Shanghai Nightlife and Drinking Guide: Best Bars & Clubs

Being a busy commercial center during day time, Shanghai transforms into a sparkling seductress after dark. Welcome to Shanghai, Pearl of Orient and Paris of the East .

Shanghai has the reputation as the city that never sleeps, as mainland China’s nightlife capital, Shanghai transforms after dark into a sparkling seductress. This is a party town from way back. Yesterday’s opium joints and gambling dens are today’s private members clubs and Giorgio Armani’s. Shanghai has returned to its rightful place as one of the world’s great sin cities – and one gets the feeling that the party has only just begun. Barflies now have a choice of everything from glamorous Art Deco lounges to the seediest watering hole; live rock and jazz can be heard into the wee hours and the dance club scene now employs DJs , foreign and local, to keeping the younger set raving. Welcome to Shanghai by night.

• The Bund and the beautiful

After a half-century of neglect, Shanghai’s iconic Bund waterfront is being dug up and transformed into a luxurious after hours destination. Shanghai nightlife mavens can trawl posh restaurants, cocktail lounges, jazz clubs, boutique hotels, day spas and the fashion flagships dotted between old banking headquarters along the main stretch of Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu, as well as in the atmospheric backstreets. More dilapidated heritage gems are set to be gussied up by top global brands in the years to come. The thoroughfare itself is undergoing renovation for the 2010 World Expo that will see traffic diverted underground and new landscaping along the famed riverbank.

It’s a far cry from a decade ago when restaurateur Michelle Garnaut opened Shanghai’s first independent international restaurant in the old Nissin Shipping Building on the waterfront. Back then, the Bund was a long shot – but M on the Bund proved to be a very popular pioneer. This eminently stylish institution is still one of the Bund’s best, serving contemporary European fare such as its signature slow-baked, salt-encased leg of lamb, accompanied by an excellent seasonal wine list. Downstairs, the pink-tinged Glamour Bar has a sophisticated 1930s vibe and excellent straight-up martinis. It also plays host to a diverse collection of artists, panel discussions, musical recitals and an annual writers’ festival (tel: [86-21] 6350-9988, 7/F, 20 Guangdong Lu).

Five years after M, Three on the Bund opened right across the alley (tel: 6323-3355, www.threeonthebund.com, 3 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu). The Michael Graves-designed beauty is home to some of the city’s top tables, an Armani flagship boutique and the first Evian spa outside France. This building is where the local cognoscenti start or, perhaps end, their Shanghai nightlife carouse, casually tousled yet immaculately chic. On the top floor, New Heights (tel: 6321-0909) serves Western food with a nod to Southeast Asia. It’s the most casual and affordable option and boasts the best view in the house from the wraparound terrace.

On the fourth floor, Jean Georges (tel: 6321-7733) is the three-star Michelin chef’s only signature restaurant outside New York. Inspired by old Shanghai grandeur, the moody lounge is filled with pony-hair club chairs and eel-skin benches leading through to a luxurious burnished copper and cobalt blue dining room. If you’re not dining on an expense account, try the Nougatine experience nightly from 6-11pm. Seated at white-clothed tables in the more relaxed bar area, you can sample a selection of JG favourites starting at just Rmb58. We recommend the black truffle and fontina pizza. This is Shanghai dining at its best.

The Gothic castle at 6 Bund (6 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu) is also home to several upscale restaurants and a couple of fun lounges. Our pick is Japanese Sun with Aqua on the second floor (tel: 6339-2779), which is remarkably good value for the Bund. Its adjoining Aquarium Bar has a cool underwater vibe, curtained beds – and sharks. The bijou Dolce & Gabbana Martini Bar (tel: 6323-2277) between the men’s and women’s D&G boutiques on the ground floor is a fashionable spot for a restorative espresso or ‘tini between shopping.

Bund 18 (tel: 6323-7066, www.bund18.com, 18 Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu), in the powder-grey neoclassical former Macquarie Bank Tower, features Hong Kong chef To Chi Hoi’s trendy Cantonese cuisine at Tai Wan Lou (tel: 6339-1188) on the fifth floor.One floor up, Mr and Mrs Bund (tel: 6323-9898) is a show-stopping Shanghai restaurant. Taking a break from the molecular cuisine that made his name at Shangri-La’s Jade on 36, French chefs Paul Pairet returns to his roots offering modern French bistro fare – some rustic, some glammed-up – with over 200 dishes meant for sharing. It is open for dinner nightly and continues as a supperclub until 4am five nights a week. Be sure to book a window seat and save room for the excellent desserts.

Bund 18’s top-floor Bar Rouge (tel: 6339-1199) is party – and promiscuity – central. Designed by Imaad Rahmouni, a protege of Starck, the bar features 33 hand-blown Venetian chandeliers, Sino sirens splashed across the walls and a scenic terrace. Between show-off bottle juggling and setting fire to the bar, the bartenders may deign to make you one of their signature ginger melon martinis. Downstairs, Lounge 18 (tel: 6323-8399) attracts a similar crowd.

M1NT Club’s venues in Hong Kong, Cannes and Shanghai are owned by shareholding members and come with an exclusive members-only door policy. The macho Shanghai club sprawls across a 2,000sqm, 24th-floor penthouse, offering 360-degree views from behind the Bund. It also features a 17-metre shark tank, raunchy pop art murals and shareholders-only hot tubs on the rooftop terrace. A good concierge should be able to get you in. (tel: 6391-3191, 24/F, 318 Fuzhou Lu) an

LAN Club (tel: 6323-8029, 102 Guangdong Lu), which occupies an entire four-storey neoclassical mansion near the Westin hotel, is another highly ambitious mega-venue offering Chinese, French and seafood restaurants, multiple lounges and a small nightclub. Down the road, at the glorious intersection of Fuzhou and Jiangxi Lu, Hamilton House (tel: 6321-0586, 137 Fuzhou Lu) is a trendy French brasserie and cocktail lounge in a soaring 1934 Art Deco mansion. Their marmalade-laced Breakfast Martini is a good choice – at any time of the day.

Just past the Bund, in the historic Hongkou district formerly home to the Japanese concession and Jewish Ghetto, Gosney & Kallman’s Chinatown (tel: 6258-2078, 471 Zhapu Lu) brilliantly references Shanghai’s 1930s “Sin City” days. The burlesque club transforms a heritage Shinto shrine with theatre boxes, hard-hitting cocktails and high-kicking show girls. Open Wednesdays to Saturdays, it’s a bit off the beaten track but there is no cover charge and shows feature New York crooner Frank Brae, Shanghai acrobats and a six-strong chorus line. Good fun.

