It was such a long time ago that I last visited Shanghai, that I won’t write a full entry for the city. Only to say that its a must if visiting China.
It won’t be the classical China you were likely expecting – it will be far more than that as this city typifies the modern day China of brash, sophisticated and full of energy. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Shanghai at times feels like New York City on steroids as it rapidly catches up on just about every metric you can think of . . . and now thinking about it in 2026, has zoomed past it.
Obviously its always better to have more time, but I reckon you could blast the highlights of Shanghai in a day – leaving yourself with some appetite for seeing the rest Shanghai has to offer when you return. The things I really recommend focusing on are listed below.
