Shanghai (Chinese: 上海; Shanghainese: Zånhae; Mandarin pinyin: Shànghǎi) is the largest city by population of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities of the PRC, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010. ( from Wikipedia)

For those of us arriving at the Shanghai International Airport terminal 2 , it might not seem like it, but as soon as you hit city center, you’ll get the big picture.

Shanghai is a modern city and it gives you that big city feeling as soon as you enter it, busy crowded street and heavy traffic rush hours. Although it isn’t what most would expect the “Chinese experience” to be like, it’s I well worth the visit, it’s streets dense, multicultural and yet so “Chinese”. I prefer to stay close to the city center and even though there are many great deals and offers on various online booking websites for some really classy stays at a slight distance away from the main action I would still go with something closer to East Nan Jing Rd., the Bund, The People’s square etc. And there are quite a few clean and homely Bed and Breakfast/ Business Hotels/Motels in these areas for fair prices (as well as the “Rich and famous” top class stays such as The Peace Hotel or Waldorf Astoria on the Bund), placing you a walk away (or a metro stop away at most) from those places that are a “must see” when in Shanghai, even for those who are visiting a second time and a great benefit in this huge metropolis where traffic tends to get hectic during rush hour, another main point being that Shanghai is the kind of place that will keep you out of your room and on your feet.

One of the first stops should definitely be East Nan Jing rd. even for those of us who just partake in window shopping, as there are tones of that to be had. East Nan Jing rd. is a wide and long (to say the least) pedestrian street, large brand names, international as well as local on every side. The flashing neon lights and huge lit signs create a feast of color for the eyes as well as for night time photographers. Walking along from the People’s Sq. all the way down to the Bund provides a wonderful experience of color, taste and sound. Visited by 1,000000 people a day (or so it is said) there are peddlers of small merchandise (mainly battery powered toys, stuffed dolls and recently-sneaker clip on double wheel skates which flash with bright LED lights) trying to push they’re product to innocent passers by (at times quite successfully) while shooting at you short sentences in over practiced English regarding price, quality and what not, aimed as a sales pitch. One of the other annoying yet interesting phenomena of this street as well as many other tourist crowded areas like these is the “tricksters”. Usually of the female persuasion, holding umbrellas (as they are outdoors most of the time) and in pairs, they tend to “hunt” down un-cautious tourists claiming to want to “practice” their English which in many cases is more than fluent. They will then walk with you for a while if you let them, chatting you up about this and that, mainly asking what you think of China and so on. Eventually they’ll offer to find a place to sit and have a drink they will then proceed to leave the bill solely to be paid by you (as their share will be later forked out by the boss- or so one would assume). Fortunately local authorities are aware of this and have locked down on this activity minimizing it as much as possible. In most cases if notified, the police will act in a timely and courteous manner to help you retrieve your money. Of course it is best to avoid these “tricksters” altogether all though having them chat you up can be quite fun as long as you don’t let them lead you off for a drink…

Arriving at the Bund for the first time is an absolute blast. Walking up the steps and standing on the terrace over looking the Huang Pu river with all the sky scrapers in front, the Oriental Pearl towering over the river banks and the wonderful classic late 19th century architecture buildings behind you is quite a thrill and one of Shanghai’s classic tourist attractions, so much so that taking a picture by the rail is a “stand in line” matter. One word of advice however, don’t visit the Bund during “Earth hour” unless it is NOT your first time or you will be able to experience what the view looks like in near pitch black. From there, a great stop on the way for a quick cup of coffee, a snack or a beer would be the Lighthouse on the Bund which sports a neat bar/restaurant and offers foreign as well as domestic beers. Staff’s English is pretty good too.

You could always head out to one of the bigger clubs for the late hours party as well but I’ll leave that for another post…

So that’s all from me for now, with a simple outting in a Shanghai evening, best left for nicer weather of course, if you get the privilege of choosing…