If you only have time for one city in China, I’ll always nudge you toward Shanghai. I lived here, and it’s still the place I send first-timers — it’s the easiest big Chinese city to land in cold, and it rewards you the moment you step outside.

Why Shanghai

• Old meets new in one frame. Stand on the Bund at night: 1920s stone banks behind you, the neon Pudong skyline across the river. Nowhere else in China captures the country’s whole century so neatly.
• It’s foreigner-friendly. More English signage, more contactless everything, taxis and metro that just work. A gentle first landing before you tackle harder cities.
• The food never ends. From a 5 RMB scallion pancake to a Michelin tasting menu, all in the same neighbourhood.
• It’s the perfect base. Shanghai sits at the heart of the Jiangnan region — some of China’s prettiest old towns and gardens are a short train ride away (more on that below).

What to see and do

• The Bund (外滩) — walk it at dusk, then again after dark when Pudong lights up.
• The former French Concession — leafy plane-tree streets, cafés, boutiques. Wander Wukang Road and Anfu Road with no plan.
• Yu Garden (豫园) — a classical Ming-dynasty garden and bazaar in the old town.
• Power Station of Art / West Bund museums — for contemporary art along the river.
• Tianzifang & Xintiandi — restored shikumen lane houses, now full of shops and bars.
• A night view from above — Shanghai Tower or, my pick, a rooftop bar in Pudong.

My one day living as a Shanghainese

The sightseeing list is fine, but the best way to feel Shanghai is to spend a day the way locals do. Here’s mine — steal it as a template.

• 🕗 8:00–9:30 — Morning. Breakfast on the street: a cong you bing (scallion pancake) or, my weakness, four shengjianbao (pan-fried soup buns) from a corner shop, eaten standing up with a soy-milk doujiang. Then a slow walk through the former French Concession under the plane trees, coffee in hand — Shanghai takes its café culture seriously.
• 🕙 9:30–12:00 — Late morning. A wander, not a march. Duck into a lane (nong tang), watch retirees doing tai chi or airing laundry on bamboo poles, browse a bookshop or a little design boutique on Anfu Road.
• 🕛 12:00–13:30 — Lunch. A bowl of scallion-oil noodles or a set lunch at a neighbourhood spot — cheap, fast, and where the office crowd actually eats.
• 🕝 13:30–17:00 — Afternoon. Nap-slow pace: an art museum along the West Bund, or just a bench in Fuxing Park among the chess players and ballroom dancers. This is the rhythm locals protect.
• 🕕 17:00–18:30 — Sunset. Cross to the Bund as the lights come on, or find a rooftop in Pudong and watch the skyline switch on over a drink.
• 🕗 18:30–late — Dinner & night. Hotpot or a regional feast with friends — or, for a special night, Yu Wai Tan (遇外滩), a stylish Bund-side restaurant that ranks among Asia’s best. Then a wander past the neon, and to wind down I’ll grab a HEYTEA (喜茶) — China’s cult cheese-foam and fruit-tea brand. Shanghai stays up — and so do you.

It’s not a checklist; it’s a tempo. Slow mornings, a long lunch, a golden-hour river walk. Live one day like this and the city stops being a destination and starts feeling like home.

Weekend and day trips near Shanghai

This is Shanghai’s secret weapon — the surrounding Jiangnan towns are some of the loveliest places in the country, and the high-speed rail makes them almost suburban.

Destination	Time by train	Why go
Suzhou (苏州)	~30 min	Classical gardens (Humble Administrator’s Garden), canals, silk. The easiest day trip.
Hangzhou (杭州)	~1 hr	West Lake, tea villages, temples. A perfect overnight.
Nanjing (南京)	~1.5 hr	Ming city walls, history, the Confucius Temple quarter.
Wuzhen / Xitang (乌镇 / 西塘)	~1–1.5 hr	Postcard water towns — stay overnight to see them empty out.
Zhujiajiao (朱家角)	~1 hr (metro/bus)	A canal town inside Shanghai — great if you’re short on time.
Moganshan (莫干山)	~2 hr	Bamboo-forest mountain retreat, boutique lodges, cool in summer.

My ideal first trip: three or four days in Shanghai, then a night in Hangzhou or one of the water towns. You get the megacity and the China of paintings, without a single internal flight.

Where to stay & eat

• Stay in the former French Concession or near the Bund/People’s Square — walkable and central. Book on Trip.com or Booking.
• Eat xiaolongbao (see my favourite dish), shengjianbao (pan-fried pork buns), and at least one bowl of scallion-oil noodles. Then branch out — every Chinese region has a restaurant here.