Originally Posted by
drewguy
What are the times of your layover? I don't think you need a guide to see the Bund or to go to a xiaolongbao restaurant (Din Tai Fung is the well-known one, with several locations in Shanghai).
Assuming you are arriving some time in the morning and leaving in the evening, it is easy enough to take a taxi to the Bund, walk for a couple of hours, do other things, and then have dinner at one of their several locations, including near the Yu Garden (which is near the Bund).
Not that it really matters, but Nanxiang Mantou Dian (in Yu Garden) is arguably more famous than DTF (Taiwanese chain) locally, but it is bit on the touristy side. You can also get even more local; however, I'm unable to provide specific recs on this front; whenever I see an establishment that appears clean and has other customers, I simply drop in, and am rarely disappointed.
Moving on, I would advise the OP to knock off the xiaolongbao mission in the morning (I eat them for breakfast on a regular basis, sometimes as early as 7a), hit Yu Garden and the Bund (walking distance), and get a massage or two (maybe at the Taipan on Dagu Lu). After that, I really comes down to personal preferences, and weather considerations should also be taken into account (e.g. strolling around the French Concession is a great way to pass time when it is reasonably warm, but maybe not such a great idea in February).
An alternative way to structure this would be to take a taxi to Binjiang Park (use the entrance across the street from the Shangri-La), where you can look at the Bund in its entirety, walk south, take the public boat across the river (there's your y2 "river cruise"!), check out Yu Garden, and go from there, possibly skipping the Bund itself.