This is my second non-visit review within a few months. I really hope this is not becoming a regular thing. I tried to visit the Chongming Dongtan Bird Habitat. Strictly looking at the map, this is by far the easiest place to visit, as it is very close to Shanghai.

I took a taxi from the center and left Shanghai at lunch time. The DiDi app predicted 1h50min to get there, which is 30min longer than Google Maps (with no access to any traffic information, because technically banned) told me, when I planned this at home. The price was predicted with around 40 EUR per way, which is not too bad for 2 hours driving. There are also no other options than taxi, so it’s that or you know someone who can drive you there.

Traffic was actually no issue within Shanghai, just the millions of traffic lights slow you down a bit. The real problem is following: there is only one connection between the mainland and Chongming island. And worst of all, it’s a toll way. About 5km from probably the toll booth, there was a crazy traffic jam. Not too crazy in terms of length. The drive could pass at least half of the line, before he sneaked in. The problem was, that the line basically did not move at all. After spending over an hour in the traffic jam, the driver made me understand that it would be almost dark until we arrived our destination. With a broken heart I abandoned and we drove back to the city. I am not sure, if I was just there at the wrong time or if this is a normal thing. I will try again, but opt for either early morning or late night to get there.