8 districts
Neighbourhoods
Shanghai is a set of cities stacked next to each other. Pick one per half-day rather than three per day.
The French Concession
Plane trees, low houses, and the streets everyone means when they say "old Shanghai". The best walking in the city, full stop.
The Bund & Huangpu
Fifty-two buildings on one curve of river, the old city behind them, and the skyline across the water.
Hongkou
A district that sheltered 20,000 refugees, still lived in, and largely absent from visitor itineraries.
Jing'an
A gilded temple in a glass district, and ten minutes north, lane streets that almost nobody walks.
West Bund
A former airport and coal terminal turned into the densest stretch of contemporary art in the country.
Suzhou Creek
The other river. Warehouses, a 1930s post office, a battle-scarred wall, and the city's best gallery cluster.
Hongqiao & the exhibition district
Not a sightseeing district — a transport hub, a convention centre and a business quarter. Useful if that is why you are here.
Pudong & Lujiazui
Farmland in 1990, three of the tallest buildings in the world now. Best seen from underneath, then from the water.
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