Shanghai Travel Guide

Bijng often hogs the limelight as Chinas cultural nexus but, for what is essentially a town of wheelers and dealers, Shnghi is surprisingly creative. Many art galleries are exciting, offering a window onto contemporary Chinese concerns, while nightlife options have exploded. Acrobatics shows are always a favourite and you might grab the chance to catch some Chinese opera. Shnghis music and club scene is vibrant: from unpretentious jazz and indie venues to all-night hip-hop and electro dance parties, the city swings with the best of them.

By Kate Morgan, Writer

From the architectural landmarks lining the Bund and the rickety charm of the Old Town to the leafy backstreets of the former French Concession, Shnghi is a city that just begs for wandering. And eating. I love that you can slurp a bowl of hand-pulled noodles or bite into soupy xiolngbo dumplings for next to nothing, then splurge on cocktails and fusion fare while gazing out from a rooftop bar on the Bund, over the Hungp River to Pdngs space-age night scene. Shnghi's roller-coaster backstory is as decadent as it is debauched, but these days there is a palpable energy and confidence that the city is on the riseagain.

is mainland Chinas most iconic concession-era backdrop, Shnghis standout spectacle and a source of intense local pride. A gorgeous curve of larger-than-life heritage architecture, the buildings here may be dwarfed by the citys modern high-rises, but they carry in their stones an old-fashioned gravity that simply cant be matched. As a monument to the unbridled pursuit of wealth, its no surprise that the Bund was left to languish during the communist years, but Chinas economic renaissance has restored its standing among the citys most stylish panoramas.