Eastern China · Shanghai · Gateway City
Art Deco riverfront, shikumen lanes and a sci-fi skyline — China's most recognisable city, and its smoothest first landing.
Why it's special
The least 'traditional China' of Chinese cities — which is exactly why it's the smoothest way in.
Shanghai is where most overseas travellers first touch down in China — a megacity of roughly 24.85 million. A county seat since 1292 and a treaty port in the modern era, it has layered colonial riverfront architecture, shikumen lane houses and a sci-fi skyline into a single city. For first-time visitors it cuts the friction of transport, payment and language to a minimum: learn how to use China here, then head somewhere further.
Culture
Food & Flavor
Everyday ease
Itineraries
Not a landmark checklist — one axis, three eras of one city.
Beat the crowds to the Bund: colonial-era banks and trading houses on this side, the Lujiazui skyline across the water. Walk the ~1.5 km promenade from Yan'an East Road to Waibaidu Bridge and take in the city's whole arc — from treaty port to sci-fi skyline — in one go.
Walk (or ride two metro stops) to Yu Garden: rockeries and corridors of the Ming-era garden first, then dive into the temple bazaar next door for lunch — xiaolongbao and shengjian straight from the steamer. It's crowded; that's part of the deal.
Taxi or metro to the Wukang Building, then wander north along Wukang Road, ducking into Anfu or Wuyuan side streets whenever they tempt you — villas, cafés and small boutiques at a gentler density than anywhere else in the city.
A ~15-minute taxi from the plane-tree district brings you to the Xuhui riverfront. Catch a show at the Long Museum or Tank, then take the riverside path — at sunset the whole Huangpu turns gold, and you share the bank with local runners, dog-walkers and kite-flyers.
After dinner, metro back to People's Square and walk the length of the East Nanjing Road pedestrian street until it spills onto the Bund — both banks fully lit, the morning's architecture wearing a different face. The classic way to close day one.
Coordinates: Tianditu · OpenStreetMap
Don't miss
Not a sightseeing list — things worth doing once, with your own hands.
Eat & bring home
Benbang cooking runs sweet and glossy with soy and oil; soup dumplings come scalding — vent them first. The honest kitchens sit on residential streets, and a long queue doesn't mean better food.
More dedicated vegetarian restaurants than anywhere in China — but benbang kitchens habitually use lard, meat stock and dried shrimp.
Dedicated vegan spots exist, but in ordinary restaurants you'll still need to check fats, broths, egg and dairy dish by dish.
Halal noodle shops and Xinjiang restaurants are widespread, but benbang cuisine itself is generally off the table.
Xiaolongbao, shengjian and braised dishes are almost all pork-based — always confirm before ordering.
Good to know
Reality check
The honest take
If what you're after is 'traditional China', Shanghai may disappoint — it reads more like a world city. But as a first stop, no city in China lands you more smoothly or sets up the rest of the trip better.
Coffee, Western dining and hotels are priced like any global capital, yet the metro, the ferry and a basket of dumplings stay cheap. The spread inside one city is enormous — budget for whichever Shanghai you intend to live.
On weekend and holiday evenings the Bund and East Nanjing Road run routine crowd control, and the Wukang Building corner packs solid. For empty frames, come at dawn.
Drivers rarely speak much English — keep a screenshot of your destination in Chinese. At the airports use the official taxi queues; in town, ride-hailing apps save the negotiation.
Hotels handle registration for you; for guesthouses and short-lets, confirm they host foreign guests and complete registration within 24 hours of arrival.
In China, hotels handle your registration; for guesthouses, a friend's home or short-lets, you usually register at the nearest police station within 24 hours of arrival.
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Is it for you?
Where to next
From Shanghai, the Jiangnan region is one rail hour away.
About an hour by rail: West Lake and the Longjing tea hills — China's most classic answer to 'Jiangnan'.
A meticulously preserved water town, famous for its night scenes and theatre festival.
Bamboo seas and a guesthouse colony — the Yangtze Delta's weekend mountain retreat.
A great mountain within rail reach: seas of cloud, storied pines and Huizhou villages at its foot.
A water town without leaving Shanghai: Metro Line 17 runs straight there — stone bridges and hand-rowed boats in half a day.
Pudong's own salt-trade town and a Lust, Caution location: free, fence-free and far quieter than Zhujiajiao — reachable via Metro Line 16.
Travel responsibly
Travel isn't only about the view — it's about living alongside a place with respect.
