Shanghai
上海
Good for 48 hours, pointless for a week
Shanghai is China's international face - sanitized, expensive, and about as authentically Chinese as a Panda Express. It's useful as an entry point with good infrastructure, but spending more than 2-3 days here is missing the point of visiting China. You didn't fly 12 hours to see Art Deco buildings and eat 200 RMB brunch.
- •The Bund is just looking at buildings you can see in Europe
- •Disneyland? Really? You came to China for Disneyland?
- •French Concession is Instagram backdrop with European prices
- •Yu Garden is a crowded souvenir market with a garden attached
- •It's the least Chinese city in China
Solution:
Use it as an entry point, stay 2 days max, then go see real China
→ From disappointing destination to convenient gateway
Booking tip: Stay near subway lines, not in tourist areas
With Car
Without Car
Local wet markets at dawn
The only authentic Shanghai experience left
Longtang alleys off main roads
Glimpses of old Shanghai life still exist
M50 art district
Actual art, not just selfie spots
Breakfast street food
Jianbing and shengjianbao from street vendors, not restaurants
Pudong skyline from Puxi bars
Better than paying for observation decks
- →Maglev train from airport is a tourist trap, take metro Line 2
- →Xintiandi is a shopping mall pretending to be culture
- →Real Shanghai food is in local neighborhoods, not Nanjing Road
- →Everything costs 2-3x more than other Chinese cities
- →Use it to recover from jet lag, then leave