Shanghai

The Bund is Shanghai's most iconic promenade — a riverside walkway fronted by 52 buildings in styles ranging from neoclassical to Art Deco, built between the 1860s and 1930s when Shanghai was the financial hub of East Asia. The former HSBC Building (now the Pudong Development Bank), the Customs House with its clock tower, and the Peace Hotel (where Noel Coward wrote Private Lives) anchor the architectural ensemble. At night, both sides of the river illuminate: the Bund's stone facades glow gold while Pudong's towers pulse with LED displays. Cross the river via the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel (a kitsch but entertaining psychedelic ride) or the more practical ferry for a few yuan. On the Pudong side, the Shanghai Tower's observation deck on the 118th floor (at 546 metres, the world's highest enclosed observation deck) delivers a panorama over the entire Yangtze Delta on clear days. The Oriental Pearl Tower's glass-floored skywalk and the Shanghai World Financial Center's "bottle opener" top-floor bridge offer lower but equally dramatic perspectives.

The former French Concession (Faguo Zujie) is Shanghai's most charming neighbourhood for walking. Wukang Road, a short curving street lined with London plane trees and 1930s apartment blocks, has become a social media landmark — the wedge-shaped Normandie Apartments building at its southern tip is Shanghai's most photographed residential facade. The surrounding lanes (Anfu Road, Yongkang Road, Changle Road) concentrate independent coffee roasters, cocktail bars, art bookshops, and restaurants ranging from Michelin-starred French dining to hole-in-the-wall Sichuan noodle shops. The shikumen — Shanghai's distinctive lane houses combining Chinese courtyard layout with European stone-gate (shi-ku-men) entrances — survive in pockets like Tianzifang (a warren of alleys converted to galleries and shops) and Xintiandi (a more polished redevelopment with restaurants and bars in restored shikumen shells). Sun Yat-sen's Former Residence and Zhou Enlai's Former Residence are both in this quarter, preserved as museums. The neighbourhood rewards aimless wandering — turn into any side lane and the texture of daily Shanghai life reveals itself.

Yu Garden (Yuyuan), built between 1559 and 1577 by a Ming-dynasty official for his elderly father, compresses rockeries, koi ponds, dragon-crested walls, and pavilions into two hectares of classical Chinese garden art. The Exquisite Jade Rock (a five-tonne porous boulder from Lake Tai) is the garden's centrepiece. The surrounding Yuyuan Bazaar — a tourist-oriented complex of traditional-style buildings — is crowded but contains Nanxiang Mantou Dian, the legendary steamer restaurant credited with inventing xiaolongbao. The old town's remaining lanes (Fangbang Road, the old Chenghuangmiao temple market) give a glimpse of old Shanghai, though the area is being progressively redeveloped. The City God Temple (Chenghuang Miao) remains an active Taoist temple amid the commerce. Early morning visits avoid the worst crowds and catch the gardens in their most atmospheric light.

Shanghai's food identity centres on delicate, slightly sweet flavours distinct from the spice of Sichuan or the richness of Cantonese cooking. Xiaolongbao — thin-skinned soup dumplings filled with pork and a hot, savoury broth, eaten by biting a small hole, sipping the soup, then dipping in black vinegar with shredded ginger — is the city's most famous contribution to Chinese cuisine. Din Tai Fung and Jia Jia Tang Bao in Huanghe Road are among the most respected kitchens. Shengjianbao, the pan-fried bun cousin with a crispy bottom and sesame-scallion crust, is the other essential. Hongshao rou (red-braised pork belly, sweet and unctuous), congshao nianyu (scallion oil noodles), and drunken chicken are Shanghainese home-cooking staples found in neighbourhood restaurants. From October through December, hairy crab (da zha xie) from nearby Yangcheng Lake dominates menus and dinner conversations — the orange roe is considered a seasonal delicacy. Street food extends to fried spring rolls, cong you bing (scallion pancakes), and shaomai in bamboo steamers. The Jing'an and former French Concession neighbourhoods concentrate the best of both traditional Shanghainese and international dining.

Shanghai has built one of Asia's most compelling contemporary art ecosystems. The West Bund cultural corridor along the Huangpu River south of Xuhui concentrates major institutions within walking distance: the Long Museum (one of the world's largest private art museums), the Yuz Museum (contemporary art in a converted aircraft hangar), the Tank Shanghai (five repurposed aviation fuel tanks), and the Centre Pompidou × West Bund Museum Project (the Paris institution's first outpost in Asia). M50 on Moganshan Road, a cluster of galleries in converted textile mills, remains the city's original art district — more bohemian and studio-oriented than the polished West Bund. The Power Station of Art, in a converted power plant on the Huangpu, hosts the Shanghai Biennale. The Shanghai Museum on People's Square holds one of China's finest collections of bronzes, ceramics, calligraphy, and painting — free admission. The new Shanghai Museum East in Pudong expands the collection across a lakeside campus.

Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG), the main international gateway, connects to the city centre via the Maglev train (7 minutes to Longyang Road station at 431 km/h, then transfer to metro) or metro line 2 (roughly 70 minutes to People's Square). Shanghai Hongqiao Airport (SHA) handles most domestic flights and high-speed rail from the adjacent Hongqiao Railway Station — trains to Beijing (4.5 hours), Hangzhou (1 hour), Suzhou (30 minutes), and Nanjing (1.5 hours) depart frequently. The metro system (20 lines, over 800 kilometres) is the world's longest and covers the city comprehensively. The former French Concession is best explored on foot or by bicycle (shared bikes via Meituan or Hello are everywhere). Shanghai's climate is subtropical: summers (June-September) are hot and humid with temperatures regularly exceeding 35°C; winters (December-February) are damp and chilly. Spring (March-May) and autumn (October-November) are ideal visiting months. Golden Week (October 1-7) packs all tourist areas.