Shanghai’s Attractions
History of Shanghai
Before, we introduce the best things to do in Shanghai, here is a little history.
The second most popular city in the entire world has not always been so expansive. Until 1842, this spot by the Yangtze River’s southern estuary was merely a tiny fishing village. It was so small as to be barely noticeable on even a provincial level, never mind a global one.
When the British and French colonialists first arrived in China, they declared this tiny little fishing hub to be a trading port, which then later occupied. Ever since Shanghai has been an important avenue for mainland China to liaise with the rest of the world.
As these French and British outposts grew, the walled Chinese settlement nearby also grew. More than that, its residents integrated.
This opportunity for integration, and the melding of the three very distinct flavors of culture in one area, allowed Shanghai to stew-like its famed hotpots. As all these cultures melted together, Shanghai emerged into the current day with a very distinctive attitude and set of cultural sensibilities that set it apart from other cities within China.
One of the Chinese cities more adapted to Western ideas and concepts, Shanghai has often served as its country’s point of contact to the outside world. And formalized when Zhou Enlai signed the Shanghai Communiqué in 1972.
Shanghai became a city of privileged openness and communication. It became an emissary.
Since the opening of China’s economy into a type of market socialism under Deng Xiaoping, Shanghai has been a hub of international trade, banking, and commerce. Known as “the head” of the noble dragon.
The fiery breath of innovation certainly spills from the city. It is a breath that shifts and forges the Chinese state’s infrastructure as the world around it modernizes.
When faced with this blend of ancient Chinese rural fishing villages and modern international commerce centers, tourists can often be taken aback.
If that describes you, then look no further. In this article, we are going to outline 6 of the best options for what to do in Shanghai. We will begin by checking out the city’s most popular highlights.
After that we will wander down it’s inviting back streets, inhaling some gorgeous aromas and tastes as we consider the best things to do in Shanghai when your stomach rumbles. Finally, we will prize open the city’s rich private history, and show you some of the weird, unexpected, and fascinating little treasures it has to offer.
Read on as this article takes you on a twisting tour of the 6 best things to do in Shanghai, to fully sate your curious appetite when the question “what to do in Shanghai” pops into your head.
Popular Shanghai Tourist Attractions
Some travel blogs try to argue that you should always look for the smallest and most niche places in a new city to have the best experience.
Now they may be correct when talking about food, and believe me, when we discuss that, we will touch on the obscure elements of Shanghai cuisine.
The reason some popular attractions are so celebrated is because of either their architectural significance. Also, their cultural importance, or sometimes both.
Shanghai is a city of an emergent and didactic cultural history, one that shifts and changes with the cavalcade of influences pushed upon it by the outside world.
Check out this next section wherein we outline three of our recommended popular tourist attractions, why they are so magnificent, and some of the best ways to see them with some fantastic deals online.
The Zhujiajiao Water Town: Shanghai Submerged
Thirty-six ancient bridges straddle the narrow and intricate waterways of Zhujiajiao. Roughly translated, this name means the “Zhu Family Corner”, named for a family that operated within the town during its staggering 1700-year history as an official settlement.
In fact, this little “Family Corner” has had signs of human settlement from over 5000 years ago. Like its capital cousin Beijing, Shanghai has some staggeringly old examples and evidence of human settlement.
Get a sense of the immense historical weight that thousands of years of human habitation bestow on this semi-aquatic neighborhood.
When exploring Zhujiajiao in this way, you get to ride the waterways just like its settlers over a millennium ago used to.
A water village once famous for its rice and clothes trade (made much more efficient by the canals), you can still check out some of these ancient sources of commerce today. You should visit the old Qing Dynasty post office that can still be found!
There is also the “Free Life” bridge that used to host a ceremony of monks releasing live fish from the side of it into the city’s port!
Horticultural History: The Yu Gardens
20,000 square meters of the grandest garden architecture you will ever see. Yes, even better than a gazebo. The location sells itself really.
Believed to have been first built by the nobility of the Ming Dynasty over 400 years ago, the Yuyuan gardens are a mark of the city’s cultural significance and absolute splendor.
Journey to the garden’s center and discover the incredible, 3.3m tall porous jade rock, named (unsurprisingly) The Exquisite Jade Rock.
Look Ma, No Wheels! The Mag-Lev.
I am slower than flight, but faster than running. I am known as a bullet but come from no gun. What am I?
The answer will surprise you too much. The first commercial Mag-Lev train built and set up in Shanghai. Reaching speeds of up to 430km/h.
Complete the thirty-kilometer journey from the airport to downtown Shanghai in just eight minutes, and get a bonus metro pass.
A Taste of Culture, A Taste of Cuisine: What Food to Try
Evening Food Tours
Something special happens to our taste buds during nighttime. As the day pares down into night, your taste buds just seem to pop. Especially more when something exquisite is given to them.
Let us not disappoint those discerning little critics then. Shanghai offers fantastic Food Tour deals. The culinary food tours take you through the dimly lit, tiny backstreets of Shanghai to deliver you straight to some of the best food in the entirety of China.
You can also look for a specialist tour guide who will inform you about the streets and flavors you will encounter, first showing you the delicacy of the soup dumpling at one of the best family-run dumpling shops in the city.
After that, you will wind through various noodle bars and roast pork restaurants, eventually arriving at a pub connected to a local Shanghai brewery.
Shanghai’s Unexpected and Unusual Attractions
Shanghai brings you a selection of little oddities and unexpected pockets of history sure to delight and fascinate.
Explore Shanghai’s Jewish Subculture
Shanghai has an astoundingly well-established Jewish subculture. Join an expert Jewish history guide as he brings you along to see the city’s lesser-known Jewish element.
Visit the Jewish ghetto in Shanghai, an ex-synagogue-turned-museum, and a memorial plaque in Huoshan Park. Learn about the waves of Jewish inhabitants that flocked to Shanghai, the reasons for their emigration, and how it has in turn influenced the city itself.
There are some fascinating stories of Shanghai Jews, who a deeply interesting impact on Shanghai society and the people who live there.
Easily one of the best things to do in Shanghai. Especially when expanding your knowledge of an unexpected subculture.
One for the Film Buffs
This is easily one of the top things to do in Shanghai for film fans.
Giving you access to the Shanghai Film Shooting Base, this tour travels the tranquil movie set, letting you walk in the steps of thousands of Chinese actors and superstars (with a good chance of meeting some of them!).
