48 hours in: Shanghai

This bustling Chinese metropolis, with its soaring skyline, delicious dim sum and colonial relics, can now be visited on a visa-free stopover

Travel Essentials

Why go now?

China's most cosmopolitan city is best visited in spring, before the heat and humidity of summer sets in. And now, British passport-holders (along with those of 44 other nations) can stop in Shanghai for 72 hours without a visa – as long as they arrive by air at Pudong or Hongqiao airports and are in transit to an onward destination outside China.

Touch down

Flights from the UK arrive at Pudong airport, 30km south-east of the city centre. From 30 March, it will be served daily from Heathrow by British Airways (0844 493 0787) and five times weekly by Virgin Atlantic (0844 209 7310). China Eastern (020-7935 2676) offers four departures a week with onward connections to other cities in China, Japan, Thailand and Australia. I travelled with British Airways Holidays (0844 493 0758),which offers two nights at the PuLi Hotel & Spa (1) with breakfast and flights from Heathrow from £1,119pp.

Shanghai's high-speed Maglev train is the fastest way from the airport (every 15 minutes from 7.02am to 9.42pm; RMB50/£5). It takes seven minutes, but stops only at Longyang Road station (2): ideal if you're staying in Pudong but still a long way from the city centre. LongYang Road is on lines 2 and 7 of the metro. You can buy a ticket for each journey (from RMB30/£0.30) or a metro card, also valid on buses and in taxis.

There are also eight bus routes departing every 15-25 minutes from outside the baggage-claim hall (7am-11pm; from RMB16/£1.60) . Bus 5 stops at People's Square (3).

Get your bearings

Shanghai is split in half by the Huangpu River, with Puxi (meaning west bank) on one side and Pudong (east bank) on the other. Pudong is the city's financial district. Its burgeoning skyline of skyscrapers, dominated by the spike of the Oriental Pearl Television Tower (4), is one of Shanghai's landmarks.

Puxi remains the city's historic centre, home to the Bund – the embankment lined with grand neo-Renaissance buildings that served as the headquarters for big Western businesses in Shanghai's 1930s heyday – and the French Concession, the leafy residential district that is easily the most charming part of the city. In the absence of a useful tourist offices, the best source of information is the official tourism website:meet-in-shanghai

Check in

The PuLi Hotel and Spa (1) at 1 Changde Road (00 86 21 3203 9999;thepuli.com) describes itself as an "urban resort". In a city as frenetic as this one, the long bar and lobby overlooking the park offer an escape at the end of a busy Shanghai day. Doubles start at RMB4,067 (£421), including breakfast.

Hotel Indigo (5) on the Bund at 585 Zhong Shan Dong Er Road (00 86 21 3302 9999)  has fabulous views and a great location. Doubles from RMB1,344 (£139), including breakfast.

Quintet (6) is a B&B at 808 Changle Road in the French Concession (00 86 21 6249 9088. Its six en suite rooms are lovely and the staff will go out of their way to make you comfortable. Doubles from RMB850 (£88), including breakfast.

Day One

Take a hike

Start at Fuxing Park (7), a rare burst of greenery, and walk amid the fountains and pavilions, passing men playing cards and couples ballroom dancing. Exit by the west gate on to Gaolan Road and turn left on to Sinan Road, where you'll find the former residence (now a museum) of the founder of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen (8) at 7 Xiangshan Road (00 86 21 6437 2954; open 9am-5pm; free guided tours every weekday at 10.30am, 2pm and 3pm; RMB20/£2).

Continue down Sinan Road, popping into the delightful antiques emporium-cum-café Antique Garden (9) (00 86 21 5382 1055) on the way, until you get to Taikang Road. Turn right and you'll see the entrance to Tianzifang (10) on your right, a labyrinth of small lanes that house little cafés, boutiques and art galleries (open 10am-11pm).

Lunch on the run

In Tianzifang, Bali Bali (11) at No 18 Lane 274 (00 86 21 5466 0776) is a big local hit. Join the queue at the soup window for a bowl of tofu broth for RMB8 (£0.80) and eat it at one of the wooden tables outside.

Back on the main road is Tsui Wah (12), a Cantonese restaurant at 618 Xu Jia Hui Road (00 86 21 5213 6582;). Order a delicious barbecue pork bun (RMB9/£0.90) the size of a hamburger from the counter.

