UR Shanghai
by LUXE City Guides
Bespoke Travel Company
ExploreThe cats PJ's for personal experiences, ace custom crawls and unique outings across the city, plus signature thematic tours and neighbourhood jaunts. Foodies will also love the xiaolongbao (soup dumpling) classes and bespoke cocktail making. Book.
10 07A110, 7/F, Jintong Xi Lu http://www.bespoketravelcompany.com/ info@bespoke-beijing.com +8613071172268 China Art Palace
Museums & ArtPudong pavilion with the world's largest cache of mod Chinese art and int'l works, laid out over five expansive floors. Start at the top and work your way down through time, and you'll be treated to an artful journey of kitsch propaganda posters and animated short films.
205 World Expo Park, Shangnan Lu http://www.sh-artmuseum.org.cn/ +862162228822 Chinese Cooking Workshop
ExploreYou'll not only taste China's myriad provinces while prepping dishes from noodles to dim sum, but also learn much more than just cooking techniques along the way. Watch the tightly-knit sleeve of Middle Kingdom cuisine unravel before your very eyes.
2 Rm 108-109, Dongping Lu http://chinesecookingworkshop.com/ booking@chinesecookingworkshop.com +8615821618151 Era: Intersection of Time
EntertainmentOoh and aah at China's take on Cirque du Soleil, where acrobatics, theatre, martial arts, dance, live music and high-flying daredevilism are aided by technical wizardry and colourful costumes in an intimate circular theatre. Schmick.
2266 Shanghai Circus World, Gonghexin Lu http://era-shanghai.com/ service@era-shanghai.com +862166522395 Grand Theatre
EntertainmentSink into the red seats of French architect Jean-Marie Charpentier's futuristic centrepiece, housing regular world-class performances from whistles and bells musicals to intimate chamber music concerts. By night the crystal box, home base to the Shanghai Opera House Company, glows from within.
300 Renmin Dadao http://shgtheatre.com/ +862163868686 -
Imperial Tours
ToursUS-run, Beijing-based and the smartest outfit for tours in Shanghai and all around China.
Luxury Concierge China
ToursThe best way to learn about old Shanghai is to explore the Bund and backstreets, probe into old areas and industrial buildings. Flamboyant architect Spencer Dodington will organise anything you need in Shanghai - tours, assistance, events, maybe even silk undies.
MoCA Shanghai
Museums & ArtPint-sized crystal cabin packing quite the art punch, from Li Lei's abstracts to Gaudi archi and Ferragamo shoe-oohs. Afterwards, take a perch in the 3/F cafe, overlooking the pretty park greenery.
231 Nanjing Xi Lu http://mocashanghai.org/ info@mocashanghai.org +862163279900 Naked Stables Private Reserve
ExploreNo, silly, we're not sending you to a nudist camp. This eco-luxe resort and equestrian reserve in the Moganshan hills is perfect for relaxing weekends away. The tree top villas boast mountain-view terraces and hot tubs, plus all the hiking, horse-riding, swim and spa R&R you need.
People’s Square
ExploreThis former horse racecourse is now a one-stop cultural park to get your fab art fill. Archi-symbolic Shanghai Museum houses dynastic relics and rarities, while the glass-paned beauty MoCA draws international contempo heavyweights. The Urban Planning Exhibition Hall sounds like a boring old crud, but on the 4/F is a fascinating scale model of the shape of Shanghai to come. All cultured out? Plant your bot in the red seats of French architect Jean-Marie Charpentier's futuristic centrepiece the Grand Theatre for regular world-class performances. Ta-da!
Power Station of Art
Museums & ArtIs that a giant smokestack or is China's first state-run contemporary art museum just excited to be the host of the Shanghai Biennale? Once a power station, now a giant exhibition hall for oversized works, plus vista-tastic terrace.
200 Huayuangang Lu http://powerstationofart.org/ info@powerstationofart.com +862131108550 Rockbund Art Museum
Museums & ArtSix-storey all-media giant rotates through big and new names from the uber-cool Chinese contempo scene. The Chipperfield-redesigned Art Deco edifice at the north end of the Bund has a sixth floor terrace cafe and pretty interior atrium.
