Shanghai

Shanghai is the largest city in China and one of the leading financial, commercial and cultural centres of Asia, set in the delta of the Yangtze on the banks of the Huangpu. Here a colonial past and the headlong urbanisation of the 21st century weave into a single picture: from one bank the stone facades of European banks look out, from the other the gleaming glass towers that have become the symbol of the new Chinese economy.

History and character of the city

From a modest fishing and trading settlement Shanghai turned into a metropolis after the Opium Wars: in 1842 it was opened to foreign trade, and the International Settlement and the French Concession came into being on its territory. In the 1920s and 1930s the city was nicknamed the "Paris of the East" — merchants, adventurers and émigrés flowed in, among them a large Russian diaspora. A new phase of development began in the 1990s with the transformation of marshy Pudong into a business cluster. Today more than 24 million people live in the metropolitan area, and the city remains a showcase of Chinese modernisation.

The Bund and Pudong

The Bund (Waitan) is Shanghai's calling card. Along the water stand banks, hotels and trading houses of the early 20th century: neoclassicism, neo-baroque, Gothic motifs. From here a contrasting panorama opens onto the opposite bank, where the skyscrapers of Pudong rise. The ensemble is formed by the Shanghai Tower, the Oriental Pearl television tower with its pink spheres, and the Jin Mao Tower (421 m) — a high-rise complex styled after a pagoda, with a hotel and an observation deck. Beside them stands the Shanghai World Financial Center with its distinctive "opening" near the top.

The old city and classical heritage

The old Chinese city (Nanshi) preserves the atmosphere of the pre-Shanghai era: narrow lanes, the City God Temple and residential quarters around Yuyuan Garden. The garden itself, laid out in the Ming era, is a model of southern Chinese garden art, with ponds, rockeries, pavilions and zigzag bridges. Nearby survives the Jade Buddha Temple (Yufo), with two Buddha figures carved from single blocks of jade. These places give a sense of the traditional culture that is easy to lose sight of among the skyscrapers.

Districts to walk

• The French Concession — shaded streets under plane trees, low-rise villas, independent cafes and bookshops. House-museums connected with the history of the Chinese revolution are also here.
• Tianzifang and Xintiandi — quarters grown out of traditional shikumen building (stone gateways with brick-and-stone facades). The first is more bohemian and maze-like, the second restored and formal.
• Nanjing Road — a busy pedestrian shopping artery linking People's Square with the Bund.

Food

The local cooking (benbang) leans towards sweet-and-salty flavours and braising in soy sauce. Besides the famous xiaolongbao soup dumplings and shengjian fried buns, it is worth trying red braised pork, "drunken" crab, river fish and, in autumn, seasonal hairy crab. Street food is concentrated around the markets of the old city, and haute cuisine in the restaurants of Pudong and on the Bund.

A four-day route

Four days let the city open up without rushing. It makes sense to give the first day to the Bund, Nanjing Road and an evening walk along the waterfront. The second to Pudong, with its observation decks and museums. Set the third aside for the old city, Yuyuan Garden and the Shanghai Museum on People's Square. The fourth for an unhurried look at the French Concession, the art quarters and, if you like, a trip to one of the "water towns" such as Zhujiajiao on the outskirts.

Practicalities

The city's international gateways are Pudong and Hongqiao airports; the latter is convenient for domestic flights and high-speed trains. The metro is one of the largest in the world and the most convenient way to get around. Payment is made almost everywhere through mobile services, so a visitor should link a card to WeChat Pay or Alipay in advance. A VPN, installed before arrival, is needed for access to the usual foreign services. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable times to come: summer is muggy and wet, winter damp and raw.