Trips and Tours to Shanghai

Once little more than an embankment with a muddy waterfront, Shanghai's Bund was made a major financial center in Asia during the concession era. Its signature skyline featuring early 20th century art deco and neoclassical buildings has come to symbolize the city's colonial past. The grand edifices stand in stark contrast to the glitzy skyscrapers on the opposite side of the Huangpu River and serve as a potent reminder of Shanghai's hedonistic zenith when banks and trading houses brought increased wealth to the city. Today it's a firm favorite with visitors whether just to amble along the riverfront admiring the architecture or splash cash at the many luxury shops and gourmet restaurants.

Housing two jade Buddha statues brought to China by a Burmese monk in 1882, the Jade Buddha Temple is Shanghai's most popular and venerated Buddhist temple. Comprised of courtyards and grand halls fashioned in perfect symmetry, the temple buildings date back to 1928 after the originals were destroyed during the Chinese Revolution and today serve as one of the city's few active Buddhist temples. The centerpiece of the temple is the near two meter tall white jade seated Buddha statue, encrusted with jewels and semi-precious stones. The second smaller statue is of a milky-white reclining Buddha, housed in a separate hall with a further three gold-plated Buddha statues contained within the Great Treasure Hall.

If the Bund is the face of Shanghai's past then the Oriental Pearl Tower is the bold symbol of the city's present and future aspirations. Situated on the east bank of the Huangpu River known as the Pudong district, the bulbous structure was completed in 1995 and towers over the city at a height of 468 meters making it one of Asia's tallest buildings. Easily identified thanks to its unusual design of spheres linked by columns, the tower features a revolving restaurant, exhibition facilities, a small shopping center and fifteen observatory levels offering impressive panoramic views of the city and Huangpu River. It's also boasts the world's first wholly transparent elevator.

Snaking its way from the Dianshan Lake to its mouth at the East China Sea, the Huangpu River is Shanghai's main artery and divides the city into two sections - Pudong to the east, home to the colonial architecture of the Bund, and Puxi to the west where Shanghai's more modern skyscrapers stand tall. One of the best ways to fully appreciate the two sides of the city and their individual appearance is from the water with a pleasure boat cruise on the Huangpu River. Cruise boats operate throughout the day with the Pudong skyline, including the distinguishable Oriental Pearl Tower, illuminated with bright neon lights for a spectacular display at night.

For a fabulous bird's eye view of Shanghai's cityscape, head to the observatory of the Shanghai World Financial Centre, a giant window in the sky with incredible vistas across the Huangpu River and beyond. Within the world's seventh tallest building and the second tallest in China, the observatory is located on the 100th floor 474 meters above the ground. The observatory features a 55-meter-long transparent glass-walled walkway, known as the Sky Walk, offering vertigo-inducing views of the city below. Opening times are between 8am and 11pm with sunset a particularly popular time to visit.

For creative local Shanghainese cuisine and top notch staples of the wider Chinese cuisine, the 1221 restaurant is hard to beat. A favorite among expats living in the city, it's a little out of the way with a taxi ride required but the plentiful meat dishes and extensive vegetarian options make it worth seeking out. Highlights on the menu include the eye-watering chilli chicken, the perfectly crispy roast duck and aromatic onion cakes. Those with a sweet tooth should try the pan-fried sticky rice and sweet bean paste.

Meal prices: $$$

With a menu that perfectly complement its location behind the Jing’an Buddhist Temple, the Jen Dow Vegetarian Restaurant is the ideal spot for those looking for meat-free dishes. Part of a restaurant group that started in Taiwan, the restaurant serves a tasty and varied range of noodle dishes and soups as well as hotpot with a second floor sister restaurant serving typical Chinese dishes and Western classics without the meat. Prices are inexpenisve and portions large at this buffet restaurant and it usually fills up come lunch time.

Meal prices: $$

Nanjing Road is Shanghai's premier shopping destination home to over 600 stores from well-known international brands to specialty stores selling silk goods, jade and embroidery amongst others. The 5km-long road starts at The Bund and runs near to the Jing'an Temple further west, separated in the middle by the Zhong Xizang Road. There's also a plethora of cafes and restaurants for die-hard shoppers in need of refreshment as well as a trackless sightseeing train that provides an energy-saving way of soaking up the atmosphere on the street.

The fashionable shopping quarter of Tianzifang is packed with an array of artsy spoils stocked in boutique shops, designer stores and local studios. Located in the French concession area, the quarter is a labyrinth of attractive alleyways lined with shops, bars, coffee shops, and restaurants. Here you'll find handmade jewelery, ethnic embroidery and tailored Chinese fashion as well as contemporary ceramics, propaganda prints and original art pieces. The arts and crafts enclave grew out of a residential area so Tianzifang has a shabby charm with laundry airing from terraces above the shop fronts making it an interesting place for a little meander and spot of souvenir shopping.

The majority of international visitors to Shanghai will likely arrive into Pudong International Airport (PVG) located 40km east of the city. Depending on traffic, the average transfer time by road from the airport to the city center is around 50 minutes. For a thoroughly unique journey, consider taking the Maglev - a magnetic levitation train using magnets to create both lift and propulsion. It was the first of its kind to be used for commercial purposes (the second launched in South Korea in February 2016) and gets passengers to the outskirts of New Pudong in just 8 minutes travelling at a top speed of 430km/hr and an average of 300km/hr. The Maglev terminates at Longyang Lu subway station which means transferring to the subway to continue the journey into the city center. Shanghai is also home to a second airport, the Hongqiao Airport (SHA) which is located 15km west of the city and mostly serves domestic flights across China with two terminals. A handful of international flights also depart from this airport flying to destinations across Asia.

Shanghai is a major transport hub with many major high-speed rail lines either terminating/starting here or passing through. As such the city is well connected to many destinations across the country with the bullet train to Beijing taking just 5-6 hours while the regular services take roughly 14 hours to Xi'an. There are four main railway stations: Shanghai Railway Station - the largest in the city, South Railway Station used for destinations in southern China, West Railway Station - the smallest of the four serving only a handful of destinations, and Hongqiao Railway Station where high-speed trains largely travel from. All four railway stations are connected to Shanghai's city center by the subway system and thanks to extensive renovations in recent years provide modern facilities and bright, airy waiting halls.