China’s most international city. Most westerners and expats, English-friendly. Big, clean, quiet (seems all vehicles are electric), cleaner air, modern commercial hub, many business people here.
Despite recent complaints during covid lockdowns (2020-2021) about the government being too restrictive and killing the fun and business liberty, Shanghai is still a very nice place to live. Lifestyle here is very modern and trendy, in contrast to a more traditional or old-school lifestyle elsewhere in China. Whether that fits your taste is another matter altogether.
4-5 days would allow you to explore different areas and enjoy the metropolitan lifestyle.
Where to stay:
- Jing’an:
- Most popular place for foreigners. Bohemian mix of loud foreigner bars and small local Chinese places. Some people like this vibe since it’s comfortable to their western ways. Feels like you can dial the Chinese unfamiliarity to as high or low as you want.
- Jing’an is actually a pretty big area and easy to be in the wrong place where the vibe is not what you expected. The north area around the Jade Buddha Temple is the more chill and local area. It’s still vibrant and many shops and a mall and things. But the southern area around where Julu Road & Shaanxi South Road intersect is the vibrant “hipster” area with many small shops and eateries, and then nightlife bars. Even so…most things close by 2am even on a Saturday night.
- Puxi:
- Locals recommend this area to foreigners as the “traditional area” just west of the river, more fun and vibrant. Recommended to stay by People’s Square. Walk east and you see East Nanjing Road (big commercial walking strip with many stores), walk west and you’re in the more chill but still vibrant and vibey Jing’an area.
- The Bund – the Bund is the touristy historic waterfront area of Shanghai (located within Puxi). Just think of touristy restaurants, shops, and parks with numerous viewpoints (both ground level and rooftop level) along the water. It’s the classic view across the water over at Pudong, with its tall European-style city buildings and tower structures along the water.
- Personally, I found Puxi to be much too commercial for my taste. Perhaps Asians are more accustomed (perhaps even attracted) to dense crowded areas. But Westerners may find it too chaotic. I also didn’t like that there wasn’t much bench seating outside, and also not many away from the blaring hot sun. My only refuge from the heat was inside the shops.
- Pudong:
- Newer rapidly developing modern area east of the river, lots of soulless skyrise apartments and office buildings. Feels like there’s nothing to do or so, way less fun compared to Puxi or Jing’an. It seems boring both at day, and empty at night. Sure…it could be fun if you know exactly places to go but it’s not a place for exploration.
- I suppose you might like this if you want a tall skyline view of the city and plan to drive or take taxi to get around. It’s a good option for people staying a long time and have money. But for short-term visitors, I think it’s all-around a bad option, incredibly boring and also far from the busier area.
- I was taught “puxi” means west, and “pudong” means east, and thus those areas are named that way.
- Former French Concession (FFC) – nice historical area (spreading south and southeast of Jing’an) with interesting architecture and museums. Today lined with many shops and eateries. Nice to hang out or do a historical walking tour.
Your first priority is deciding where you want to hang out. Generally, foreigners looking to party and explore would find south Jing’an more fun.
Second priority is public transportation convenience to other areas. Especially if you plan to hop around town and do some touristy things.
Look at a Metro map of Shanghai and stay within the Line 4 box and my favorite lines are line 1 which takes you to nearly every line and line 9 which runs into Pudong. You can see these lines meet at Xujiahui which is a fun area but if you stay near these lines you can get to anything super fast. Shanghai is easy to get around on the metro.
Hostels & Hotels:
- Tulu Apartment Xietu:
- Absolutely awesome. Beautiful rooms and beautiful common areas (feels like a nice sexy lounge), everything feels modern and spacious. Great service, English-speaking day staff, clean, everything nice! I loved and missed this place.
- Not the most vibrant area of town, but the distance is manageable IMO. Internet was sometimes functional and other times super slow but good enough to use, and now looking back I’d say it was way above average compared to other places.
- ZEN Hotel (formerly Huaxiang Hotel):
- Unless you’re on a tight budget or only staying one night, this place unacceptably sucks. Old worn down hotel, in unsightly downtown area full of traffic. Many floors so you wait for the elevator sometimes. Rooms show wear and tear, smells a bit like cigarettes, and don’t look as nice as in photos. No laundry room on-site (dealbreaker for me), none of the staff speaks English (but you’ll manage with translation apps). Bedside tissue paper is a half-used roll of toilet paper. Anyway, you get my point.
- Nice view of the city skyline through the dirty window (which opens just enough for people to smoke here). Internet was surprisingly fast and useable for a big building. I lasted about an hour here before requesting to modify my booking on Trip.com (which they accepted) and left the next day. I’m glad they swiftly refunded and accepted my modification request. But overall, this is certainly a case of “you get what you pay for”. And really, it’s not that cheap and not worth the cost savings.
- Meego Smart Select Hotel (Jing’an):
- Great area, small room but everything nice and modern, all necessary amenities and many extra conveniences, nice view outside my window. I loved everything about it. If you’re ok being in the more chill area of Jing’an, I highly highly recommend you stay here. The location is nearby many local things, also the nice Moho mall.
- Biggest issue here is the WIFI is terribly slow. Completely unacceptable and unusable.
Neighborhoods, walking areas, public squares:
- Jing’an –
- Puxi –
- Former French Concession (FFC) –
Activities to do:
- Viewpoints, landmarks, sunsets, hikes:
- Sunsets – helpful suggestions on Quora
- W Hotel – funny photo op of the illuminated character laying down.
- Buildings & architecture:
- Jade Buddha Temple
- Jing’an Temple
- Parks, gardens, green spaces:
- Beaches, bridges, water-points:
- Arts, museums, culture:
- Markets, shopping:
- Nanjing Road
- Tours:
Restaurants & Cafes:
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Interesting thing I was told about Shanghai (and perhaps China in general) is that the dining scene is so incredibly competitive. Which means food quality has to be really high and prices low. And even so, most new restaurants don’t even last 6-12 months.
As much as I recommend places to go, I’m quite sure you can find tons of amazing stuff by randomly walking around. I had so much anxiety trying to use the Chinese apps, so I just walked around town and entered places that looked busy…and I was never wrong!
But even better, is to have locals take you out. My god, my god, there are so many damn food options in China. I’d have to live here a year to try everything!
Bars, clubs, and nightlife:
- Hakkasan – nice restaurant by the water.
- The Captain Hostel (rooftop bar) – nice view of Shanghai Water
- Jing’an hipster bar area
- Whiskey bar area.
- Mengtien Live House
Miscellaneous tips:
- China – quick travel guide
- Jiahui Hospital – for typical medical needs, I was very happy with Jiahui’s network of healthcare locations and providers. You can call the number and speak to someone in English who will direct you where you need to go and what to do. Prices were reasonable. I’m very happy with the service provided.
Itinerary:
- DAY 1 – explore Jing’an and its foreigner-friendly comforts.
- DAY 2 – explore Puxi and its vibrant traditional vibe at day. Then wander into the touristy Bund waterfront area and rooftop restaurant/bar at night.
- DAY 3 – former french concession at day.
- DAY 4 – daytrip to small town.
Nearby towns:
Unfiltered notes: