Free Things To Do

From booze to music and art, Shanghai has a lot to offer if you're a bit short on cash or just plain cheap.

Free Art

M50. The galleries at Moganshan Lu are all free. Putuo District, North Shanghai.

Studio Rouge. This little gallery near the Bund always has the latest in Chinese art. 17 Fuzhou Lu, Huangpu, 200002. 021/6323-0833. Building 7, 50 Moganshan Lu, Putuo 200060. 1380/174-1782 (mobile).

Wenmiao. On Sunday it only costs Y1 to get into the book market and see the temple. Huangpu District, Old City.

No one will charge you for popping your head into buildings on the Bund such as the Bank of China or Bund 18 to catch a glimpse of the glorious marble interiors.

Free Drinks

See Shanghai night owls at their wildest at ladies' nights all over town. Drinks for women are mostly free and unlimited (sorry, guys). Check out Barbarossa on Wednesday nights.

Free Shows

Free shows in Shanghai come and go. The best way to get information is to pick up a copy of one of the free English-language magazines at bars, restaurants, shops, and cafés around Shanghai.

Smartened up with a record store and bar, but still grungy and basic, Yuyintang is one of Shanghai's better music venues. On some nights, you'll be able to check out the bands for absolutely nothing.

Dark, sexy JZ club is open late with smooth jazz and blues, often for free.

Free Quintessential Experiences

Set aside some time for random wandering. Shanghai is a great walking city because so many of its real treasures are untouted: tiny alleyways barely visible on the map, garden squares, shopwindows, sudden vistas of skyline or park. With comfortable shoes, walking might become your favorite free activity.

Slip into one of Shanghai's numerous parks or green spaces, such as Fuxing Park or Lu Xun Park, to check out the older generation enjoying their retirement.

Watch elegant tai chi or the sweep of the brush as people practice their calligraphy on the sidewalk in water, not ink.

Take your camera and head to the Bund to get your essential shots of that Pudong skyline with the Oriental Pearl Tower sticking out there like a giant syringe. It's impressive during the day but magical at night.

Get online at the increasing numbers of restaurants and cafés that offer free wireless, including all branches of Wagas.

Get into the Chinese Festival spirit with traditional activities such as seeing the bell ringing at Longhua Temple for New Year, enjoying the lights in the Yu Garden for Lantern Festival at the end of the Chinese New Year, or gazing at the huge harvest moon for Mid-Autumn Festival.