Last month I visited Shanghai to attend the annual Radius Travel Summit.

Radius is Bay Travel Group’s global partner representing corporate travel management companies in most major cities in the world.

Our clients benefit from the experience and local presence of our international partners.

We decided to go on ‘Shanghai’s Weekend Special Tour’

It started with the unusual yet fascinating weekend’s  matchmaking event (known as the marriage market) where hundreds of parents come to seek a matching partner to their unmarried child. Parents open an umbrella and attached their child’s CV.  No photographs of the eligible child are allowed. Visitors walk down the rows, reading CV’s and asking questions. In a country where Facebook is banned this is as close to Tinder Dating as you can get.

This was followed by a visit to the weekend bird market.

Quiz question: What are the 4 favourite household pets in Shanghai? Answer – birds, goldfish, baby turtles and live crickets of all shapes and sizes.

We then visited the old town to see the weekend antique market. No tourists – only locals at this market which is housed in a three storey building. Totally inconspicuous from the outside but brimming with amazing antiques and artefacts on the inside.

When next in Shanghai and you have a free Sunday, this tour is highly recommended. Contact the Bay Travel team for details.

By Alan Wolf