Gear in Shanghai

Forget Paris, New York, and Milan—the new center of the fashion universe is Shanghai. People in the rest of China dress for comfort, but the Shanghainese dress to kill. This is a city where suits are still de rigueur for meetings and business functions. Slop around in flip-flops and worn denims and you will feel like there's a neon "tourist" sign over your head. Pack your nicer pairs of jeans or capri pants for sightseeing—there are plenty of fake handbags around with which to dress them up come dinner.

From May through September it's seriously hot and sticky, but air-conditioning in hotels, restaurants, and museums can be arctic—keep a wrinkle-proof sweater or shawl in your day pack. In October and April, a jacket or sweater should suffice. Temperatures plunge into the 30s and 40s Fahrenheit (0-10°C) in November and stay low until mid-March so you'll need a heavy-duty jacket or overcoat. No self-respecting Shanghai resident leaves home each morning without a folding umbrella, nor should you.

That said, in Shanghai you can prepare to be unprepared: the city is a clothing-shopper's paradise. If a bulky jacket's going to put you over the airline limit, buy one for next to nothing in China and leave it behind when you go.

Keep packets of Kleenex and antibacterial hand wipes in your day pack—paper isn't a feature of Chinese restrooms. Watson's is a pharmacy chain with various branches around town; they stock international toiletry brands and tampons, which are otherwise hard to find in Shanghai.