The Best of Shanghai

Shanghai is an ultramodern city with an iconic skyline. Home to twenty four million people it is busy at all times of day. We spent four days in Shanghai exploring the city.

Seeing the Bund and Shanghai’s skyline was a highlight of our time in Shanghai. The Bund is Shanghai’s Wall Street housing buildings over one hundred years old; many banks, shipping companies and customs houses. We walked up and down the Bund, both during the day and at night. On the other side of the river you have the ultramodern skyscrapers, mostly built in the last twenty years. This area is amazing viewed at night as it is all lit up.

For another view of the city we went to the Oriental Pearl Tower. There are several towers to climb in modern Shanghai, including the Shanghai Tower which is the second largest tower in the world after the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. We decided on the Oriental Pearl Tower due to its history and great city views. This tower is 468 metres tall. We climbed up to the main sightseeing floor, climbing in the elevator at 12 metres per second (very fast). It took no time at all to reach 263 metres. The views of the city were spectacular, skyscrapers in all directions.

One level below the sightseeing floor is a glass walkway around the tower. You could see right down to the ground below. Not for the faint hearted, we managed to get all the boys out onto the glass..!

For another view of this amazing city (and one of the best things we did whilst in Shanghai) we visited the revolving restaurant on the 45th floor at the Radisson Blu New World hotel where you get 360 views of Shanghai. It was amazing to sit and eat and watch the city in front of you. You can also visit the Skybar at the Radisson for drinks.

There are many places for shopping in Shanghai, many of which are in modern shopping malls. We walked along the main shopping street, East Nanjing Road at day and night. It comes alive at night, all lit up and packed with people. We also visited Yuyuan Gardens, a touristy area which maintains the antique style of Chinese towns. This is also a good area to try street food. we sampled some delicious crab dumplings whilst wandering through the maze of streets.

We also visited Xintiandi, the French Concession area. It is an upscale shopping and restaurant area, popular with wheel heeled shoppers and al fresco diners. It reminded us of Paris. Here you also find the Site of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

Another highlight of our time in Shanghai was our trip to Shanghai Circus World. What an amazing circus – all acrobatics, death defying at times but totally enthralling. If you are in Shanghai this is a must see.

We got around by walking, taxis (cheap but only take four people, a problem for us!) and the underground (cheaper still and very clean and efficient). The underground has ticket machines and maps in english so is easy enough to use.

We stayed at Sunrise on the Bund, a great hotel as our first stop on our world tour.