Shanghai Center of Photography
Museums & ArtAn arts district is emerging down at the 8km-long West Bund Cultural Corridor, and the SCoP is a small but innovative spot founded by Pulitzer Prize-winning Liu Heung Shing, one of China's foremost shutterbugs. Part gallery and part museum for contempo and archival photography, it's certainly worth a capture in your lens.
2555 Longteng Dadao +862164289516 Shanghai Film Museum
Museums & ArtImmerse yourself in more than 100 years of China's film history at this slick monochrome home to 3,000+ artefacts, working studios, 70+ interactive installations, thousands of historic exhibits, touch screens and a 4D cinema.
595 Caoxi Bei Lu, by Puhuitang Lu http://shfilmmuseum.com/ +862164268666 -
Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Center
Museums & ArtSee red at this private museum, with a collection of 6,000+ Mao-era propaganda posters, from cartoons to industrial-size prints and militaristic motifs. Don't miss the hundreds of Shanghai Lady Calendar prints dating from the early C.20th.
868 B/F, Bldg B, Huashan Lu, by Wukang Lu http://www.shanghaipropagandaart.com/ pmyang@sh163.net +862162111845 Shanghai Sculpture Space
Museums & ArtA mid C.20th steel stalwart has been carefully restored and cleverly repurposed as a gallery complex and outdoor garden, homing a rotating inventory of strange and wonderful massive modern sculptures.
570-588 Huaihai Xi Lu http://sss570.com/ liqiang1981331@126.com +862162807844 Shanghai Tower
ExploreGo on a clear day (that means weather AND smog) to ogle Pudong, Puxi and beyond from atop this soaring 632m high observation deck. It's the tallest in China, and hands down the most impressive vantage point in the city.
501 Yincheng Middle Rd http://www.shanghaitower.com/ +862133831088 Suzhou Museum
Museums & ArtEscape the city for this I.M. Pei-designed art space in white stucco, glass and bold geometric shapes, set amid C.19th houses and two UNESCO sites. Inside are Ming and Qing dynasty antiques in jade and porcelain, plus calligraphy, paintings and rotating special exhibitions.
204 Dongbei Jie, Suzhou http://www.szmuseum.com/ webmaster@szmuseum.com +8651267575666 The Shanghai Museum
Museums & ArtStep in for a stunning and vast collection of ancient Chinese bronzes, ceramics, coins, jade, paintings, furnishings and calligraphy, spread over 11 permanent gallery spaces plus a few rotating exhibits.
Tianshan Tea City
ExploreThe naff faux trad building conceals a bonanza of over 150 stalls selling every variety of tea and accessory imaginable, and shop owners happily provide samples with no pressure to purchase. The few whom speak English can impart a wealth of knowledge about tea types and brewing techniques. Don't forget to bargain!
520 Zhongshan Xi Lu, by Wuyi Lu http://dabutong.com/ +862162338699 Untour
ToursInsatiable foodies and curious eaters don elastic waistbands for culinary adventures and the best of local street eats. Private and group tours available.
Urban Planning Exhibition Hall
Museums & ArtSounds like a boring old crud, but on the fourth floor is a fascinating, sprawling scale model of the shape of Shanghai to come. In the next room, a video presentation offers a 360-degree glimpse of the future, while history buffs can dive into the interactive lower floor exhibits.
100 Renmin Dadao supec@live.cn +862163184477 Water Towns
Cultural ActivitiesJust over an hour's drive is a stuck-in-time-necklace of water towns with old stone homes, alleys and quiet canals. Expressive Xitang has its quiet moments. Closer but busier is Zhu Jia Jiao.
West Bund Cultural Corridor
ExploreShanghai's emerging contemporary arts district, stretching 8km along the Huangpu, is perfect for a weekend wander, with a host of museums and galleries transforming this wide pedestrian riverside promenade into a culture vulture's must-see. Still uncrowded, so go now. Not sure where to start? Try the SCoP (see Activities), Yuz Museum (see Activities), and the Long Museum West Bund (see Activities).
West Bund Cultural Corridor None Yuz Museum
Museums & ArtAbsolutely staggering, 9,000 sq m gallery (incorporating massive airplane hangars) and tribute to contemporary Asian art by Indo-Chinese billionaire art collector Budi Tek. Putting Shanghai firmly and decisively on the global art map.
35 Fenggu Lu http://www.yuzmshanghai.org/ +862164261901