Insight Guides: Experience Shanghai

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Time is turning full circle in Shanghai. Back in the roaring 1920s and 30s, the Pearl of the Orient was one of the globes most fashionable and talked-about cities. An economic boom had fuelled constructive creativity and a thriving nightlife scene fast became world famous. Fast-forward 90 years, and much the same is happening again.

Chinas most progressive, western-facing city has benefitted big time from globalisation. Pudong, on the east bank, little more than wasteland until the early 1990s, now looks like the set of a sci-fi film. Neon-glowing elevated highways seem to fly through the air, and the rocket-like Oriental Pearl Tower pierces the sky against the canyon of glittering skyscrapers framing Lujiazui district in Pudong. But west of the river, glorious old Shanghai can still be found in the stunning neoclassical and Art Deco buildings along the Bund, and in the architecture left behind in the old Concessions and the Chinese longtang (lane) neighbourhoods.

In this spirited city of 23 million people, tea stores, dim sum kiosks and Buddhist temples sit alongside contemporary art galleries, franchised coffee shops and BMW showrooms. The Shanghainese are savvy shoppers, and the city centre is saturated with glitzy malls and brand boutiques. At the same time, you can also find traditional offerings, such as bespoke tailoring, hand-painted porcelain, premium pearls and herbal remedies. After working or shopping, city dwellers like to kick back with a foot or body massage in one of the numerous spas and massage parlours citywide.

Shanghais nightlife and dining scene can now challenge Hong Kong and Singapore. The best ways to enjoy the citys after-dark splendour include strolling along the riverside Bund or sipping a cocktail in one of several sky-high cocktail lounges.

Street signs are in English and Chinese, and English is increasingly understood in the main neighbourhoods (though not by taxi drivers!). The extensive and continually expanding metro system is modern, efficient and cheap, and Shanghai is a very safe city day and night so go explore.

In the Mood for

street life

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Shanghai life is lived on the streets. Vibrant French Concession boulevards like Huaihai Road (for more information, ).

1930s glamour

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Nowhere evokes the glamour of 1930s Shanghai more than the iconic Peace Hotel (for more information, ).

fine dining

Mr & Mrs Bund

Whereas fine dining was once restricted to deluxe hotels, high-quality Chinese and international cuisines are now offered across a city with an avowed ambition to be recognised globally as a dining destination. Nowhere sates modern Shanghais penchant for see-and-be-seen dining and riverside views better than M on the Bund the expansive terrace is a superb destination for Bund brunching. Across the road, celebrity chef Jean Georges Vongerichten has three supremely popular restaurants at Three on the Bund , while inventive European cuisine is on the menu at French chef Paul Pairets Mr & Mrs Bund () is a stylish Zen-inspired restaurant serving creative Chinese vegetarian prix fixe menus.

retail therapy

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Retail revenues are emerging as a key driver of the local economy, and shopping is an acknowledged obsession with the newly affluent classes. Todays consumers are increasingly spoilt for choice. Premium purchasing is offered in the glossy malls that stretch along Huaihai Road and Nanjing Road West (for more information, ) in Pudong is a smart destination for label-led shoppers.