Visiting Shanghai during Golden Week meant sharing views of the Bund with nearly all of China’s 1.5 billion people. It was like Walmart on Christmas Eve over there. There were lines of cops everywhere with megaphones trying hopelessly to create order in a sea of chaos. But, it wouldn’t be China if you weren’t being stampeded by a billion people while someone was yelling into a megaphone, would it?
With the crowds being so heavy at the big tourist spots, I thought getting through the bird and insect market would tough as well. It took me a while to find the place because the entrances to the market are tucked away between shops that line the street. The market is about a kilometer away from Yuyuan Garden if you walk west along Fangbang Middle Road (方浜中路）that the entrance to Yuyuan is situated on. Cross RenMin Road (人民路) and take your next right and you’ll soon hear the chirping of crickets that let’s you know you’re close. I was surprised to find that as soon as we were away from the little souvenir stores outside of Yuyuan, the mass crowds were completely gone. The market was not swamped with tourists and was easy to navigate. This is a much better option than smelling as many sweaty people as possible at the Bund or Yuyuan.
As soon as you duck inside the market, the sound of thousands of crickets takes over the sounds of traffic in the city. It’s a neat retreat from the hot, noisy streets.
You can choose from a wide range of crickets depending on your cricket needs.
Don’t forget to get a cool tiny birdcage for your new cricket sidekick!
The market boasts more than just crickets and cricket accessories. I found a cool carving of the Monkey King that I would have bought if I had a place for him that my pesky daughter couldn’t reach.
There are tons of turtles as well. It was hard for me to not buy all these turtles and make them a cool turtle house because they just seem cramped here.
As we wound our way deeper into the market, we eventually found the birds. There are so many kinds hanging everywhere that it’s hard to take it all in at once.
You can also get your worms here, too.
There aren’t actually many flowers and plants inside the market, but there are few flower shops outside. It’s not much to write home about though. Another thing you’ll find in this market are some weird walnut things. I don’t have any idea what make these special, but you can find them here.
I have barely scratched the surface of sightseeing in Shanghai, but this has been my favorite stop so far.
Unraveled Teacher 