Useful Travel Tips about Shanghai

A trip to China would not be completed without a visit to Shanghai. Shanghai is the best example of innovation, as well as of tradition. There, you can find various samples of the big Chinese history and customs. Above all Shanghai offers the best instances of a super-contemporary city, in which there are plenty of contrasts. Now I am going to give you some basic advice which will be useful when you will be organizing your travel to Shanghai.

Shanghai Aerial

1. Shanghai is a huge and overpopulated city of more than 20 millions of people. Although its origins date back to 1000 years BC, its great boom came during the nineteenth century because Shanghai as a port had an important strategic position. It was at that time when large areas of Shanghai became a colonial settlements of the British, French and Americans.

2. Therefore, when visiting Shanghai you have to combine four facets: See the areas that reflect its important colonial history; visit the historic sites of the enormous Chinese tradition; wander the streets of a really modern city where there are plenty of skyscrapers and enjoy its vivid commercial activity.

Shanghai Temples and Pagodas

3. As a result, most of your visit to Shanghai will focus on the banks of the Huangpu River, which is where we meet Shanghai’s Port, today’s most important port internationally thanks to the amount of goods that pass through it. On the one side you will find the colonial region Bund and on the other the super modern Pudong district with its towering skyscrapers such as the World Financial Center, one of the highest buildings in the world.

Shanghai Markets

4. Everyone can experience the great Chinese tradition in Shanghai which is reflected in the Yuyuan Garden and the Buddha’s Jade Temple.

5. Apart from the financial district of Pudong, you will find the best example that proves Shanghai to be a super-modern city walking from the central Plaza del Pueblo Renmin to the area of Bund, through the famous Nanjing road.

Shanghai Nanjing Road

6. Shanghai will also surprise you with its incredible commercial activity. Beside the huge and modern department stores and the brand shops of the Nanjing Street, you can visit traditional shopping areas such as the Yuyuan Market and also stores like the Yatai Market.

Shanghai

7. Finally, you should not miss some of the tourist activities such as the cruise by the Huangpu River on a traditional Chinese boat, the ride on the Maglev levitation train which links the airport with the city center and the dinner with panoramic view of the city in the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, one of the greatest symbols of Shanghai.

Shanghai photos: Kenny.