Shanghai is a modern city endowed with traditional Chinese flavor. You can hurry in hustle and rustle, while sipping tea at Wu town in the next hour; western architecture along one side of the Bund well sets off the skyscrapers on the other side of Pudong River; hymns are sung at cathedrals in Xujiahui while incenses are burnt at temples; in the street, senior citizens play Mahjong while in alleys young people play football; you can both experience Hu drama, comic play in small theater and symphony, ballet in Grand Theaters; for dinning, you can have local dishes from Shanghai, Canton tea, as well as France cuisine; for drinking, you can have tea in old streets, while having alcohol at bars in Hengyang Street. In one word, western life well blends into this modern but traditional city.
Fashion
Shanghai is a fashion center. 4 more buildings will be built, besides 7 buildings for malls on Qipu road. Qipu road is located in the juncture of Zhabei, Hongkou and Huangpu District. Since 70s of last century, it has been an important spot for fashion industry.
Qipu road is around 1 kilometer long, in ‘ladder’ shape. Clothes stalls are arranged in high density with features of scarce duplicate and plenty styles. You can surely find one dress that suits you here.
Food
Shanghai boasts all styles of cooking, such as Beijing, Sichuan, Canton, Hunan, Yangzhou, Chaozhou, Anhui and vegetable dishes. Besides, dishes from other countries, like Italian, Russian, French, Vietnamese, Korean, and Japanese ones can all be found in Shanghai. The most famous local dishes are Nanxiang Steamed Bun and Chop with Rice Cake. You can have a try of the Nanxiang Steamed Bun at two famous restaurants: one called Naxiang Steamed Bun in Yu Garden; the other one called Guyi Garden Cake Store on Yan’an Road of Xizang Street. Nanxiang Steamed Bun is small shaped, half transparent steamed in bamboo basket. It is very tasty. Chop with Rice Cake can be found in ‘ Xiaochangzhou’ and ‘Xiandelai’ on Fuzhou Road of Sichuan Middle Street. It has a smooth feeling in the mouth.
Entertainment
Bars are what you must have a try of in Shanghai. There are different types of bars.
Enticing: around Hengshan road and Maoming road and along the consulate of the US, Cotton Club is one the most famous; and Baby face is also famous for launching fashion products.
Fashionable: around Xintiandi, the nearly empty street will be filled with people as soon as curtain of night draws.
Shanghai Grand Garden has a white curled crown-shaped ceiling, classic outdoor theater, and a garden in the air, which all contributes to the clear-cut style and signifies the openness of the theater to arts all over the world. It is located on the north west of People’s Square with 3 theater rooms: main room with 1800 seats for ballet, opera; middle room with 600 seats for indoor music performance; small room with 200 seats for drama. It is a highly recommended place for you to entertain yourself.
Transportation
Shanghai is one of the busiest hubs of international transportation. Nearly every country has direct flight to or from shanghai, or at least can be redirected from Hong Kong or Beijing. There are two airports in Shanghai: Pudong Airport (PVG) for both domestic and international flights and Hongkou Airport (SHA) for domestic flights. Other transportation methods like rail, ocean, and road transport are all well developed.
Shanghai has three train stations: Shanghai station with 70 services everyday; two Southern Shanghai station with 30 services everyday.
There are 5 subways in Shanghai. It’s a very fast and convenient way of exchanging stops.