شانگهای

Understand

Shanghai is one of four cities in China that are administered as municipalities (市), meaning that it is not part of any province, and its government instead reports directly to the central government in Beijing.

There are several ways to rate the size of cities; based on UN numbers, Shanghai is the fifth-largest city in the world after Jakarta, Dhaka, Tokyo and Delhi. By any measure, it is in the top ten for the world and either the largest in China or second to Chongqing.

The municipality covers quite a large area — 6341 km2 or 2,448 square miles — and has a population over 25 million, about the same as Australia. Its GDP is larger than that of many countries, and it has the world's busiest container port. Shanghai is the main hub of the East China region, all of which is densely populated, heavily industrialized, prosperous, well supplied with migrant workers from poorer parts of China, and still growing.

History has shaped Shanghai's cityscape significantly. British-style buildings can still be seen on the Bund, while French-style buildings are still to be found in the former French Concession. What was once a horse racing track on the edge the British area is now People's Park, with a major metro interchange underneath. Other metro stops include the railway station at the edge of what was once the American area, and Lao Xi Men and Xiao Nan Men, Old West Gate and Small South Gate respectively, named for two of the gates of the old Chinese walled city. …

Get in

Shanghai is one of China's main travel hubs and arriving from pretty much anywhere is easy.

Get around

Shanghai has an excellent public transport network with the one of the world's most extensive metro (subway and elevated train) systems as its backbone and buses that go more-or-less everywhere else. Taxis are plentiful, and cheap by international standards, and getting around on foot is often practical. Metro, taxi and walking will be the main means of transport for most travellers. The city is huge (24 million), though, and all transport methods sometimes have problems with congestion.

See

Where to go in Shanghai depends largely on available time and your interests. For the areas with most of the main tourist attractions, see the Downtown and Pudong sections above and the district articles they link to. If you read Chinese well, the Meituan app, Amap, or Baidu search engine may also be helpful.

Many of Shanghai's main tourist sights are in Huangpu District: thumb|Teahouse in the old town The Old City (老城厢; Lao Chengxiang, also known as 南市, Nanshi) is the original Chinese city going back about 1000 years, now a major tourist area. The center of that area is Yuyuan Gardens. The International Settlement and the Bund thumb|Jing'an Temple, Jing'an District Nanjing Road was the main street of the old British Concession; today it is a major upmarket shopping street. Line runs under it for some distance and has four stations along it; listed east-west they are Nanjing Road East, People's Square, Nanjing Road West and Jing'an Temple. The road extends across two districts. Nanjing Road East in Huangpu District extends from the Bund to People's Park, and most of it is a very busy pedestrians-only strip. Nanjing Road West is the continuation into Jing'an District. Part of it runs along the north side of People's Park. A landmark beyond the park is Jing'an Temple, a beautiful ancient building with a metro station named after it.

If your taste runs more to very modern architecture, remarkably tall buildings and enormous shopping malls, the prime districts for skyscrapers a…

Do

The municipal government runs the Shanghai Cultural Information website which has good listings of current events (special exhibits at museums and galleries; shows such as acrobatics at the circus, touring musicians, and plays; sporting events).

Buy

Much of the shopping in Shanghai is either downtown or (mostly for big malls) across the river in Pudong. Many clothing shops are downtown, but others are scattered citywide; see #Clothing for details. There are also many shopping opportunities in the big malls of Pudong, and all the suburban areas have malls as well. Two of the largest malls on the Puxi side of the river are: Cloud Nine shopping center in Changning district has nine floors above ground (hence the name) and two below. Wanda Plaza in Yangpu is the favorite entertainment spot for university students and locals on the north side.

With those exceptions, most of the shopping is downtown thumb|Nanjing Road East on a fairly busy day Nanjing Road in Huangpu is Shanghai's best-known shopping street, and probably China's. Nanjing Road starts on the riverside at The Bund and goes about west from there to Jing'an Temple. It continues beyond the temple, gradually changing from intensively commercial to more office and residential use. The park divides Nanjing Road into two parts: Nanjing Road East (Nanjing dong lu) in Huangpu District, mostly pedestrians-only and a major shopping area since the mid-19th century. It is a 1-km long pedestrian boulevard running inland from the Bund, lined with busy shops. The wide boulevard is often packed with people on weekends and holidays. The shops are often targeted to domestic tourists, so the prices are surprisingly reasonable. The Nanjing Road East station (lines and ) is near th…

Eat

Many food options in Shanghai are much as anywhere else in China. A lot of the street food is cheap and interesting; roasted sweet potatoes are a common and low-risk item. Hole-in-the-wall restaurants, especially West-of-China Muslim noodle places or spicy Sichuan places, often have good cheap food as well. The local bakeries are generally reasonably priced and the coffee houses have Western-style baked goods for not much more.

