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Shanghai (?? Shànghai), with a population of more than 18 million (and over 5.8 million migrants), is one of the most populous and most developed cities in the People's Republic of China.
Shanghai was the largest and most prosperous city in the Far East during the 1930s, and remained the most developed city in Communist China. In the 1990s Shanghai again became an attractive spot for tourists worldwide.
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SEE DO EAT
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 SEE
Where in Shanghai to go depends largely on your time period of interest. See Shanghai for the first-timer for a sample itinerary.
- For a feel of the China of yesteryear, check out Yuyuan Gardens, which is loaded with classical Chinese architecture. Although Chinese in design, nearly every building in the area has been built within the last 10 years. Despite the Chinese flavor, it is a bit of a tourist trap.
- For 1920s Shanghai, head for the stately old buildings of the Bund. Or pay a visit to The French Concession (close to Huai Hai Park). The best sections are Huai Hai Middle Road (????) and Heng Shan Road (???).
- For 21st-century Shanghai, cross the river to gawk at the skyscrapers of Pudong. The area surrounding People's Square is also great for skyscrapers, as well as Nanjing West Road (????).
- To find some peace, you should visit the Longhua Temple. It takes a while to get there but it's not as busy as the Jade Buddha Temple and the experience is fulfilling. You can also have a nice vegetarian Buddhist meal in both Temples.
- Visit the Moganshan Road area for an insider's look into the hot contemporary Chinese art scene. Private tours available daily, contact ARTTOURSCHINA.
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DO
Shanghai is a huge city, so all individual listings should be moved to the appropriate district articles. Please help sort them out if you are familiar with this city.
- Walk Along the Fu Xing Rd (???) to see the old buildings and enjoy the neatness of the road
- Take an elevator to the top of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower (????), the tallest TV tower in Asia with the height of 468 meters, and on a good day the sprawling views are spectacular!
- Enter Shanghai Xintiandi (???), Lane 181, Taicang Road. A small pedestrianised area of the city featuring rebuilt traditional shikumen [stone gate] houses. Housing a cinema complex,mall, numerous bars, cafés and art galleries marketed towards foreign visitors and the more affluent locals. Close to where the communist party headquarters were located.
- Enter Shanghai International Convention Center Shanghai International Convention Center was opened for business in August 1999. The '99 Fortune Global Forum was held here. It is located in the southwest of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong. It covers an area of 45,000 square meters with a landscaped square of 30,000 square meters. It consists of several modernized halls including a 42,000-sq.m. Multi-functional hall, a 25,000-sq.m. Exhibition hall, an 11,000-sq.m. Underground exhibition hall and 20 meeting rooms of different sizes. There are 259 guest rooms, including presidential suites, executive suites, standard rooms, Chinese and Western restaurants, a coffee room, a nightclub, a show room, a gym, a swimming pool, a bowling room, a billiard room, a sauna bath and a shopping arcade.http://www.china-tour.cn/cityguides/Shanghai_Attractions2.htm
- See the giant panda and many more exotic animals at the Shanghai Zoo. Located nearby Hongqiao airport, this is a spacious and modern zoo that's for the most part a far cry from the concrete animal prison in Beijing. Open daily from 6:30 to 17:00 (16:30 in winter), tickets are ¥30, or ¥40 including an elephant show. One kid not taller than 1.2m gets in for free together with one paying adult. Take bus 925 from Renmin Square (¥3) for about 45 minutes. Please follow the signs (even if the locals do not) and do not feed or tease the animals.
- Walk along Nanjing Dong Lu (????) in the evening. Start at People Square (????) and enjoy the bright neons and lights of this pedestrian road. For a longer walk, continue your way to the Bund and enjoy the bright lights of Pudong. For Be careful of pick-pockets and and people that come up to you for a chat. Usually, they have something to sell or a service to offer that is not in your best interest.
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EAT
Shanghainese cuisine is one of the lesser-known types of Chinese food, generally characterized as sweet and oily. The name "Shanghai" means "above the sea", so unsurprisingly seafood predominates, the usual style of preparation being steaming. Some Shanghainese dishes to look out for:
- xiao long baozi (????, lit. buns from the little steaming cage, or little dragon buns), probably the most famous Shanghai dish: small steamed dumplings full of tasty (and boiling hot!) broth and a dab of meat. The connoisseur bites a little hole into them first, sips the broth, then dips them in rice vinegar (? cu) to season the meat inside.
- dazha xie (hairy crabs), best eaten in the winter months (Oct-Dec) and paired with Shaoxing wine to balance out your yin and yang
- xiefen shizitou (?????, lit. crab powder lion heads), actually pork meatballs containing crab meat
- zui ji (??, lit. drunken chicken), chicken steamed then marinated in rice wine, usually served cold
- "You Tiao" (??, lit. oil stick) , are a long, deep-fried donut one kind of breakfast that is very popular in Shanghai. typically consumed in the morning with soy milk (dou jiang ??)
For cheap Chinese eats, head for the alley known as Wujiang Road. For fancier food in nicer surroundings, try the upmarket restaurants of Xintiandi.
Vegetarians should not miss Vegetarian Life Style (258, Fengxian Road and 77, Songshan Road) where you can experience nice, affordable and organic vegetarian food resembling real meat or fish dishes in a fancy atmosphere. Link
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