• Highs and lows in Pudong

Pudong has perked up considerably and some of the Shanghai nightlife throb has moved here. It is steadily becoming a viable option for a good night out. Park Hyatt’s 100 Century Avenue (tel: 6888-1234, 91-93F, Shanghai World Financial Centre, 100 Century Ave, Pudong) is the highest restaurant and bar on the planet, stretching from the 91^st to 93^rd floors of the 101-storey Shanghai World Financial Centre. Despite its high profile, it’s not the least bit highfaluting. Filling the 91^st floor is a very cool and convivial tavern with Western, Chinese and Japanese show kitchens and a 750-label cellar. The à la carte menu here allows you to mix-and-match different cuisines, and highlights top quality produce including seven types of US oysters, Australian Wagyu beef and fresh fish from Tokyo’s Tsujiki Market. The 92^nd floor hosts a jazz bar and quieter Oriental lounge with a small dance floor and ballroom dancing four nights a week, while the uppermost level is a private dining space for 100 people adorned in mod-Nordic style and lorded over by mischievous ceramic mooseheads.

In the basement of the Shanghai World Financial Centre (2/B, 100 Century Ave, Pudong), celebrity chef Salvatore Cuomo’s 3,000sqm upmarket food hall incorporates eight different restaurants including an Italian Restaurant and Grill, Japanese Yakiniku, Crystal Jade dim sum counter and a relaxing lounge bar. Gourmet European grocer Bottega is a great place to pick up picnic supplies.

Perched on the 87th floor of the Jin Mao Tower, Cloud 9, the Grand Hyatt’s hotel bar, offers one of the best views in Asia. Make sure you get a table facing west for views of the Bund, Pearl Tower, and the lights of Puxi; windowscapes of its new, taller neighbor, the Shanghai World Financial Center, are to the southeast. Drinks at Cloud 9 aren’t as expensive as you might think, with prices starting at around ¥75 for a small draught Tiger, while cocktails start at about ¥90. There’s a two drink minimum after 8pm and a 15% service charge.

Tucked away by the riverside behind the Oriental Pearl Tower is Salvatore Cuomo’s original Pudong location, The Kitchen (tel: 5054-1265, Unit D, 2967 Lujiazui Xi Lu), another Shanghai dining favorite. The airy Italian is a great place for sundowner drinks looking across the water to Puxi, and its woodfired oven turns out arguably the city’s best pizza.

Jade on 36 is a restaurant that must be experienced to be believed. Perched on the 36th floor of the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel tower, the Jade lounge/restaurant is simply beautiful. Drinks don’t come cheap but neither does real glamour.. Downstairs, the Japanese institution Nadaman serves teppanyaki and yakitori in a Zen-like setting with sleek granite surfaces and big paper lanterns. Yi Café is buffet brilliance, with 10 show kitchens presenting cuisines from China, Japan, India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America. (tel: 6882-8888, Pudong Shangri-La, 33 Fucheng Lu, Pudong).

For laid-back happy hour drinks, head to Blue Frog alongside the enormous Super Brand Mall. This popular Shanghai chain offers 2-for-1 house pours daily from 4-8pm, good burgers, free Wi-Fi and a pleasant terrace surrounded by skyscrapers.

Located within People's Park, Barbarossa is a chic bar & restaurant with a Moroccan theme.

• Playtime in People’s Park

Constructing an Arabian palace on historic green space in the heart of the city was a questionable move by Shanghai’s town planners – but the party people aren’t complaining. Deep in People’s Park, on the edge of a still lake, candlelit Barbarossa (tel: 6318-0220, 231 Nanjing Lu) glimmers like a mirage. Step inside to find three storeys of maharajah chic filled with North African antiques and the European trip-hop beats. Food and service can be lacklustre but you won’t much care after a cappuccino-flavoured sheesha pipe on the terracotta rooftop.

The same group has also opened a sprawling club next door to the Four Seasons. Sin (tel: 6267 7779, 23/F, 211 Shimen Yi Lu) lives up to its name with a suitably decadent design incorporating a dance floor, hot pink cushiony nooks and city views from the 23^rd floor.

On the rooftop of the old British Racing Club, now the Shanghai Art Museum, Kathleen’s 5 (tel: 6327-2221, 5/F, Shanghai Art Museum, 325 Nanjing Xi Lu) is an elegant restaurant in a glassed-encased terrace beneath the original clock tower. The food plays second fiddle to the ambience. The Backroom Bar is a charming place for cocktails and the occasional tango milonga.

Also on People’s Square, JW Marriott’s 40th-floor Champagne Bar (tel: 5359-4969, 399 Nanjing Xi Lu) is a top spot to kick back in style and drink in the vertiginous views of the Square (which is actually round) and the city radiating beyond. It’s a good spot to contemplate your Shanghai nightlife options.

Great drinks, design, décor and dining - T8 in the ultra-hip shopping and dining district of Xintiandi is a don't miss.

• Shikumen chic – Xintiandi bars and clubs

Site of the Communist Party’s first clandestine meeting in 1921, the 19th century shikumen neighbourhood of Xintiandi (Lane 181, Taicang Lu) is now a hub for all manner of glamorous delights. If you have the cash, you can’t really go wrong with the venues here – there are more Shanghai dining options here than you can shake a stick at – but some are more memorable than others.

T8 Restaurant & Bar (tel: 6355-8999, No 8, North Block Xintiandi, www.t8shanghai.com) serves global cuisine in a lacquered Zen setting, with an impressive list of boutique wines. If you’re craving Chinese, Xintiandi has two worth trying: Crystal Jade (tel: 6385-8752) and Din Tai Fung (tel: 6385-8378). Casual American bistro KABB has a faithful following and great hangover brunches on weekends.

Fans of Liuligongfang will love Taiwanese owner Yang Hui Shan’s showcase restaurant TMSK (tel: 6326-2227, www.tmsk.com, Unit 2, House 11, North Block).

Perch on a crystal stool at the bar or head up the carved staircase to a sumptuous dining room complete with musicians playing traditional Chinese instruments on a small stage.

The dark, sultry DR Bar (tel: 6326 8008, House 15, North Block) next door is owned by the architects of the Xintiandi development, Ben Wood and Carlos Zapata.

Their minimalist venue showcases design materials sourced in China, from the ink stone slabs to the trio of vodka shooters served in a Chinese “cricket jar”.

Cotton's is popular with many expats for its friendly vibe and quintessential Shanghai setting in a romantic French Concession mansion.

• To the manor born in the former French Concession

Shanghai bars and restaurants have made full use of the city’s rich architectural heritage and many of the city’s finest old villas are now atmospheric tippling grounds.

Private members club KEE Shanghai (tel: 3395-0888, 3/F, 796 Huaihai Lu) occupies the upper floors of twin 1920s French Concession villas just off Huaihai Lu. The club is part of Richemont Group’s luxury headquarters, and sits above flagship ‘homes’ of Alfred Dunhill and Vacheron Constantin. Its classic European restaurant and luxe scarlet lounge adorned with art and antiques, lead out to a colonnaded balcony overlooking a quiet garden. A good concierge should be able to get you in to this posh Shanghai dining venue.

