Shanghai

With links to 110 cities in 48 countries, the commercial, trading and transportation hub of Shanghai is the gateway to China for many travellers. Though rich in cultural heritage, the city’s prime calling card is its urban charm. The People’s Square and the banks of Huangpujiang River offer great sightseeing, business and shopping opportunities. You can shop in high-end venues for designer items or cruise through the backstreets to hunt for interesting trinkets, including a myriad of traditional Chinese handicrafts.

Sheshan Mountain, Dingshan Lake, Yangshan Deep Water Port and Chongming Island are great choices for day-trip escapes. The city enjoys a pleasant northern sub-tropical maritime monsoon climate with four distinct seasons.

The Bund
As a living gallery of world architecture, the Bund is a true symbol of Shanghai. Its dozens of historical buildings light up at night to make a dazzling spectacle.

Yuyuan Garden
A famous classical garden in South China, the Yuyuan Garden was built 400 years ago during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) by a Sichuan minister of finance named Pan Yunduan. Since the establishment of the People ’s Republic of China, it has been renovated several times and now enjoys state protection. The garden is divided into scenic sections with equally-as-scenic names, such as ‘Mountains and Forests in the City’, ‘Magnificent Woods and Beautiful Valleys’, ‘Historical Relics of Heralding Spring’, ‘Water and Rockery Scenery’, ‘Tops in the World’ and the ‘Inner Garden’.

Xintiandi
Xintiandi is a car-free shopping, eating and entertainment hub of Shanghai. It’s composed of an area of restored traditional shikumen (stone gate) houses built upon narrow alleys, which now support a modern shopping mall, a cinema complex and some adjoining houses serving as book stores, cafes and restaurants. Most of Xintiandi’s cafes and restaurants feature both indoor and outdoor seating. The area has an active nightlife on weekdays as well as weekends, although the scene tends to be more chilled out and romantic than raucous. Xintiandi means ‘New Heaven and Earth’ and is known as one of China’s first lifestyle centres.

Website: http://www.meet-in-shanghai.net/