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East Nanjing Road, Shanghai

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Things to do in Shanghai

Kite-flying

The quintessential Chinese pastime, kite-flying is a great way to meet locals, visit some of Shanghai’s parks and discover more about a famous Chinese tradition. The best places to buy and fly kites in Shanghai are the city's parks, the most central being People's Square where people fly kites in front of the Shanghai Museum.

River cruises

Arguably the best way to see Shanghai, river cruises also offer the chance to escape the city's gnarly traffic. The most popular cruise is along the Huangpu River - with the Bund's concession architecture floating past you on one side while Pudong's skyscrapers tower above you on the other - but cruises have also started up along the recently renovated Suzhou Creek.

Theme parks

Particularly handy if your kids are showing signs of sightseeing mutiny, Shanghai also has a couple of huge amusement parks (with a Disney theme park on the way too!) on the outskirts of town. Two worth checking out are Happy Valley (Linyin Avenue, Sheshan, Songjiang County), with rides and roller coasters, and Dino Beach (78 Xinzhen Road), a water park with wave pool and slides.

Tel: (021) 3355 2222 (Happy Valley).
Website: http://sh.happyvalley.cn; www.dinobeach.com.cn

Rock climbing

Increasingly popular in China, rock climbing might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Shanghai, but there are a couple of good-quality climbing wall centres where you can put your body through its paces and meet other like-minded climbers. The Shanghai Stadium Rock Climb Sports Centre (666 Tianyaoqiao Lu) features artificial rock-climbing walls for beginners and intermediates. They also arrange real rock-climbing expeditions to Hangzhou’s South High Hill just a couple of hours’ drive from Shanghai.

Website: www.climbfind.com

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