Window shopping

For a characterful experience away from the malls, head to Xintiandi, a pedestrianised enclave of boutiques in traditional shikumen houses with beautiful stone doorways.

Head to Shanghai Trio (13) at unit 129, 245 Madang Road for colourful bags, scarves and wallets (00 86 21 5358 0188). Four blocks east along Xintiandi Park is Dongtai Road and its renowned antiques market (14). Avoid the Buddha replicas and statues of Mao and seek out old leather suitcases, vintage lamps and curios. But remember to bargain hard.

Take a view

The Park Hyatt hotel (15) at 100 Century Avenue in Pudong (00 86 21 6888 1234  is situated at the top of the Shanghai World Financial Centre.

One of the highest hotels in the world, it boasts spectacular views of the Bund and Puxi beyond. The bar on the 91st floor is fun and thumping; the elegant Living Room next to the hotel lobby is quieter and more refined. Order a fig martini for RMB110 (£11) and then marvel at the city lights beneath you.

Dining with the locals

No trip to Shanghai is complete without an evening on the Bund, the riverside strip of grand buildings that's home to swanky bars and restaurants. Rub shoulders with Shanghai's glitterati at the smart Italian restaurant Mercato (16) at 3 on the Bund (00 86 21 6323 3355), the latest from Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

For a more low-key choice, Lost Heaven (17) at 17 Yanan Dong Lu (00 86 21 6330 0967) is just round the corner and serves Yunnanese food to a mix of Shanghainese and foreigners. The jin bo ghost chicken and spicy Burmese tea leaf salad are the dishes to go for. Expect to pay RMB250 (£26) per person without wine.

Day Two

Sunday morning: a walk in the park

Get up early enough (between 7am and 9am) and you will see locals of all ages practising t'ai chi in any open space available. Jingan Park (18) is no exception, plus here you'll find a group of women doing a sort of Chinese line dance to music while having a good old gossip. The benches around the pond are a particularly nice place to pause.

Go to temple

Across the road from the park is Jingan Temple (19) at 1686 Nanjing Xi Lu (open 7am-5pm; RMB30/£3). The original AD247 building has been pulled down and rebuilt so many times that what's left is little more than a replica, but it is still one of China's most significant temples.

The dishevelled central hall on the ground floor is disappointing – and in a seemingly permanent state of renovation – but the Precious Hall of the Great Hero, supported by 46 columns of Burmese teak, is much more impressive and home to a 15-ton silver Buddha almost 9m high.

Out to brunch

For dim sum, head to Din Tai Fung (20) in the South Block Plaza in Xintiandi, 123 Xingye Road (00 86 21 6385 8378; open 11am-3pm and 5pm-10pm). This Shanghai institution (actually a Taiwanese chain) is renowned for its dumplings. The xiaolongbao, Shanghai's famous pork and crab soup dumplings, are exceptional.

Cultural afternoon

The Shanghai Museum (21) at 201 Renmin Dadao on People's Square (00 86 21 6372 3500t; 9am-5pm daily; free) offers four floors of ancient Chinese artefacts which are revealing and beautiful in equal measure. The audio guide is well worth the RMB40 (£4), though you'll need a passport or driving licence as a deposit.

Across the square is the inauspicious sounding but rewarding Urban Planning Centre (22) at 100 Renmin Dadao (00 86 21 6318 4477;supec.org; open 9am-5pm; closed Mondays; RMB30/£3). Highlights include an exhibition revealing how the Bund has developed over the past century.

Icing on the cake

Head, back and foot massages are daily pastimes in China and massage parlours are both plentiful and cheap. Zen Massage (23) at 210 Wuyuan Road (00 86 21 3368 1227; zenmassage.cn; RMB108/£11 for a 60-minute reflexology foot massage) in the French Concession, has private treatment rooms as well as the usual row of beds where everyone is massaged next to one another. Be warned: a typical Chinese massage errs towards the painful side but the effect is worthwhile.

Top attractions in Shanghai

Oriental Pearl TV Tower  

The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is the world’s Fourth-tallest TV tower after the 610-meter New TV Tower in Guangzhou, the 553-meter CN Tower in Toronto and the 535-meter TV Tower in Moscow. It lies in the tip of Lujiazui in Shanghai’s Pudong District on the eastern shore of the Huangpu River, facing the classic beauty of the Bund. The tower, surrounded by the Yangpu Bridge in the Northeast and the Nanpu Bridge in the Southwest, creates a delightful picture of two dragons playing with pearls.  