Sasha’s (tel: 6474-66289, Dongping Lu) has been the long-time resident of a big red villa formerly home to the infamous Soong family. The bar offers a relaxed, colonial vibe, pool table, reasonable happy hours and an expansive courtyard with comfy wicker chairs. Steakhouse, Prime, sits on the second floor. Sharing the garden, Mexican cantina Zapata’s (tel: 6474-6166, 5 Hengshan Lu) is still the place to be on Wednesdays – free margaritas for the girls, ’80s house music and dancing on the bartop assured.

Cocktail gem Constellation II (tel: 5465 5993, 1-2/F, 33 Yongjia Lu) is a more refined affair. Taking its interior cues from the roaring 1930s its two floors joined by a spiral staircase are filled with quiet nooks and leather armchairs bathed in the glow of antique lampshades. Immaculate cocktails are shaken by Japanese-trained barman/owner, Kin.  Down the road in a two-storey heritage villa on quiet Anting Lu, Cotton’s exudes warmth, with four open fireplaces, a large garden terrace and  genuinely friendly vibe (tel: 6433-7995, 132 Anting Lu).

A Future Perfect has the style and ambience, and most importantly, good food.

Another alfresco Shanghai dining option is A Future Perfect in the popular B&B, Old House (tel: 6248-8020, No 16, Lane 351 Huashan Lu). A wholesome, organic approach is evident in the recycled decor and a healthy menu of steaks, salads and smoothies. Best of all is the spacious walled garden under a leafy canopy where Panton-inspired cantilevered chairs and a futuristic outdoor bar are strikingly juxtaposed against the original 1930s facade.

South Beauty 881 (tel: 6247-6682; 881 Yan’an Zhong Lu) combines artfully presented Sichuan and Cantonese dishes and cutting-edge designs by Japanese architects SuperPotato. But the real gem is the property’s original 1930s mansion, home to 19 dramatically decorated private dining rooms around a lipstick-red bar. Rooms seat from two to fifty people and there’s a lovely rooftop terrace.

Another excellent option with an Asean kick is Lost Heaven (tel: 6433-5126, 38 Gaoyou Lu). Tracing the folk cuisines of the Dai, Bai and Miao ethnic hill tribes through China’s Yunnan province and into Burma and Laos, the richly spiced curries are served in a suitably exotic villa setting.

Casa 13 (tel: 5238-2782, Rm 13, 1100 Huashan Lu) is a dash of Mediterranean in the courtyard of a heritage Spanish villa. This warm, romantic venue with chandeliers strung from high ceilings serves hearty seafood, roasted meats, risottos and pasta, accompanied by an impressive wine list. The Casa’s owner Eduardo Vargas, is a Shanghai dining powerhouse – among his other popular Shanghai restaurants are Vargas Grill (tel: 6437-0136, 3/F, 18 Dongping Lu), Bistro Burger (tel: 6170-1315, 1/F, Mansion, 291 Fumin Lu) and Osteria (tel: 6256-8998, 226 Jinxian Lu), where the excellent Rmb198 Italian prix fixe menu is complemented by a well-priced wine list.

Catalan chef Willy Trullàs Moreno helms delightful villa restaurant, El Willy (tel: 5404-5757, 1/F, Diage, 20 Donghu Lu). Innovative dishes on the menu here include scallop with ceviche, avocado and crispy shallots, and chocolate coulant with green tea ice cream and tomato cardamom jam. A tucked-away garden hosts alfresco seating and occasional organic farmers markets.

Designer Wang Xingzheng has a passion for Chinese culture and his three bars should not be missed. Yongfoo Elite (tel: 5466-2727, www.yongfooelite.com, 200 Yongfu Lu) is a rarefied members club in the old British consulate evoking the Shanghai of popular imagination rendered in mahogany, old leather, crystal chandeliers and Chinese lanterns. The Shanghainese cuisine is nothing to write home about, but an evening spent draped across a canopy bed in the garden sipping gin-and-tonic and listening to Beijing opera in the background certainly is. The Door, way out in Hongqiao (tel: 6295-3737, 4/F, 1468 Hongqiao Lu), and Xian Qiang Fang (tel: 6351-5757, 5/F, 600 Jiujiang Lu), located in an old theatre near People’s Square, are similarly decadent.

Big Bamboo is Shanghai's best sports bar. Malone's, which attracts a similar if slightly older clientele, is just around the corner.

• A walk on the wild side –  Julu Lu and Tongren Lu

Time to dive into the seed or, at any rate, skirt past it. That’s right. The cheap lipstick heart of Shanghai nightlife, Julu Lu caters to all tastes. Near the junction of Changshu Lu is a row of down-at-heel girlie bars with names like Goodfellas and Badlands and propositions by the yard. However, the Fumin Lu end is infinitely classier. For its jaw-dropping industrial-chic interior and nouvelle Japanese cuisine, book one of the mezzanine tables at Shintori Null II (tel: 5404 5252, 803 Julu Lu). The same group also owns bar/restaurant People 7 (tel: 5404-0707) next door, known for its fun password-protected entrance and trick toilets.

Nearby, an old electronics factory retains its buzz as the well-heeled watering hole Manifesto (tel: 6289-9108, 748 Julu Lu). Be sure to try one of their creative cocktails like the Belgian white chocolate martini. The downstairs restaurant, Mesa, has a good modern Australian menu and fabulous weekend brunches.

For booze, babes and beats, the seedy masses head to Tongren Lu bar street. The most sophisticated of the bunch, Blue Frog (tel: 6247-0320, 86 Tongren Lu) wins points for its slick but super-casual ambience, daily happy hours (4-8pm) and famous 100 shooters. Within stumbling distance, Malone’s (tel: 6247-2400, 255 Tongren Lu) is a beefy American bar popular with the beer-swilling masses for its super burgers, sports and Filipino house band. The top floor of this massive bar has been refitted as a slightly more sophisticated chill-out zone, complete with a country-western crooner. Big Bamboo (tel: 6256-2265, 132 Nanyang Lu) and The Spot (tel: 6247-3579, 331 Tongren Lu) kick on until late with a variety of sports on big screens, bar sports and beer swilling.

Also on Tongren Lu, City Diner (6289-3699, 2/F, 146 Tongren Lu) is open 24 hours. Their hearty portions of all-American comfort food go down a treat after a long night of drinking.

Babyface: Probably the best nightspot to hit up for some Chinese-style clubbing complete with loud thumping music and patrons playing table-side dice games.

• Shanghai clubbing – dance until dawn

Packed to the gills and reeking of parfum and pretension, the enormously popular Baby Face (tel: 6375-6667, Unit 101, 138 Huaihai Zhong Lu) consists of two separate dance areas, a central bar that you’ll be lucky to get to and exclusive mezzanine lounges requiring a Rmb2,500-Rmb3,500 minimum order. There’s a cover charge on weekends, brutish bouncers manning the door and floor, and a largely local crowd.

