The Bund, Pudong and a City That Never Stands Still
Shanghai is the largest city in China, a global port and financial centre on the Huangpu River, known for the Art Deco waterfront of the Bund, the futuristic skyline of Pudong and a culture that mixes Chinese tradition with international style. The city grew rapidly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries as a trading hub, and its architecture still tells that story, with grand banks and hotels facing the water. Across the river, the Oriental Pearl Tower and the 632-metre Shanghai Tower, completed in 2015, give the skyline its modern signature, best seen from a river cruise at dusk.
The old city adds a gentler pace. Yu Garden, a Ming-dynasty classical garden, offers pavilions, ponds and rockeries beside a busy bazaar, while the former French Concession is a district of plane-tree avenues, boutiques, cafes and Art Deco apartments. Xintiandi and Tianzifang blend renovated lane houses with bars and galleries. Visitors often pair Shanghai with China more widely, or with the nearby cities of Shenzhen and Seoul, while Japan is a short flight across the East China Sea.
Xiaolongbao, Water Towns and Day Trips
Shanghai's cuisine is a joy. Xiaolongbao, the soup dumplings steamed in bamboo baskets, are the city's signature dish, along with shengjianbao, pan-fried buns, and hongshao rou, red-braised pork belly. Shanghainese cooking leans towards the sweet and savoury, with fresh river fish, hairy crab in autumn and rice cakes. Teahouses, tasting menus and night markets all find a place, and the city's restaurants range from street stalls to some of the most elegant dining rooms in Asia, giving food lovers countless reasons to extend their stay.
Beyond the city, history and gardens are within easy reach. Zhujiajiao, a canal town with stone bridges, is a day trip from the centre, while Suzhou, known for its Classical Gardens inscribed by UNESCO in 1997, and Hangzhou, with West Lake inscribed in 2011, are reachable by high-speed train in well under two hours. A airline building an Asian route can present Shanghai as a city that offers culture, shopping and food in a single stay, and the Pudong maglev train links the airport with the city in minutes.
Read the full Shanghai guide on Visit Travel Group, or see VisitShanghai.co.uk on Visit Travel Group.