9 Best Sights in Shanghai, China

The art deco–style Cathay Cinema was one of the first movie theaters in Shanghai and, indeed, still shows a mix of Chinese and Western films. The theater was a favorite of Shanghainese author Eileen Chang, of Lust, Caution fame.

With instructions clearly spelled out in English, Double Rainbow Massage House provides an inexpensive introduction to traditional Chinese massage. Choose a masseur; state your preference for soft, medium, or hard pressure; then keep your clothes on for a 45- to 90-minute massage. There's no ambience, just a clean room with nine massage tables.

This local spa chain has claimed the middle ground between expensive hotel spas and workmanlike blind-man massage parlors. Don the suede-soft treatment robes for traditional Chinese massage, or take them off for an aromatic oil massage. Dragonfly also has waxing and nail services.

Sun Yat-sen, the father of the Republic of China, lived in this two-story house from 1919 to 1924. His wife, Soong Qing-ling, of the illustrious Soong family, continued to live here until 1937. Today it's a museum, where tours are conducted in Chinese and English.

This European-style park, once open only to Shanghai's French residents, is one of downtown's most tranquil spots. Here you'll find people strolling hand in hand, practicing tai chi, and playing cards and mah-jongg. There is a tiny amusement park and, on weekends and holidays, art projects for kids. The open spaces double as dance floors, with elderly couples dancing away the day—visitors are welcome to join in.

In the days of Old Shanghai, the Lyceum Theatre was the home of the British Amateur Drama Club. The old stage is still in use as a concert hall. On the third floor is Candor, an intimate cocktail bar and stage outfitted in plush red velvet. The atmosphere draws on the 1920s era, with cabaret and burlesque-style shows.

A daughter of the prominent Soong family, Soong Qing-ling (also known as Madame Sun Yat-sen) was first a Nationalist and then a Communist. Her sister Mei-ling married Chiang Kai-shek, who was the head of the Nationalist government from 1927 to 1949. This three-story house, built in 1920 by a German ship owner, was Soong's primary residence from 1948 to 1963. It has been preserved as it was during her lifetime; in the study are her 4,000 books and, in the bedroom, the furniture that her parents gave as her dowry. The small museum next door has some nice displays from Soong Qing-ling and Sun Yat-sen's life, including pictures from their 1915 wedding in Tokyo.

If Xintiandi is the government's orderly, sanitized shikumen restoration project, Tianzifang is the opposite. The former residential district is a labyrinth of alleyways between redbrick lane houses. Restaurants, cafés, and a few galleries fill the spaces today, as do shops selling everything from kitschy souvenirs emblazoned with retro propaganda to leather journals and shoes, tea, and qipao dresses.

You can also enter Tianzifang from the back side, at 155 Jianguo Zhong Lu.

Expats flock to this tranquil spa, where the front desk staff speak English well and can help you choose one of their handful of massages. Body massages are done in private rooms; foot massages take place in a nook lined with plush recliners. Prices are very reasonable.