In Fuxing Park (2 Gaolan Lu), Muse at Park 97 (tel: 5383-2328) and club Guandii (tel: 3308-0725) attract a glittery Chinese crowd – don’t forget your dice and aviator specs. Velvet Lounge (tel: 5403-2976, Bldg 3-4, 913 Julu Lu) is a favourite late-night lounge for expats and locals alike with curtained enclaves, a DJ, dance floor and great thin-crust gourmet pizzas.

MAO Livehouse Shanghai (tel: 138160-95660, 46 Yueyang Lu, www.maoshanghai.com) stands for Music Art Oasis, and features a recycled chrome and concrete interior, all-natural cocktails and a grassy backyard chill-out zone. At the end of the night head to the tiny Dragon Club (tel: 5404-4592, 156 Fengyang Lu), which kicks on until 7am at weekends.

When it's all about the jazz, man, the gimmick-free sublte charms of JZ club can't be beaten.

• Mellow mood – all that jazz

Shanghai and jazz are synonymous and two of the city’s best-loved live jazz clubs are within a stone’s throw of each other on Fuxing Lu. The plush JZ Club (tel: 6431-0269, 46 Fuxing Xi Lu) hosts a varied weekly line-up of vocal jazz, Big Band, Latin and Shanghai jazz, headlined by popular Shanghai-based musicians, such as flamboyant Chinese vocalist Coco Zhao and guitarist Lawrence Ku, while the long-running Cotton Club (tel: 6437-71108, Fuxing Xi Lu) is a much rawer venue with a dark, smoky interior and righteous blues.

In a heritage villa behind the Bund, House of Blues & Jazz (tel: 6323-2779, 60 Fuzhou Lu) revives the golden Shanghai Jazz Age, complete with wood-panelled walls, art deco furnishings, fat cigars and stiff G&Ts. The musical roster brings top jazz and blues bands from the international circuit for three-month stints, along with ‘mellow Monday’ gigs by local performers, and jam sessions on Sundays.

Shanghai nightlife waits for nobody, so strap on your beer goggles and enjoy the ride.

• What to See & Do in Shanghai
  

Top Ten Shanghai Must-See Attractions

Visitor’s Guide to The Bund: Shanghai’s Newly Opened Waterfront Landmark

Modern Architectural Wonders of Shanghai

Exploring the Water Villages – Excursions from Shanghai

• Where to Dine in Shanghai
  

Taste of Shanghai – A Guide to Shanghai’s Best Food

• Where to Shop in Shanghai

Shop till you drop – Shanghai Shopping Guide

• Where to Stay in Shanghai
  

Top Ten Ritziest Hotels in Shanghai

Top Ten Ritziest Hotels in Shanghai

For the past decade, Shanghai’s upscale hotels have mostly targeted corporate travelers, but leisure visitors now enjoy a broader array of large luxury and small boutique options. The upcoming Shanghai World Expo is expected to bring in an estimated 70 million visitors and ambitious plans for long-term tourism growth are bringing names like Park Hyatt, Conrad, Jumeirah, Peninsula, Mandarin Oriental, W, Banyan Tree, and Fairmont through 2010, while a small portfolio of design-led hotels is slated to grow and flourish. Location remains the key to which one you choose. Hotels in the French Concession and near the Bund offer the most convenience for tourists. Despite the lofty views, staying east of the river in one of the Pudong’s high-rise hotels can mean taxi rides and inconvenience.

• Le Royal Méridien Shanghai
  

The gorgeous view of Shanghai skyline is only the start of the royal treatment at Le Royal Méridien, the tallest hotel in Puxi, West of Shanghai

With considerable panache, Le Royal Méridien executes its Art Deco–inspired design throughout its 770 rooms, high above People’s Park on central Nanjing Road. Above the eleventh-floor lobby, black lacquer–framed mirrors line hallways, and airy guest rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows. Chic marble bathrooms, plush velvet couches and club chairs, and beds with down duvets and oversized square pillows round out the stylish accommodations. Ai Mei, the Chinese restaurant already known for its dim sum, is entered through a door frame of glass tanks filled with goldfish; the menu at Allure—roasted lobster with risotto, beef tenderloin with goose liver—is worth the culinary detour. Even the spa here caters to a late-night clientele, staying open until 11 p.m., for those who can’t sleep without a signature egg-white, vodka, and cucumber facial.

Le Royal Meridien Shanghai (Shanghai Shimao Huangjia Aimei Jiudian, 上海世茂皇家艾美酒店)

Address: 789 Nanjing Dong Lu, Huangpu District, Shanghai, China
Chinese Address:  上海市黄浦区南京东路789号
Phone: 021-3318-9999
Website: Le Royal Meridien Shanghai

• JIA Shanghai

Best Boutique Hotel: JIA Shanghai serves as your stylish home away from home.

Housed in a renovated 1920s townhouse on hip Nanjing Road, this is wunderkind Singaporean hotelier and restaurateur Yenn Wong’s follow-up to the original Jia in Hong Kong, designed by Philippe Starck. The 55 rooms combine luxe comforts—think plush beds, blackout curtains, plasma TVs, iPod docks, and ceiling-mounted Bose speakers—with trendsetting boutique styling, including artwork by photographer Russel Wong, outsize tubs in gold Bisazza-tile bathrooms, and furnishings by Minotti, Moroso, and Hans Wegner. Each room has a small kitchenette with a microwave oven, cookware, and serving dishes. The two stunning penthouse suites have extra theatrical flourishes, including contemporary art, a sunken circular Jacuzzi, and a shower that converts into a steam room. The chic lobby lounge, where you’ll be served complimentary continental breakfast and afternoon tea, is dressed with giant Chinese bird cages and lacquer tableware. Shanghai’s shaker-makers reserve dinner tables at Issimo, a modern Italian eatery created by Japan-based restaurateur Salvatore Cuomo. This is the place to stay for sophisticated small hotel chic.

The lounge of Issimo restaurant at JIA Shanghai

JIA Shanghai (上海JIA精品酒店)

Address: 931 West Nanjing Road, Jiangan District, Shanghai 200041
Chinese Address: 上海市静安区南京西路931号（近泰兴路）
Opening Date: August 2007
Number of Rooms: 55 rooms and suites, including two penthouse suites
Rate per Night: 2,000 to 10,000RMB
Phone: 021-6217-9000
Website: www.jiashanghai.com

• URBN Hotel

Serene little URBN is China's first carbon-neutral hotel, implementing eco-friendly elements such as solar shades and water-based A/C, and allowing patrons to buy carbon credits.

Tucked away on a side street north of Jing’An Temple, this 26-room design hotel is built around an enclosed slate and bamboo courtyard with calming water fountains. Constructed using reclaimed local materials —such as gray factory bricks, mahogany, and slate—Urbn wears its eco-conscious credentials on its sleeve; the hotel also tracks its ecological footprint and matches it in carbon credits. The rooms, in five categories, are all relatively small but make good use of space with low-level beds and a sunken “lounge” area, complete with hemp cushions on the broad benches and a wall-hung flat-screen TV. Neat in-room design touches include mahogany floors and wall paneling, desk chairs made from compressed cardboard, and under-floor bathroom heating, plus free Wi-Fi and iPod docks. Contemporary Australian-Asian cuisine is served in the ground-floor restaurant, Roomtwentyeight.