Composed of balls and columns, the tower has become one Shanghai’s principal landmarks and is a major magnet for tourists thanks to its unique style of construction.  The designers subtly set the eleven beautiful spheres of varying sizes up from the green grassland to the blue sky. There are three large spheres, including the top sphere, known as the space module. And five smaller spheres with three decorative spheres on the base of the tower.  

The Oriental Pearl TV Tower is 468 meters high with several observation decks. On clear days, Visitors can enjoy panoramic views of The Bund and Pudong New District, Chongming Island and the Yangtze River. There is also a hotel, a revolving restaurant, karaoke rooms and bars on the tower. The tower also provides deluxe conference rooms which have hosted many global leaders and VIPs.   

Hours: 08:00-21:30
Address: No.1, Shiji Avenue, Pudong New Area
Transportation: Metro: Line 2; Buses: No. 81, 82, 85, 870, 871, 872; Tunnel: 3

Shanghai Bund  

The Shanghai Bund is one of the renowned landmarks in Shanghai with its noted architectural complex and is regarded as one of the must-see places in Shanghai.  Located on the west bank of the Huangpu River, it starts at Waibaidu Bridge, which is at the connecting point of the Huangpu River and Suzhou Creek, stretching 1500 meters to East Jinling Road.  

Regarded as the Gallery of Worldwide Architecture, the Bund is replete with various buildings of different architectural styles including Gothic, Baroque, Romanesque, Classical and Renaissance along Zhongshan East Road. Most of the buildings are remnants of colonial Shanghai, constructed pre-1930.The Bund is also considered as China’s Wall Street, as many of the buildings are occupied by major banks and financial institutions. There are also many restaurants, night-clubs and shops.  

Besides the fine architecture, the Bund also has a few other smaller attractions. There is therein Waibaidu Bridge, constructed in 1906 as a replacement for the original wooden toll bridge built by a British businessman; the Monument to the People’s Heroes, (defined by the Communist Party) erected in 1993, with  a small historical gallery at its base; The Bund History Museum (daily 09:00-16:15; free admission), which contains a few artifacts and some interesting photographs of the Bund; Huangpu Park (daily 06:00-18:00 in winter, until 22:00 in summer; free admission), originally the British Public Gardens, built in 1868; The Bund Sightseeing Tunnel (Waitan Guanguang Suidao; daily 08:00-22:30, to 22:00 Nov-Apr; admission CNY40/USD5 round-trip, CNY30/USD4 one-way), connecting  downtown Shanghai to  Pudong New Area and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower.   

Address: Zhongshan East Road, Huangpu District
Transportation: Buses: 20, 22, 37, 42, 55, 65, 71, 123, 503

Yuyuan Garden  

Located to the northeast of Shanghai’s old city, Yuyuan Garden is the only surviving garden built in the Ming Dynasty. It adjoins Fuyou road in the north, Anren Street in the east, and Yuyuan market and the Temple of the City God in the southwest. The garden was first built in 1559 during the Ming Dynasty by a government officer named Pan Yuanduan. Although he constructed the garden for his parents, he enjoyed the area himself since his parents passed away soon after the garden was finished in 1577.

The original garden was severely damaged. The Yuyuan Garden you see today is the restored one which was started in 1956. Now occupying an area of 20,000 square meters, Yuyuan has more than forty deftly designed ancient constructions, like the giant Rockery, the Iron Lions, Exquisite Jade Rock, and the Deyue Pavilion, all of which are divided by dragon walls, wound corridors and beautiful flowers. Among them, Exquisite Jade Rock is the true treasure of the garden. The rock is 3.3 meters high with 72 holes as clear as jade. The unique feature of this rock is that if you burn a joss stick just below the rock, the smoke will magically float out from all the holes. Similarly, if you pour water into the rock from the top, the water will flow out from each hole.

Yuyuan garden is regarded as the most beautiful garden south of the Yangtze River. The pavilions, halls, stones and streams in the garden form a unique picture featuring “one step, one beauty; every step, every beauty.” It vividly shows the quintessence of Southern Chinese landscape design in the Ming and Qing Dynasty. 

Hours: 08:00-17:00
Location: Huangpu District
Transportation: Buses: 11、26、64、71、145、581、715、730、736、801、926、929、932、969、980

Jin Mao Tower  

Located in the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone in Pudong, Jinmao Tower is the second tallest building in China, third tallest in Asia and the fourth tallest in the world.

