I stayed there for three weeks last year. Many great things to do and see, such an enormous city you’ll definetly have some fun.
These are must sees (you don’t want to miss them):
The bund tunnel, pay for the ride, it’s cheesy but well worth it, you’ll remember it for the rest of your life.
The maglev to and from the airport, same here, it’s a bit overpriced compared to a taxi but don’t be skimpy, but you will remember the ride for the rest of your life, it litterally feels like you’re breaking the laws of physics speeding along at 300mph at 20 feet over the ground, overtaking cars doing 80mph on the highway at litteraly four times their speed.
Jin Mao tower. The bar (don’t go to the observation deck). Be sure to ask in the lobby for the elevator to the bar, or you will end up on the observation deck which is crowded and not as nice. In the bar you can sit down and have an overpriced beer and watch the view.
The pirate dvd, clothing and other stores in the old town market. Remember to haggle and start really low (at like 30% of asking price, you will usually be able to get to between 50% and 70% of price depending on your skill), keep smiling and keep haggling :)
If you buy pirate dvd’s beware that there is a chance that customs will confiscate them, if you keep them in your bag and you don’t look like a drug smuggler you’ll probably be fine.
ALWAYS ask to watch the dvd’s… the seller will have a TV to show it to you, if he doesn’t or doesn’t want to, just say no and go to another one. Some dvd’s are of really poor quality, unsynched sound, without english sound, retarded or non-existent subtitles (the retarded subtitles can actually be worth the buy just for the extremly stupid attempts at understanding english), or sometimes even some guy smoking weed and filming in the theater. You will be dissapointed if you buy 200 dvd’s and lug them home just to find out that only 20 are watchable.
The pirate dvd and electronics market in the big shopping center is worth a visit even if you’re not shopping (can’t remember the name, “black pearl?” but ask at the hotel and they will tell you for sure, there is only one place). Same goes here, watch dvd’s before buying.
If you try to buy clothing there’s lots of stuff for girls, but the clothing for men is more limited (the chinese seem to be stuck in some kind of hip-hop 90’s fashion and haven’t really moved on), also the sizes for men are a bit oversized, which is wierd considering most chinese men are really short and skinny.
You can get really excellent tailored suits of excellent quality for like nothing in the markets around old town (20–50 bucks), the best thing is to bring an old suit from home with a good fit that you like and take it to them, choose a fabric and ask them to make a copy, otherwise you might end up with a poor fit. I’d reccomend getting atleast two tailored suits as they are a steal compared to home.
I also second the tip with asking the hotel lobby to write down your destination (and return destination) on a peice of paper so you can communicate with taxi-drivers, otherwise you will have a long conversation ending up with them looking confused and driving you somewhere else :)
The main shopping street (can’t remember the name) is really sort of overrated, very crowded, flashy and extremely overpriced shops. You can walk the length of it but really, don’t expect too much and don’t buy anything there that you can get for about 10% the price anywhere else in Shanghai. The park at the end of the shopping street is really neat and the skyline watching from the park is otherworldly.
If you’re looking for some partying i’d reccomend the club “Baby Face”, it’s near the park mentioned above. This is loud trance music and lot’s of chinese dancing, so i dont know if it’s your cup of tea. If you’re looking to pick up girls this might also be a good spot, but although chinese women seem to like foreign men, they are usually a bit reserved and the language barrier is always a problem. You may want to try an expat bar but beware that some girls are pro’s, but far from all of them, most are just normal girls out to have a fun time.. in short make sure you know what you are dealing with (pro or normal girl), if they are overly interested in you immediately get suspicious..
Finally i reccomend taking a taxi at night on the elevated highways. Every building in the city has it’s own lighting scheme, and the highway is lighted too.. it’s really a futuristic experience and you feel like you are in the movie “Blade Runner”.
Hope you have a great stay in Shanghai.
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