This modestly luxe, environmentally-friendly suite was built with recycled materials drawn from dilapidated French Concession villas.

URBN Hotel  (Yayue Jiudian, 上海雅悦酒店)

Address: 183 Jiaozhou Road, Jingan District, Shanghai
Chinese Address: 上海市静安区胶州路183号
Phone: 021-5153-4600
Website: www.urbnhotels.com/urbn-shanghai

• Park Hyatt Shanghai

Park Hyatt Shanghai, world's most vertiginous hotel, is on floors 79 through 93 of the Shanghai World Financial Center, in the Pudong district.

Shanghai hotels are rising ever higher—and top of the pile is this deluxe cloud buster on the 79th through 93rd floors of the 101-story, 1,615-foot Shanghai World Financial Center in Pudong. The Park Hyatt Shanghai can now claim the twin titles of world’s highest hotel and world’s highest restaurant. New York City–based Tony Chi created the interiors to resemble a sophisticated modern Chinese residence, hence the series of gates, halls, and chambers. The lobby itself is on the 87th floor and the spa and fitness center have prime city views from the 85th level. The 174 rooms are an impressive size (an average room is 645 square feet), plus there is 24-hour butler service, a technology concierge, and a walk-in dressing room and flat-screen TV in the bathroom and bedroom. The hotel’s highest highlight is 100 Century Avenue, an integrated three-level fine-dining restaurant (serving Western, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine) and lounge bar on the 91st to 93rd floors.

The hotel's highest highlight is 100 Century Avenue, an integrated three-level fine-dining restaurant and lounge bar on the 91st to 93rd floors.

Park Hyatt Shanghai  (Shanghai Baiyue Jiudian, 上海柏悦酒店)

Address: 100 Century Avenue, 79th–93rd Floors, Shanghai World Financial Center, Pudong District, Shanghai
Chinese Address: 上海市浦东新区浦东世纪大道100号上海环球金融中心79-93楼
Phone: 021-6888-1234
Website: www.parkhyattshanghai.com

• The Portman Ritz-Carlton

Despite some heavy competition, this is still a favorite for many business travelers and world leaders (George W. Bush stayed here during the APEC Conference in 2001).

The Portman Ritz-Carlton was the city’s first luxury hotel when it opened in 1998, on the major shopping thoroughfare Nanjing Lu. The hotel  completed a multimillion-dollar, top-to-bottom face-lift of the guest rooms, bars, restaurants, and facilities in 2008. The circular pale-marble lobby gives way to 610 rooms—request one of the newly renovated ones, which feature gleaming dark-wood traditional furniture, accents of gold and brown, and sliding doors that lend an Oriental air. Guests are spoiled for choice when it comes to dining: There are four house restaurants to choose from, including Palladio, which serves modern Italian dishes in a formal setting. Luxury-brand lovers will delight in the neighboring upscale Plaza 66 mall. Though the hotel is centrally located at the Shanghai Center, surrounding office buildings mean that finding a cab during rush hour can be difficult—hotel guests do get preference in the taxi line, but the queue lengthens noticeably during peak times, from 4 pm until 8 pm.

The Portman Ritz-Carlton  (Shanghai Boteman Lijia Dajiudian,上海波特曼丽嘉酒店)

Address: 1376 Nanjing Xi Lu, Jingan District, Shanghai
Chinese Address: 上海市上海市静安区南京西路1376号
Phone: 021-6279-8888
Website: www.ritzcarlton.com

• St. Regis Shanghai

In the lobby of St. Regis Shanghai, an elaborate alabaster light fixture echoes the tobacco-leaf pattern of the inlaid marble.

Every guest is a VIP at the St. Regis. The amphitheaterlike lobby sets the stage for the most indulgent hotel experience in Shanghai. The 318 rooms in this 40-story red-granite tower—its design lauded by Architectural Digest—spare no expense, with Bose wave radios, Herman Miller Aeron chairs, and rain-forest showers that give you the feeling of being under a waterfall. At 500 square feet (152 sq. m), standard rooms compare to other hotels’ suites. The two women’s-only floors are unique in Shanghai. Butlers address all your needs 24/7 (you can even contact them by e-mail) from in-room check-in to room service, and as part of a new program, they can arrange to escort guests personally to visit local artist studios. The hotel’s location—15 minutes from the riverfront—is a drawback, but the fitness center and 24-hour gym, along with the remarkable Danieli’s Italian restaurant add to this pampering property’s appeal.

Spacious and elegant double-height living room of The Imperial Suite at St. Regis Shanghai

St. Regis Shanghai (Shanghai Ruiji Hongta Dajiudian, 上海瑞吉红塔大酒店)

Address: 889 Dongfang Lu, South central Pudong, Pudong District, Shanghai
Chinese Address:上海市浦东新区东方路889号
Phone: 021-50504567
Prices ¥3,313-¥3,478 ($473-$497/£237-£249) standard; from ¥6,378 ($911/£456) suite (up to 60% discounts)
Website: www.stregis.com/shanghai

• The Peninsula Shanghai

The 14-story luxury Peninsula Shanghai hotel, with 235 rooms and suites, is the first new structure on the storied riverfront Bund since the Bank of China in 1927.

The Peninsula Shanghai, an Art-Deco inspired hotel on Shanghai’s historic Bund, is dressed to impress, from its stepped, faux Deco facade to the grand pillared lobby decorated in cool celadon tones (a string quartet plays on a theatrical balcony in the afternoons) to the restored 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II for airport transfers. This is a hotel that makes the most of its outlook over the future-scape Pudong skyline, the Peninsula Spa by Espa features a skylit indoor swimming pool and a layered crème marble terrace, while the terrace of the 14th-floor Sir Elly’s Restaurant has panoramic river views. The pick of the hotel’s five restaurants is Yi Long Court, serving classic Cantonese cuisine in a luxurious chocolate and dark-blue Shanghai Deco dining room with Qing dynasty furnishings. The hotel’s 235 guest rooms, styled in a pale gray-green or cerulean blue, start at a spacious 600 square feet and go up to the 4,300-square-foot Presidential Suite. All have 1920s Shanghai mahogany and ebony furniture. The in-room technology is best in class, with thoughtful additions such as a Nespresso machine positioned at shoulder level, a desktop iPod dock, a 1,000-channel Internet radio, and an in-bath phone system that filters out the sound of the water. Another flick of a switch dims the bathroom lights and turns on relaxing spa music.

