good food is not affected by weather or seasons and is the easiest to bring joy! In such a beautiful place as Sheshan, with so many delicious foods to accompany you, I believe everyone is eager to embark on a health journey in the name of good food!*

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