Before the trip, we tried to research if there is an official Pokémon Center in Shanghai and all the results showed there was none. However, we found the below Pokémon specialty store located on the first floor of Hongyi Plaza (宏伊国际广场). Though not an official Pokémon Center, it's really not much difference from those where we visited in the past.
As we had been to Shanghai quite a few times and had visited most of the places of interest, we intended to make these 3 days really free and easy. In fact, this trip was mainly tailored for Jerlene, who is crazy about Japanese Anime and mobile games figurines and merchandise. Bailian ZX Creative Center (百联ZX创趣场), which is housed inside the Hualian Commercial Building right along the Nanjing East Road Pedestrian Street, is a shopping heaven for her.
Bailian ZX Creative Center is China’s first commercial shopping complex completely dedicated to ACGN (Anime, Comic, Game, and Novel) culture. The entire complex operates like a massive, 7-story vertical "mini Akihabara" where we could find anime merchandise, gaming, trading cards, and pop culture.
Aside from the massive Animate Flagship Store on Level 5, there are other major official brand shops throughout the complex including Good Smile Company, mega Gundam displays, and various major pop-up collaboration spaces. After almost 2 hours of shopping, Jerlene had shortlisted several items but could not make up her mind on which to buy. Since we will still be in Shanghai the next few days, she had sometimes to consider before making a decision.
We then walked along Nanjing East Pedestrian Street towards the Bund.
As it was a Friday night, the entire street was packed with people.
Just a short 2 minutes' walk from Yanchang Road Metro Station, we arrived at Homeinn Plus Hotel. It is a mid-scale business and leisure hotel located in the Jing'an District of Shanghai.
The room is of a decent size (26㎡). It had a double bed and a single bed, just nice for us.
We woke up early this morning to catch a flight to Shanghai for a week-long holiday. Similar to our trip to Beijing last year, Javier did not come along with us because he was too busy with his schoolwork and other activities.
The flight took off from Changi Airport T3 at about 7:45am. Within minutes, we were above the cloud.
Soon, we were served with the onboard meals, and I chose the Chinese "Dim Sum" menu.
It's always amazing to look down from a plane and see a sea of clouds below.
We touched down at Shanghai Pudong Airport slightly after 1 pm.
During the flight, Jerlene was having a bit of airsick and did not take her meal. Before we disembarked the plane, the crew gave her a comfort plushie to make her feel better. Really thanks to the crew.
From the airport, we bought a 3-days travel pass each and took the metro to Yanchang Road where our hotel was located. Below is our itinerary for this trip.
Day 3: miHoYo (米哈游) Exhibition Hall, Neo World (元界), The Ring Live (鑫耀·光环Live), Nanjing East Street (南京东路) and Lujiazui (陆家嘴), Longemont (龙之梦购物公园)
Day 4: Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station (上海虹桥火车站), Check-in to Wuzhen Water Fair Inn (乌镇水市客舍), Wuzhen Ancient Town (乌镇古镇), Wuzhen by night (乌镇夜景)
Day 5: Unique Breakfast Experience in Wuzhen, Morning Stroll in Wuzhen, Arrived at Nanjing (南京) and Check-in to Qingmu International Hotel (清沐国际酒店), Confucius Temple (Fuzimiao - 夫子庙), Nanjing Aqua City (南京鹏欣·水游城)
Day 6: Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum (明孝陵), Great Golden Gate (大金门) and Meiling Palace (美龄宫), Presidential Palace (南京总统府), Nanjing City Wall - Jiefangmen (南京城墙-解放门)
Day 7: Niushoushan (牛首山), Foding Palace (佛顶宫), Thousand Buddhas Hall (千佛殿), Foding Tower (佛顶塔), Nanjing Ming Palace Ruins Park (明故宫遗址公园)
While having our regular pickleball session at the court near our place, a group of 6 approached us to ask if they could join in. They were from a pickleball interest group and had been playing regularly for past one year. After the session, we were invited to join their interest group and will probably join them for their regular sessions at Hougang Sports Complex.
The Singapore Informatics League (SIL) 2026 is a 4-hour rapid-fire, team-based computer science competition for pre-university students in Singapore. It is supported by the Centre for Nurturing Computing Excellence (CeNCE) at the National University of Singapore (NUS) School of Computing and sponsored by Jane Street.
About a month ago, Javier and his teammates participated in the preliminary online contest and was selected for the final in-person contest at NUS today. There were 32 teams selected for the final out of a total of 177 teams. Unexpectedly, they had beaten some of the top teams in the final contest and managed to get 4th overall. Congratulations!!!
Yet another day trip to JB but with a different group. We met up with one of our ex-colleagues who stayed in JB, and had brunch at Roast & Coffee near Sutera Mall.
After brunch, while the two ladies went for shopping at Sutera Mall, the two gentlemen and us went to Paradigm Mall to catch the Movie, "Spider-Man: Brand New Day".
After the movie, we drove over to Sutera Mall to pick up the two ladies and headed to KSL City Mall for more shopping. We had an early dinner at Meng Meng Roasted Duck (阿明帝皇鸭).
The drive back to SG was pretty smooth. Another great JB outing!
Recently, Javier had asked if he could get a dentist to check on his mandibular prognathism, a medical term for a protruding lower jawbone. As such, we booked an appointment at Student Dental Centre today to consult a dentist. After checking, the dentist provided some advice and suggested a referral to an Orthodontist for further assessment. Since we were there and it has been quite a while since Javier last seen a dentist, he went on to get the dentist to perform some teeth and gum cleaning. While doing so, the dentist found a few minor decays and suggested us to make appointment in coming months to clear them.
The Sentinel Programme and BrainHack are premier digital talent development initiatives launched by Singapore’s defense establishment, including the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS), and the Defence Science and Technology Agency (DSTA). Together, they form a comprehensive ecosystem to inspire, train, and mentor the next generation of cybersecurity and defense technology professionals. Javier had signed up for these programme on his own and had been attending Sentinel classes on Saturdays at Raffles Institution (RI).
Recently, he also participated in Brainhack, an immersive, annual digital technology learning festival open to students across Singapore, designed to showcase how cutting-edge technologies are applied to national defense. While cybersecurity is a massive pillar, BrainHack also deeply explores Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, cloud computing, and space technology.
Glad that he enjoyed participating in these programme and learning all the latest technologies.