The Peninsula Shanghai features 235 generously large guestrooms (44 of which are suites). Ipod docks, free wireles

The Peninsula Shanghai (Shanghai Bandao Jiudian, 上海半岛酒店)

Address： 32 Zhongshang Dong Yi Lu, The Bund, Huangpu District, Shanghai
Chinese Address:上海市黄浦区中山东一路32号
Phone: 021-2327-2888
Website: www.peninsula.com/Shanghai

• Pudong Shangri-La

The Shangri-La Pudong occupies one of the most prized locations in Shanghai: overlooking the Huangpu River, opposite the Bund, near the Pearl Tower in Lujiazui.

With its new 36-floor glass tower, the Shangri-La is set to give its Pudong competitors a run for their money. It may not tower as high as the Grand Hyatt, but this hotel’s gorgeous views stretch across the Huangpu River to the stately Bund and rival those of its taller (and sometimes more fogged-in) neighbor. All of the 950 modern rooms are unfussy, accented with Asian touches such as raw silk throws and pillows. Rooms also have broadband Internet, and satellite TV—just be sure to request accommodation that overlooks the water. Not one but two indoor pools and full-service gymnasiums satisfy the sporty, while those hoping to unwind can enjoy a massage in the Oriental opulence of the Chi spa. Eleven restaurants offer options to suit every taste, but there is no better place for a drink and nibble than Jade on 36, an eclectic fusion restaurant perched on the 36th floor. Though the Pudong location means that during rush hour (4 p.m.-9 p.m.) it can take 45 minutes to get downtown by car, taxis are cheap and plentiful, and those in a hurry can hop on the metro, which is only a five-minute walk from the hotel.

The Pudong Shangri-La boasts a slew of trendy designer restaurants including the luxurious Nadaman Restaurant and Sushi Bar, designed by Super Potato

Pudong Shangri-La Hotel (Pudong Xianggelila Fandian, 上海浦东香格里拉大酒店)

Address: 33 Fucheng Lu, Southwest of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, adjacent to Riverside Ave/Binjiang Da Dao, Pudong New Area, Shanghai
Chinese Address:上海浦东新区富城路33号
Phone: 021-6882-8888; 800-942-5050
Prices ¥3,050-¥3,300 ($436-$471/£218-£236) standard; ¥3,550-¥3,750 ($507-$536/£254-£268) executive level; from ¥5,150 ($736/£368) suite
Website: www.shangri-la.com

• The Grand Hyatt Shanghai

From its perch on the upper floors of the Jin Mao Tower, the Grand Hyatt Shanghai With Art Deco furnishings and floor-to-ceiling windows has splendid views of the Bund and Pudong

The Grand Hyatt Shanghai takes up the top 34 floors of the monolithic 88-story Jin Mao Tower—the fifth-tallest building in the world—so you can imagine the views: vertigo-inducing panoramas over the city’s skyscrapers and streets, abetted by the ubiquitous floor-to-ceiling windows. (Request a west-facing room for views of the Bund, the Oriental Pearl Tower, and the rest of the Shanghai skyline’s kitschy excess.) If you can tear your gaze from the neon spectacle outside, you’ll find the hotel’s interiors are pretty sumptuous: All 555 rooms have contemporary furniture (lots of glass, lacquered wood, and velvety neutral-toned upholstery) accented by traditional Eastern artwork. The marble baths have multiple-head “shower towers” that engulf you in water and mist; if these aren’t enough of a full-body experience, you can head to the steam baths and hot tubs at the on-site spa. The hotel’s dozen restaurants, bars, and clubs include the Patio, a 33-story atrium where you can listen to live jazz; Cloud 9, on the 87th floor, where the views will make you dizzier than any cocktail; and Club Jin Mao, where you can sample local specialties, such as deep-fried eel with honey soy sauce and braised bean curd with hairy crab roe. While the Pudong location is oriented more for business than pleasure, the Line 2 Metro station is just a five-minute walk away, and a horde of cheap cabs waits outside to whisk you across the Huangpu River to the Old City.

Grand Hyatt Shanghai (Shanghai Jin Mao Junyue Dajiudian, 上海金茂君悦大酒店)

Address: 88 Century Boulevard, Jin Mao Tower, Pudong District, Shanghai
Chinese Address:上海市浦东新区世纪大道88号
Phone: 021-5049-1234
Prices: ¥3,800-¥4,100 ($543-$586/£272-£293) standard; ¥4,450-¥4,800 ($636-$686/£318-£343) executive level; from ¥5,700 ($814/£407) suite
Website: www.shanghai.grand.hyatt.com

• The Westin Shanghai

Perched between the Bund and People's Square, Wesin Bund Center hotel attracts a mixed clientele

Popular with travelers on an expense account, this centrally located hotel—part of the office-heavy Bund Center—is just a short walk from the swish restaurants and nightlife of the Bund. The glitzy atrium lobby features a neon-lit glass staircase and artificial palm trees, while the 570 rooms are kitted out in earth tones, with polished wood paneling and rain forest showerheads in the dark granite bathrooms. A new wing, the Grand Tower, opened in 2007; formerly serviced apartments, rooms here are more spacious, albeit pricier, than in the main building. With so many business travelers passing through the halls, service can feel a bit impersonal and corporate—front desk clerks eagerly push upgrades at check-in. There are three restaurants—we liked the wood-fired pizzas at Prego better than The Stage’s buffet—as well as a fitness center, swimming pool, and branch of the Banyan Tree spa.

The Westin Shanghai (Shanghai Weisiting Dafandian, 上海外滩中心威斯汀大饭店)

Address: 88 Henan Central Road, 3 blocks west of the Huangpu River, Huangpu District, Shanghai
Chinese Address: 上海市黄浦区河南中路88号
Phone: 021-6335-1888
Prices: ¥3,245 ($464/£232) standard; ¥3,970 ($567/£284) executive level; from ¥9,730 ($1,390/£695) suite
Website: www.starwoodhotels.com/westin

• Travel Deals: World Expo in Shanghai

With an expected attendance of 70 million, this year’s World Expo in Shanghai – which runs May 1 to Oct. 31 — will  most likely mean  higher hotel rates in the city. But good deals can still be found.

For the duration of the Expo, Marriott is offering 20 percent off staysof two nights or more, and the package includes two single-day admission tickets. Rates start at 1,120  renminbi (or about $161 a night at 7  renminbi to the dollar). Book by March 31 at marriott.com or (800) 228-9290. Use the promotional code ADP.

Hilton is offering the same discount for any reservation made 21 days in advance at the Hilton Shanghai, through Oct. 1. There’s no minimum stay, but rates start at about $216 a night.

For a cheaper option, the Shanghai Metropole Hotel, a 141-room hotel near the Bund, has rooms from $80 a night. And ChinaHotels.org, a hotel booking site based in China, has rooms for as little as $25 a night.

