One day in ShanghaiThree Shanghais in one day
Start early with “French Concession Highlights”, while the plane trees on Sinan Road are still quiet: from the First Congress House in Xintiandi to Fuxing Park, where people dance and practise tai chi at that hour, and on to the lanes of Tianzifang. A short taxi ride drops you in the Old City for xiaolongbao at Nanxiang. Then metro line 8 takes you up to People's Square for “From the Racecourse to the Bund”, along Nanjing Road to Waibaidu Bridge. Head back to the Old City around sunset for the gods-and-pirates walk, and have hongshao rou for dinner next to Chenxiangge.
-
Morning
French Concession Highlights: Plane Trees, Villas and Lanes
- Xintiandi and the First Congress HouseA 1920 shikumen house where, in July 1921, thirteen delegates met to found the Chinese Communist Party.
- Fuxing ParkThe old “French Park”, where the city now dances, plays mahjong and practises tai chi under the plane trees.
- Sun Yat-sen's HouseThe villa that Chinese emigrants in Canada gave to the father of modern China, where he lived with Soong Ching-ling.
- Sinan Road and its VillasThe former Rue Massenet, a street of villas where Zhou Enlai and the great opera star Mei Lanfang once lived.
- TianzifangA maze of shikumen lanes that artists saved from demolition, now packed with studios and cafés.
-
Lunch
Try Nanxiang xiaolongbao at Nanxiang Mantou Dian (南翔馒头店). Yuyuan Lu, 85, junto al puente en zigzag, Huangpu, Shanghái
-
Afternoon
From the Racecourse to the Bund: Shanghai of the Concessions
- The Old Racecourse and Clock TowerWhere People's Square now stands, the British raced horses for almost a century.
- Park HotelThe dark-brick skyscraper that was the tallest building in Asia for almost thirty years.
- Nanjing Road and the Department StoresChina's most famous shopping street, where two families back from Australia invented modern retail.
- The Old HSBC Building and the Custom HouseThe dome of Asia's most powerful bank and a clock modelled on Big Ben, at the heart of the Bund.
- The Peace HotelVictor Sassoon's green pyramid, where Shanghai danced to jazz in the 1930s.
- Waibaidu BridgeChina's first steel bridge, where Suzhou Creek meets the Huangpu opposite the towers of Pudong.
-
Early evening
Gods, Pirates and Spirits of the Old City
- Dajing Pavilion and the Last City WallThe only surviving stretch of the wall built in 1553 against pirates, watched over from above by the god of war.
- Fangbang Road, the Old StreetA canal buried in 1913 and a secret society that held the city for eighteen months.
- The City God TempleThe temple of Shanghai's three guardians, one of them a scholar who refused to serve the emperor while he lived.
- Huxinting Teahouse and the Zigzag BridgeShanghai's oldest teahouse, in the middle of a pond, and a nine-turn bridge against evil spirits.
- Chenxiangge, the Agarwood PavilionA small Buddhist temple born of a statue of Guanyin rescued, so the story goes, from a sunken boat.
-
Dinner
Try Hongshao rou, Shanghai-style braised pork at Shanghai Lao Fandian (上海老饭店). Fuyou Lu, 242, Huangpu, Shanghái