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The First-Time Visitor’s Guide to Shanghai: Shikumen Lanes, Listening Bars and Unforgettable Dumplings

From futuristic skyscrapers and historic houses to world-class museums and elite dumplings, here’s how to experience the dynamic city for the first time.

Few cities embody China's past, present and future as vividly as Shanghai. On one side of the Huangpu River, colonial-era buildings line the Bund, their grand façades recalling the city's days as an international trading port. Across the water, Pudong’s futuristic skyline rises like a forest of glass and steel, anchored by the soaring Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China. There aren't many cities that offer such a dramatic visual—or symbolic—contrast.

For many first-time visitors, Shanghai serves as a window into modern China, a country that balances tradition and innovation with ease. To understand both sides of Shanghai, begin by heading to the former French Concession, a historic neighborhood of tree-lined streets, hidden cafés and one of the largest concentrations of 1930s Art Deco architecture outside of Miami, before ending the day with a sunset stroll along the Bund as Pudong's skyscrapers light up at dusk.

With a population of more than 25 million, Shanghai is one of the world's great urban centers, yet it’s easy to discover pockets of calm while you explore. "Visitors expect old China, but find a city that is utterly contemporary, confident and forward-looking—without ever forgetting its roots,”  Cecilia Yang, director of marketing and communications at Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai, tells Observer. 

Unlike Beijing, with its checklist of must-see monuments, Shanghai rewards wandering, says Jamie Barys, founder of UnTour Food Tours. “Shanghai is a blank slate for any first-time visitor.” Rent one of the city's shared bikes to cover more ground and stop wherever curiosity leads—a tiny noodle shop, a family-run dumpling stall or an independent design boutique tucked inside a restored shikumen townhouse. 

That spirit of discovery extends to Shanghai's thriving cultural scene. World-class institutions such as the Power Station of Art and West Bund Museum sit alongside a growing network of independent galleries, studios and creative spaces that have helped establish Shanghai as one of Asia's leading centers for contemporary art and design. “Shanghai has never stopped looking outward,” says Yang. “The city attracts global curators, collectors and artists—and more importantly, it has a local audience with the curiosity and sophistication to engage with them.”

Then there's the food. As China's financial capital, Shanghai has attracted migrants from every corner of the country, creating one of the world's most exciting dining scenes. “This diversity of flavors makes it one of the best cities in the world to eat in,” says Barys. “You can slurp Shanghainese xiaolongbao stuffed with pork and hairy crab for breakfast, tuck into a bowl of halal hand-pulled noodles........

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