Completed in 1999, the Jinmao Tower is 420.5 meters (almost 1380 feet) tall and covers an area of 2.3 hectares (5.68 acres). By perfectly combining the elements of traditional Chinese architecture with the gothic architectural style, the architects produced this amazingly modern building in accordance with the themes of the Chinese pagoda and the number eight. It is very interesting to note that that the lowest segment of the building is sixteen stories high and each succeeding segment is 1/8th smaller than its predecessor.

Jin Mao Tower is an intelligently designed building that offers services for business, hotels, recreation, sightseeing and shopping. It has 88 storeys above the ground, three storeys underground and a six-storey annex. That is the offices from the third to the 50th floor and the Grand Hyatt Hotel occupied the building from 53rd to the 87th floor. The 88th floor is the highest and largest sightseeing hall in China, offering visitors unbeatable panoramas of the city.  

Jin Mao Tower is a new tourist attraction; moreover, it is a window through which people from all over the world may get a better understanding of both Shanghai and Pudong New Area.  

Hours: 08:00-22:00
Address: No. 88, Shiji Avenue, Pudong New Area
Transportation: Buses: No.81、82、574、581、870、871、872; Metro: Line 2; Tunnel: 3, 4, 5, 6

 

Gongqing Forest Park  

Situated in the northeast of Shanghai, Gongqing Forest Park is bordered by Huangpu River to the east and Jungong Road to the west. Covering an area of 131 hectares, this grass-and-tree- covered park consists of a north and south garden.

The north garden is known for its botanic scenes, with nearly 200,000 trees and over 200 species of plants. There are hills, lawns, lakes, streams, woods and bamboo groves, forming an area of natural serenity, full of idyllic charm and appeal. It boasts 10 major scenic spots, among them Cedar Grove, Jungle, Mirroring Water, Commemorative Tree-planting Garden, and Horse Riding. Each spot boasts wonderful forest scenery, engendering feelings of natural tranquility and, at the same time, wildness.

The South Garden is a theme park monument to bamboo culture and has created lovely bamboo scenery in the southern aspect of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

It is also equipped with over 30 different types of entertainment facilities for tourists to enjoy adventure and sporting activities in the wild, natural surroundings.  In addition, it includes holiday and conference facilities such as inns and multipurpose halls, offering tourists a natural, peaceful and comfortable environment with clean, fresh air.  

Hours: 06:00-17:00 Transportation: Buses: No.102, 124, 841,147; tourist Bus No.8
Others: You can have a horse riding or barbecue here

Shanghai Wild Animal Park  

Occupying an area of 153 hectares, Shanghai Wild Animal Park is the first national wild animal park in Shanghai, located in Xuanqiao Town of Nanhui District and 35 km from downtown Shanghai. The Park was opened to the public on November 18, 1995. There are more than 200 kinds of representative and rare animals from all areas of the world, such as giraffes, zebras, antelopes as well as the endangered giant panda, the snub-nosed monkey and the Chinese tiger.  

The park consists of two parts, a bus visiting area and a walking area.

In the bus visiting area, you can see a gentle giraffe, elongating his neck and in expectation of your visit. You also can see an elephant, the biggest land animal, greeting the guest gently; what is more, you can find you are among golden antelope, one of the 3 national treasures. Meanwhile, here you can see the fastest animal in the world, the cheetah, which can run 110 km per hour; the African lion, the king of beasts, showing his regal deportment; and a clumsy bear, begging food from the passing buses…

In the walking area, you can enjoy the world’s rarer animals, such as the white lion, white tiger, white kangaroo, giant panda, and Chinese alligator. And in the small animal garden, you can hug the smaller animals, feed lovely monkeys, and have the experience of the zoo keeper to see personally the miraculous world of a working zoo.

In addition, the park also offers animal performances, showing the charm and skill of the animals and their gift in performing. 

Hours: 08:00-17:00
Address: No.178, Nanliu Rd., Nanhui DistrictTransportation: Tourist Bus No.2 at Shanghai Stadium or Railway Station
Admission: CNY100 including all shows and the ride through the dangerous anima enclosure
Others: The bus visiting area will be closed at 4:00pm
Animal Show Time: Welcoming show at the main gate from 08:30 to 09:30; Sea Lion Show in sea lion exhibition at 10:00 and 15:15; Beast Shows in beast sports arena at 11:00