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Things to see in Shanghai

Tourist information: 

Shanghai Information Centre for International Visitors
No 2, Alley 123, Xingye Road, Xintiandi
Tel: (021) 6384 9366.
Website: www.cnto.info/shanghai/index.asp

Tourist Information and Service Centres also dot the city, although English-language skills are unreliable. The very useful Shanghai Call Centre (tel: (021) 962 288) is a 24-hour, toll-free English-speaking helpline, which will even give your taxi driver directions if you have a mobile phone on you.

Former French Concession

Lined with European colonial-era architecture that survives remarkably unspoilt in the heart of this dynamic city, the former French Concession is a great place to wander aimlessly and typifies Shanghai's international sophistication and style. Particular gems include the grounds of the Ruijin Guest House, 118 Ruijin Er Lu (formerly the Morris Estate), complete with a variety of restaurants, and the art galleries, designer boutiques and cafés of Tianzifang (also known as Taikang Lu). Fuxing Park has shady walks and there are many delightful old residences along Sinan Lu (including ones belonging to the revolutionaries Sun Yatsen and Zhou Enlai).

Admission Fees: No (although some specific sights do carry entrance fees)
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: French Concession, Puxi, Shanghai, China
Hongkou Park

A pleasant park in Shanghai with a boating lake and a quiet atmosphere, Hongkou Park also holds the Tomb of Lu Xun, which gives the park its other name, Lu Xun Park, and the museum of the Lu Xun Memorial Hall. Lu Xun (1881-1936), the novelist and essayist, is celebrated as the creator of modern Chinese literature, with a vernacular fictional style that is worlds away from outworn classical influences. This is a place of pilgrimage for the great writer's devotees - other visitors can simply enjoy the park.

Opening Times: Daily 0600-1800 (Memorial Hall: daily 0900-1700, no entry after 1600).
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: Sichuan Bei Lu, on the corner of Dalian Xi Lu and Baoshan Lu, Shanghai, China
Telephone: (021) 6540 4378 (Memorial Hall).
People's Square

Once the site of the Shanghai Racecourse, People’s Square is the modern city’s nerve centre. Overshadowed by the dramatic form of the Tomorrow Square skyscraper, this open space is peppered with museums, performing arts venues and leafy People’s Park. Beneath it all, the city’s frenetic energy reaches full crescendo amid the tunnels of Shanghai’s busiest subway interchange.

Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: Renmin Dadao, Puxi, Shanghai, China
Shanghai Museum

Rebuilt in the shape of an ancient Chinese bronze ritual vessel in 1994, the excellent Shanghai Museum houses over 120,000 historical and artistic treasures. Its four storeys present a chronological and stylistic tour of China's greatest artistic traditions, with bronzes, sculptures, ceramics, paintings, calligraphy, jades, coins, furniture and ethnic minority folk art, as well as special exhibitions. Particular highlights are the display of ancient bronzes on the entrance level and the Chinese paintings on the floor above. Audiophone guides area available.

Opening Times: Daily 0900-1700.
Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: 201 Renmin Dadao, Renmin Square, Huangpu, Shanghai, China
Telephone: (021) 6372 5300.
Website: http://www.shanghaimuseum.net/en
Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Centre

While urban planning is a dreary, cliché-ridden bore in most cities, Shanghai is not 'most cities'. The physical transformation of the city since the early 1990s has been astonishing. And the work continues. This fascinating museum reveals how and why Shanghai embarked upon such a massive-scale engineering makeover. The prime exhibit is a 500-sq-m (5,382-sq-ft) scale model of Greater Shanghai, featuring all buildings of six floors or higher as it will look in the future.

Opening Times: Daily 0900-1600.
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: 110 Renmin Da Dao (inside People's Square), Shanghai, China
Telephone: (021) 6318 4477.
Shanghai World Financial Centre

The neck-craning, bottle-opener lookalike, 492m-tall Shanghai World Financial Centre was never able to grab the ever-elusive title of world’s tallest building, but it is nonetheless a stunning addition to the Pudong skyline. With the world’s highest observation deck (there are three decks in total, on the 94th, 97th and 100th floors) and one of the world’s highest hotels above ground level, even the dazzling Jinmao Tower (once Shanghai's tallest building) is now in the shade. Take the ear-popping lift up to the top or visit the restaurant/bar 100 Century Avenue to truly put your head in the clouds.

Opening Times: Daily 0800-2300.
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: 100 Century Avenue, Shanghai, China
Telephone: (021) 3867 2008.
Website: http://swfc-shanghai.com/en
The Bund

Shanghai's most popular tourist attraction, and unmistakeable the symbol of the city's colonial past, the Bund features a 1.6km (1-mile) strip of historic riverfront buildings, separated from the Huangpu River by a raised terrace embankment.

Buildings include Customs House (with its famous bell ‘Big Ching'), the former Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank HQ (now Shanghai Pudong Development Bank) and the newly renovated Peace Hotel. Four buildings (Numbers 3, 5, 6 and 18) have been lavishly refurbished and now contain high-end retail, arts and restaurant complexes. This parade of Shanghai's past faces-off with the futuristic skyline of Pudong on the opposite riverbank.

Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: The Bund, also known as Waitan, Shanghai, China
Tianzifang

In many ways a more genuine version of Xintiandi, Tianzifang is also an entertainment complex housed within a warren of traditional longtang (alleyways), but it's one that maintains a sense of charm and vibrancy. Also known as Taikang Lu or Taikang Road, this community of design studios, Wi-Fi cafés and boutiques is the perfect antidote to Shanghai’s oversized malls and intimidating skyscrapers. Crucially, with some families still living in neighbouring buildings, a community mood survives in a way Xintiandi could only dream of.

Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: Taikang Road, Shanghai, China
Xintiandi

This upmarket retail and dining complex consists of largely rebuilt shikumen houses (low-rise tenement buildings built in the early 1900s) which, whilst being undeniably attractive, lack the genuine charm of the Tianzifang alleyways. Well-heeled shoppers and alfresco diners keep the place busy until late, while two museums add a dash of culture to the mix. The north block is where most of the action is. The small Shikumen Open House Museum depicts traditional life in a 10-room Shanghai shikumen. Beyond this, Xintiandi is best for strolling the prettified alleyways and enjoying a summer’s evening over drinks or a meal.

Admission Fees: No
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: Xintiandi, Shanghai, China
Yu Yuan Gardens and Bazaar

Yu Yuan Gardens and Bazaar cover several renovated blocks of Shanghai's otherwise ramshackle Old Town. The gardens were founded by a family of Imperial officials in 1559 and still preserve an exquisite catalogue of tunnels and grottos, a stone boat for staging river parties, quiet pools and a fine Chinese opera stage. Outside this walled tranquillity, the Mid-Lake Pavilion Teahouse and Nine Twists Bridge have become attractions in themselves, with queens and presidents ceremoniously taken to visit. The surrounding bazaars are filled with souvenir and snack stalls, which are touristy but fun. The area is uncomfortably crowded at weekends.

Opening Times: Daily 0830-1700.
Admission Fees: Yes
Disabled Access: Yes
Unesco: No
Address: Old Town, from Fuyou Lu to Fangbang Dong Lu, Shanghai, China
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