• What to See & Do

Top Ten Shanghai Must-See Attractions
Modern Architectural Wonders of Shanghai

• Where to Dine

Taste of Shanghai – A Guide to Shanghai’s Best Food

Best of Shanghai in a nutshell – Top Ten Shanghai Attractions

Shanghai Pudong Skyline at Sunset

The most westernized city in the world’s fastest growing country, Shanghai (literally “above the sea”) is an exhilarating, ever-morphing metropolis that isn’t just living China’s dream, but is setting the pace for the rest of the world. In just a little more than a decade, Shanghai has transformed itself into the model for 21st century China. As Shanghai is gearing up for its role as China’s showcase for the May 1-Oct. 31 World Expo, whose theme is “Better City, Better Life,” by remaking itself into the country’s most chic and modern city, expect to see constant changes as record numbers of foreigners and Chinese flock here to stake out their share of the ever-expanding pie.

Shanghai is much more Hong Kong than Beijing; there are no grand monuments and imperial palaces here. Instead, European-style cityscapes and tempting, tree-lined neighborhoods rub shoulders with the sci-fi skyline of Pudong. Shanghai was where China first met the West and it’s still a frontier town, obsessed with the latest fads, fashions and technology. This blend of old and new offers tourists a wide variety of experiences that are sure to be memorable.

Here are Shanghai’s top 10 must-see sights and attractions.

• The Bund

(Wai Tan, Chinese: 外滩)

The Bund - Shanghai's famous waterfront boulevard

A spectacular, dazzling waterfront esplanade with a wide range of colonial architecture. Particularly striking at night, when brilliantly illuminated. One of the most famous streets in China, and an absolute necessity to visit. Over the past few years, the buildings have started to be inhabited by shopping arcades and restaurants. The most impressive are 3 on the Bund and Bund 18, which have some of Shanghai’s most glamorous restaurants (M on the Bund, Laris, Jean-Georges and Whampoa Club) and bars as well as high-end glitzy international boutiques. The bund is also where you’ll get that postcard view of the futuristic skyline in Pudong.

Transportation: Subway Line 2 at East Nanjing Road, about a five minute walk to The Bund. Bus Line 145, 311, 316, 320 and 71 also have stops near The Bund.
For taxi drivers:  请带我去外滩 (Qing dai wo qu wai tan) Please take me to The Bund.

• Oriental Pearl TV Tower

(Dong Fang Ming Zhu Dian Shi Ta, Chinese: 东方明珠电视塔)

As the first architectural wonder of New China, the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, built in 1994, was a foremost symbol of the country’s potential as it began to flirt with free enterprise ideals. The 468-meter (1,536 feet) tower, located in Pudong Lujiazui area along the Huangpu River, is the 4^th tallest TV and radio tower in the world after  the Guangzhou TV & Sightseeing Tower in Guangzhou, China and the CN Tower in Toronto, Canada and the Ostankino Tower in Moscow, Russia.  The undeniable tower soars above the Pudong skyline and features fifteen observation levels, a small hotel, shops, a museum and a restaurant that of course, revolves. Over 3 million people visit the Oriental Pearl every year. The 263-meter (863 feet) high observatory level is one of the best places to get a bird’s-eye view of the city.

Address: 1 Century Avenue (Shiji Dadao), Pudong District, Shanghai
Transportation: Take Metro Line 2 and get off at Lujiazui Stop. It is right outside of the station. Buses 81, 82, 85, 870 also take you to the nearby area.
For taxi drivers: 请带我去东方明珠电视塔 浦东新区世纪大道1号 (Qing dai wo qu dong fang ming zhu dian shi ta, pu dong xin qu shi ji da dao yi hao)
Please take me to Oriental Pearl TV Tower, 1 Century Avenue (Shiji Dadao)
Opening hours: Daily 8:00-21:00
Admission Fee: 263 m sphere: CNY70 per person; 90 m sphere + 263 m sphere + Shanghai History Exhibition: CNY85 per person; 90 m sphere + 263 m sphere + 350 m sphere: CNY100 per person

• Jin Mao Tower

(Jinmao Dasha, Chinese: 金茂大厦)

Gazing down on the atrium of the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Jin Mao Tower

Now the second tallest building in Shanghai, the Jin Mao Tower stands at 88 floors. Its remarkable architecture is recognizable on a clear day from all over the city. There’s an observation deck on the 88th floor (access 50rmb, US$6) where you have spectacular views of the neighboring skyscrapers and the sprawling city. Enjoy similar views with a cocktail in hand at the Cloud 9 bar on the 87th floor of the Grand Hyatt hotel. Note, access to the observation deck and Cloud 9 are separate. Follow signs at ground level to the observation deck, follow Grand Hyatt signs to get to the hotel elevators and Cloud 9.

Address: 2 Century Avenue (Shiji Dadao), (3 blocks southeast of Oriental Pearl TV Tower), Pudong District, Shanghai
Transportation: Take Metro Line 2 and get off at Lujiazui Stop. It is right outside of the station. Buses 81, 82, 85, 870 also take you to the nearby area.
For taxi drivers: 请带我去东方明珠电视塔 浦东新区世纪大道1号 (Qing dai wo qu dong fang ming zhu dian shi ta, pu dong xin qu shi ji da dao yi hao)  Please take me to Oriental Pearl TV Tower, 1 Century Avenue (Shiji Dadao)
Opening hours: Daily 8:30am-9:30pm (last ticket sold 9pm)
Prices: Admission ¥70 ($10/£5); ¥60 ($8.55/£4.30) seniors over 70

• Shanghai World Financial Center

(Shanghai Huanqiu Jinrong Zhongxin, Chinese: 上海环球金融中心)

China's tallest buildings: Shanghai World Financial Center (left ) and Jin Mao Tower (right)

Resembling a giant bottle opener in shape, the new skyscraper king of the sky in China and indeed, save for Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the world, is a beast at 492.0 meters (1,614.2 ft) with 101 floors. Open since 2008 next to Jin Mao Tower, the design of Shanghai World Financial Center has already become a premier icon of the city. This tapering glass tower with a trapezoidal aperture at the peak, featureing the world’s highest public observation deck at 474.2 m (1,556 ft) and world’s highest hotel, Park Hyatt Shanghai, will likely make this skyscraper the new “must visit” spot in town.

