travel333

Wondering how many days to spend in Shanghai? What are the must see attractions? Or, is it mainly a big city?

rkkwan

Shanghai is mainly just a big city, with two main areas - the older Bund, and the newer Pudong with lots of skyscrapers. However, there are many places near Shanghai that's worth a day trip or two. Plenty of water towns nearby. And Suzhou, another attractive city famous for canals and Chinese gardens, is under an hour by train.

Airlawgirl

I agree with rk- in some ways, Shanghai is disappointing- it's a hot, traffic-choked city, where it's hard to get a taxi, and almost no one speaks English. That said, however, to see the night skyline of Shanghai on a boat cruise is stupendous-really- it was for me the highlight of my stay there- one of the tall skyscrapers turns into a television screen at night, and shows these wondrous color images of tropical birds and plants, along with their T.V. tower needle pulsating in different colors, and there are numerous other modern bldgs. and signs all lit up, but to see the Bund at night with its distinctive colonial architecture all lit up is simply not to be missed- a dramatically different look than seen in daylight. Also recommend the Shanghai Museum - really one of the most well-designed, modern museums I have been in. For food, try "M on the Bund" considered one of the best restaurants in Shanghai, for great food and views.

Lia

It really depends on what you like to do. I spent five days in Shanghai last Oct. and plan to go back in Sept. I went to the Yuyuan Garden, Old Shanghai Street, Shanghai Museum, Nextage Dept. Store, Times Square, Jing An, Nanjing Rd, Huaihai Rd, etc...and really tried to mix up the main attractions with "wandering". I thought the taxis and the subway were clean, cheap and plentiful though I relied mostly on hotel bellmen to flag down the taxis for me. It helped to map out each day and spend it in one section of the city. I think 2-3 days is enough to see the best of Shanghai and maybe 1-2 more days for Suzhou or other side trips.

heraclitus

Two full days for Shanghai sounds about right to me. It's not as jam packed with tourist sights as some other destinations. Still, I was surprised at how much I liked the place. As another correspondent noted, the Bund at night is quite an experience -- an exuberant perpetual sound and light show. In addition to the river cruises, good places to take in the spectacle are the Cloud 9 bar at the Pudong Hyatt (87th floor!) and the rooftop bar/cafe at the Peace Hotel (the famous art deco "pile" right on the Bund.) I was also very much taken with the French concession area. Many attractive older buildings on street after street lined with beautiful plane trees. (It actually reminded me at points of Aix-en-Provence.)

I also rather liked the screaming modernism of contemporary Shanghai. Some of the skyscrapers are really "over the top" exercises in architectural fantasy -- alienating to some, perhaps, but for me a good deal of fun.