Not a list of everything — a short list of what's worth your limited time, with the practical notes we give our own guests.
Shanghai in a single view: a sweeping riverfront of 1920s neoclassical banks and trading houses facing the space-age towers of Pudong across the Huangpu. Walk it twice if you can — once in daylight for the architecture, once after dark when both skylines switch on.
A 16th-century classical garden squeezed improbably into the heart of the old walled city — rockery mountains, carp ponds, dragon-topped walls and the famous zigzag bridge. The surrounding bazaar is touristy but fun; the garden itself stays serene if you arrive early.
The most accessible of the Yangtze delta's canal towns: 36 stone bridges, Ming and Qing lanes, and wooden boats poling under the great arch of Fangsheng Bridge. An hour from downtown by car, it delivers the 'Venice of the East' postcard without a full-day expedition.
Plane-tree avenues, Art-Deco villas and lane-house compounds now filled with cafés, indie shops and wine bars. There's nothing to 'see' and everything to enjoy — this is the neighborhood that makes visitors want to move to Shanghai. Wukang Road is the classic stroll.
China's tallest building corkscrews 632 metres above Pudong, with one of the world's highest observation decks and the world's fastest elevators. Pair it with the riverside promenade below for face-to-face views back at the Bund.
China's most famous shopping street runs neon-bright for over a kilometre from People's Square toward the river. Come for the spectacle and the people-watching as much as the shops — then escape into the Shanghai Museum's bronzes on the square itself.
Want them without the logistics? Our Shanghai day tour links the essentials door-to-door, and the 5 days journey covers the full set at a relaxed pace.