Address: 100 Shiji Dadao, Pudong District, Shanghai
Transportation: Subway Line 2 at Lujiazui
Phone: 021-5878-0101
Website: www.swfc-observatory.com
Prices: 94th floor only ¥100 ($14/£7); 94th to 97th floors ¥110 ($16/£8); 94th to 100th floors ¥150 ($21/£11)

• Former French Concession

(Fa Zu jie, Chinese: 法租界)

The French imported plane trees in the early 1900s still line both sides of every street in the Former French Concession

Shanghai’s most charming district, was administered by the French from the mid 1800’s to the mid 1900’s. The streets are tree-lined, with few high rises, and colonial villas dot the landscape; it has become an elite district of the city. Try wandering around the FFC on foot. Scenic bits include such small streets as Yuqing Lu and Kangping Lu. For a nice walk, try Fuxing Xi Lu, near Yongfu Lu or Wukang Lu. Dongping Lu has many good small restaurants such as Simply Thai and Azul.
Transportation: Take Metro Line 1. There are three metro stops you can get off to visit different parts of the former French Concession—South Shanxi Road, Hengshan Road and Changshu Road.
For taxi drivers:
请带我去淮海路陕西南路 (Please take me to the cross junction of Huaihai Lu and South Shanxi Lu)
请带我去衡山路高安路 (Please take me to the cross junction of Hengshan Lu and Gao An Lu)
请带我去复兴路乌鲁木齐路 (Please take me to the cross junction of Fuxing Lu and Wulumuqi Lu)

• Yu Gardens

(Yu Yuan, Chinese: 豫园)

Yu Garden offers an atmosphere of peace and beauty amid the clamor of the city

In the center of Old Town, just southwest of the Bund, the Garden of Peace and Comfort offers an escape from the fast pace of the surrounding city. The 16th century Yuyuan Garden, one of the best-preserved gardens in China, represents the height of Suzhou-style garden art which makes use of craftily structured pavilions, corridors, and bridges together with exquisitely set rocks, ponds, and floras to create charming and pleasant views. Of the many temples and halls, the Grand Rockery is the most popular. Two thousand tons of rare yellow stones are combined with rice glue to form a massive sculpture that stands 46 feet high. Wander through the lanes and alleys and find everything you might want to take home as souvenirs from silk pajamas to chopsticks. A trip to a genuine teahouse is cultural experience one must try in China. For Shanghai, Huxingting Teahouse is the place and still floats on a lake in the Old Town as it has since 1784.
Insider tips: While you are at Yuyuan Garden, try some delicious Shanghai local snacks such as steamed buns (xiao long man tou or xiao long bao ).

Address: 218 Anren Street
How to get to Yuyuan Gardens: From The Bund: Walk south along The Bund then turn right at Jinling Dong Lu. The Old City is the area to the south.
Bus Line 11, 24, 26, 64, 581, 715, 736, 801, 920, 926, 930, 945 have stops in Yuyuan area.
For taxi drivers: 请带我去豫园 安仁街218号 (Qing dai wo qu yu yuan, an ren jie er bai shi ba hao) Please take me to Yuyuan Garden, 218 Anren Street)
Opening hours: Daily 8:30 am – 5:00 pm
Admission Fee: CNY30 per person

• Nanjing Road

(Nan Jing Lu, Chinese: 南京路)

People come from all over China to shop on what is China's premier shopping street - Nanjing Lu

A visit to Nanjing Lu, the “Number One Shopping Street in China” is practically required, if only for a chance to marvel (or shudder) at the sheer numbers of people, people, people everywhere! Nanjing Road consists of two sections: East Nanjing Road and West Nanjing Road. The term “Nanjing Lu” in many cases refers only to the eastern section from The Bund to the People’s Square. The pedestrian-only East Nanjing Road boosts trendy designer boutiques alongside a cluster of Shanghai’s oldest department stores and traditional eateries, some of which have a century-long history. With hundreds of shops and restaurants there is something for everyone.
Transportation: Subway  Line 2  at East Nanjing Lu Stop.
For taxi drivers: 请带我去南京东路步行街 (Qing dai wo qu nan jing dong lu bu xing jie)  Please take me to Nanjing Lu Pedestrian Street.

• Xintiandi

(New Heaven and Earth， Chinese: 新天地)

Xin Tian Di is a restaurant, bar, club development that utilizes Shanghai's traditional shikumen architecture

A must-see on any tourist’s itinerary. This outdoor section of “shikumen”  (1920’s – 1930’s Shanghai style stone gate houses) was completely rebuilt in 2000 -1 and is a great example of the success of the urban renewal effort.. Xin Tian Di is divided into the North and South Blocks. The South Block is the more modern of the two and is home to one of China’s first major shopping centers as well as boutiques, restaurants and nightclubs. Shikumen architecture lines the streets in the North Block providing a contrast to the modernity of the South Block. Xintiandi is often packed with tourists and is home to some of Shanghai’s best restaurants. We like: Ye Shanghai, Crystal Jade, Kabb, Va Bene, Simply Thai and T8.

Address: Lane 181, Tai Cang Lu
How to get to the Jade Buddha Temple: Take Metro Line 1 and get off at South Huang Pi Lu. It is 5-minutes walk to the south along Ma Dang Lu.
For taxi drivers: 请带我去新天地 太仓路181弄 (Qing dai wo qu xin tian di, tai chang lu yi bai ba shi yi long) Please take me to Xintiandi, Lane 181, Tai Cang Lu

• Shanghai Museum

(Shanghai Bo Wu Guan, Chinese:上海博物馆)

Shanghai Museum, China's best museum, houses an incomparable collection of art and artifacts

Considered by many to be the finest, most modern, and most memorable museum in China, the Shanghai Museum in the heart of People’s Square has 11 galleries and over 120,000 historic artifacts including paintings, sculpture, ceramics, calligraphy, furniture, and fantastic bronzes. The museum’s architectural design is that of a round top with a square base which symbolizes the ancient Chinese philosophy that the earth is square-shaped and the sky overhead is round. The Stone Sculpture Gallery and the Bronze gallery are the most popular with collections dating back to the 18th century B.C. There are also special exhibitions on occasion that can be quite fascinating. Make it a top priority, and allow a few hours more than you planned on.

Address: 201 Renmin Avenue
How to get to Shanghai Museum: Take either Metro Line 1 or 2, get off at the People’s Square stop, and take Exit 1.
For taxi drivers: 请带我去上海博物馆 人民路201号  (Qing dai wo qu shanghai bo wu guan, ren min lu 201 hao)    Please take me to Shanghai Museum, 201 Renmin Avenue
Opening hours: Daily 9 am – 5 pm
Admission Fee: For regular exhibitions, 5000 free admission per day
For special exhibitions, CNY20 per person
Website: www.shanghaimuseum.net

• Dongtai Lu Antiques Market

(Dongtai Lu Guwan Shichang, Chinese: 东台路古玩市场)

Mao badges at Dongtai Lu Antique Market in Shanghai

This largest of Shanghai’s antiques markets, not far from Xin Tian Di, is Shanghai’s answer to Beijing’s Panjiayuan Antique Market.  While tiny in comparison to Panjiayuan, Dong Tai Road is lined with stalls and shops selling all that is junk and treasure in chinoiserie. You can find all kinds of items including antiques, curios, porcelain, furniture, jewelry, old wooden rice buckets, brightly painted opera masks, wood carvings, birds, flowers, goldfish, and nostalgic bric-a-brac from colonial and revolutionary days (especially Mao memorabilia). It’s worth a wander just to see what’s on offer but don’t forget your bargaining skills.

Address: Junction of Dongtai Lu & Liuhe Lu, 1 block west of Xizang Nan Lu, Luwan District, Shanghai
Transportation: Metro at Huangpi Road South
Hours: Daily 9am -5pm

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Taste of Shanghai – A Guide to Shanghai’s Best Food