For excellent Sichuan food in classier surroundings, Spicy Joint on Huaihai Road is extremely popular; do not go at a peak time unless you are willing to wait for a table.

While there are some good Indian and Thai places, there are also many Japanese curry places in Shanghai. A popular chain is Coco Ichibanya with about a dozen locations from Pudong to Suzhou, mostly downtown. One is in the mall attached to Jing'an Temple metro station, another in Metro City mall at Xujiahui, and another on Huaihai Road.

The Wagas chain has restaurants offering coffee and a mostly western menu—mainly light choices like sandwiches, soups and salads—at mid-range prices and "Baker & Spice" places which combine a café and bakery. They offer free WiFi and are a popular spot for locals and digital nomads working on laptops as they sip coffee. Downtown Shanghai has at least one Wagas location in each of the eight #Districts covered in this article, including at least two in Jing'an. The ground-level strip of restaurants behind Grand Gateway Mall at Xjiahui has a Wagas with…

Drink

Most of the places mentioned under #Eat above also serve booze, and the rest have coffee and tea.

The traditional alcoholic drink of choice for the Shanghainese is Shaoxing rice wine, and this can still be found in most restaurants.

Prices of drinks in cafés and bars vary like they would in any major metropolis. They can be cheap or budget-busters, with a basic coffee or beer costing ¥10-40. In a high-end hotel bar, one basic beer may cost as much as ¥80. Western-style cafés and bars have also become commonplace. There are internationally-known chains, like Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, as well as popular domestic and local java joints to satisfy those looking to relax. Hong Kong-style tea cafés are also common, as are Asian "pearl milk tea" or "bubble tea" bars. Some traditional tea houses can still be found, especially in the Old City.

Tsingtao, Snow and Pearl River beer are widely available. Major foreign brands are produced domestically and smaller brands are typically imported. There is also a local brew known as REEB (beer spelled backwards). A large bottle (640 ml) of any of these costs anywhere from ¥2-6.

Shanghai is filled with amazing nightlife, complete with both affordable bars and nightclubs that pulsate with urban energy. There are plenty of bars in all areas, with the biggest concentration in the French Concession. Xintiandi in particular has many upmarket bars and nightclubs, many with live music. Gay bars are concentrated in the French Concession …

Sleep

Accommodation in Shanghai can be rivaled by few cities in China, in terms of both variety and services. There are establishments for all types of travelers, from backpacker options for the weary to top-of-the-line hotels and serviced apartments for those wishing to be spoiled. Puxi has both new and old hotels with classy architectural styles and charm, some of them described in stories when Shanghai may have been the only place in China known to much of the rest of the world, while modern amenities commonly found in Pudong rival many hotels in Asia and beyond.

For clean, safe, budget accommodation, three reliable options are the Jin Jiang Star (website in Chinese), Motel 168 (website in Chinese) and Motel 268 chains, all of which have locations in most districts of Shanghai.

For long-term accommodation, be prepared to splurge as Shanghai's real estate prices are among the highest in the world, rivaling even those of major Western cities.

If your budget allows it, all the downtown districts except the Old City have high-end hotels, and Pudong across the river has many others. Prices are near international levels, anywhere from around ¥700 a night to several times that. Most of the big international chains have at least one location in Shanghai, and many have hotels in both Pudong and central Puxi; Hilton has those plus a third one at Hongqiao Airport. Many of these hotels are in very convenient locations; Les Suites and Hyatt are on the Bund, Le Meridien is just off Nanjing…

Stay safe

Shanghai, despite its size, is a very safe city, and violent crime is incredibly rare; it is generally not a problem for women to roam the streets alone at night. Petty crimes like pick-pocketing and bike theft can sometimes occur, though they are not as common as they used to be with the ubiquity of CCTVs these days. Sexual harassment occasionally occurs on crowded public transport. Pay extra caution before the Chinese New Year (in Jan or Feb depending on lunar calendar), as thieves may be more active in looking for new-year money.

Although pickpocketing is not as rampant as in major European cities, it pays to be prudent, especially in crowded public transport and the main shopping streets. Pickpockets often work in groups, sometimes including women carrying babies.

Beware of this taxi scam: first you agree on price (e.g., ¥300 for a taxi shared with someone else from Hongqiao Airport to Suzhou) then after a short taxi ride they ask to get out and a group of people say that you need to pay agreed money right now. Then you are transferred to a shared bus where other people cheated like yourself wait until the bus departs, then the bus finally gets to its destination. Most taxis belong to a taxi company, with the company telephone number printed in the taxi that you can call in English. There is also a common Shanghai help-line number that can help you, call 962288, with English service.

The notorious tea house scam, long practiced in Beijing, is unfortunately spreading to…