Shanghai is the Paris, New York, Venice and Milan of Asia. And rightly so, Shanghai has so many faces and layers that it is an adventure to live here.You can squat next to the road with the locals and eat beef noodles, and shop at the world’s most luxurious brand stores, all in one afternoon. Shanghai has the charm of old imperial China, colonial Europe and modern urban cities. Here you can do anything except hiking, but for that you can catch a bus 3 hours outside of the city and hike to your heart’s delight at Moganshan.
Below we've compiled a list of must see, must do, and what best to avoid in the city that never sleeps.
Must see
1. Tianzefang. Get lost in the maze of alleyways in this gem of the city. Tianzefang transports you back to Paris in the 1920's with the matching atmosphere, fairy lights in the trees and the plethora of street cafes and music.
2. View from the World Financial Tower. Also known as the 'Bottle Opener', not a lot of people know there's a bar (part of the hotel: The Hyatt), where you can go to enjoy the view over the city, for free. It is custom to expect you to buy a drink, but not obligatory.
3. YuYuan Garden. Shanghai as it once was. This maze of shopping and eateries leads you to a square where the zigzag bridge and old garden are. Go at night, when the entire place is lit and the old Shanghai vibe is present. Yu garden also has a Buddhist temple.
4. Jing'an temple and Jade Buddha temple. No trip to China is complete without a visit to a Buddhist temple and these two are the best Shanghai has to offer. Buddhist monks can be sighted at all times of the day.
5. People Square. It's a big park in the heart of the city, but it sure is nice to stroll and look at the different styles of architecture, visit the free museum, and look at the different types of people that are strolling, picnicking, or practicing some sort sport on any patch of grass they can find.
6. Fuxing Park. This small park has charm and loads of it. Mostly European architecture can be found, but locals take up all the space on the big lawn in the center of the park.
7. Qibao watertown. This water town can be reached with the metro only 45 minutes from city center.
8. The Bund. One of Shanghai's major attractions. The long road is covered with boutique bars, nightclubs, and restaurants where celebrities are frequently sighted. Go to the promenade at night and be sandwiched between the jaw-dropping view of Pudong's skyline and the colonial European architecture behind you on the Puxi side. It's usually packed ' with good reason: this is one of Shanghai's pride and joys.
9. Nanjing Xi shopping Road. It's a long stretched out Pedestrian Street riddled with neon lights, shopping, dining. and locals dancing on any free spot they can find. Very exciting!
10. Songjiang Thames Town. Take line 9 all the way to the end and you'll find Shanghai's 'Little Brittan', complete with a cathedral. This entire town was modeled to look like the average small town in Europe: cobbled streets, European architecture and lots of green. Avoid on the weekends when this place is cramped with bridal photo shoots.
Must do
We have compiled a list of 'must do's' while in Shanghai. All of us here Yudefang have all lived in SH for a few a years and experimented with all the different things there are to do. Trust us.
- Walk Nanjing Road at night.
- Take the local ferry from either Puxi to Pudong or the other way around.
- Eat fried dumpling at Yang's Dumplings. This is a very popular chain throughout Shanghai. Try their cheap, yet delicious fried dumplings.
- Get up early and walk through a park ' any park ' and see all the locals doing tai chi or exercise.
- Try the local Tsingtao beer.
- Wander around in the French concession.
- Get a massage. They're cheap and the Chinese know what they're doing.
- Go to the 'wedding market' at People Square on Saturdays.
- Stare at Shanghai's pride and joy: the promenade view.
- Sing karaoke.
- Shop at the fake markets.
- Have a drink at one of the many luxurious bars on the Bund. Mingle with the rich and famous while enjoying killer views.
Beware
Shanghai is crowded, over 23 million people call it home, and even though it's safe, petty crime is still very common.Below is a list of things to keep in mind to avoid any trouble during your stay:
- Theft. Take care of your belongings when on the metro or when people gather around street artists. Remember, most pickpockets work in groups of 3 -4 people, so keep your eyes open. Keep your bag close to your body and keep the zipper side of your bag in front of you.
- Teahouse 'friends'. When walking around touristic areas (especially People Square), foreigners have been victims to the 'Tea House Scam'. Foreigners are approached by Chinese (usually couples) who claim they are also tourists in Shanghai and ask you to take a picture of them. Then they strike up a conversation and ask if you're interested in going to this teahouse they heard of to either share travel stories, get to know each other, or the practice their English. Beware. They are scam artists. After ordering the most expensive items on the menu in Chinese ' so you're unaware - they will claim to have forgotten their wallets. Threatening to call the police or not allowing you to leave, you will end up paying the bill. We have friends that were left with a bill of 3000 US dollars. Please remember, it's highly unlikely that the Chinese randomly approach strangers on the street, so be cautious if this happens. Just keep walking and ignore them.
- Lady bars. Every big city has these. It's usually a small pool bar and the only customers are good-looking girls. You'll be expected to either buy them drinks the whole night or buy their services. Either way it will be very expensive for you.
- Safety when disembarking. Shanghai roads can be treacherous with all the gazillion people speeding to get to where they need to be. What has happened in the past is that locals wait by the side of the road for foreigners that are disembarking from taxis. Once they open the door of the taxi the person on the scooter or bicycle ' rather conveniently ' crashes into the door. This will be followed by a large spectacle of them screaming in pain, clutching all the broken and bruised limbs that were injured in the accident. You will be expected to pay all the medical treatments. Just look over your shoulder before opening the taxi door.
- Your money is fake. Taxi drivers have scammed quite a few foreigners in the past with this one. If you pay your taxi with a 100RMB note, they will check the authenticity and then claim your money is fake. However, while they 'inspect' the note, they will actually switch it with counterfeits and hand you the counterfeit back. Try to pay taxis with small notes.
- Your card is fake. The same principle as above, just this time when you pay the taxi by metro card, they switch it with one that has no money. Mark your metro card with a marker or put a sticker on it.
- Foreigner price. When shopping at markets you will always be asked the foreigner price ' meaning the expensive price. Haggle the price down ' sometimes even by 1/3 of the asking price. Throwing some Mandarin in the conversation will help you to get the 'friend' price. It won't hurt to even continue haggling the 'friend' price down.
Remember
Mostly you must remember that Shanghai is a big city, with a lot of people. It's dynamic ' always moving and changing ' and this makes life here exciting. You have something of everything here and somebody saying they've 'seen all Shanghai has to offer' simply doesn't know what s/he is saying. Shanghai is full of secrets, hidden alleyways, forgotten places but is also part of an ever-changing pulse where on your corner there will be a nail salon one week and the next it'll be a bakery.
Embrace it and you'll have a thrilling time.
We do our best to provide accurate and up to date information. However, if you have noticed any inaccuracies in this article, please let us know in the comments section below.
