Must-See Attractions
The Bund
外滩
A sweeping mile-long granite promenade lined with 52 immaculately preserved colonial-era buildings operating as the financial command centers of former empires.
Yu Garden
豫园
A masterclass in spatial manipulation: a 5-acre classical Jiangnan-style garden featuring winding pathways, hidden courtyards, towering rockeries, and moon gates.
Shanghai Tower
上海中心大厦
A staggering 632-meter twisting mega-tall skyscraper that stands as the tallest building in China and physically asserts Shanghai's global financial apex.
Jing'an Temple
静安寺
An ancient bastion of Buddhist tranquility completely besieged on all sides by the aggressive, hyper-modern glass skyscrapers of Nanjing West Road.
Tianzifang
田子坊
An organic urban renewal project preserving 'Shikumen' stone-gate architecture, creating a claustrophobic, symbiotic ecosystem of commercial art galleries and raw local living.
Must-Eat Spots
Soup Dumplings
小笼包
A delicate feat of culinary physics: incredibly thin pleated dough wrappers encasing finely minced pork and scalding, rich liquid broth.
Pan-Fried Pork Buns
生煎包
The rugged, street-level cousin of the Xiaolongbao. A thick, yeast-leavened bun packed with soup, steamed on top and aggressively fried on the bottom.
Red-Braised Pork Belly
红烧肉
Perfectly layered blocks of pork belly slow-braised to a translucent, melt-in-the-mouth mahogany texture in a heavily reduced, sticky sweet sauce.
Scallion Oil Noodles
葱油拌面
A masterclass in culinary minimalism: springy wheat noodles tossed in a deep, smoky oil infused with slowly dehydrated, blackened scallions.
Crab Roe Noodles
蟹粉面
An incredibly rich, golden gravy of labor-intensive freshwater 'Hairy Crab' meat and buttery roe poured over plain noodles.