I will be in Shanghai from Oct 13 to Oct. 31, giving me two weekends to explore. I would appreciate any suggestions and where to go and things to see. I would also like to get out of the city one of the weekends. What is the best mode of transportation to see the countryside? What might it cost to hire a driver for a day?

Thanks for your help. This forum is a wonderful resource.

Torrid

Definitely try to plan a weekend (or at least an overnight) in Hangzhou. As for SH itself, there are plenty of nice places to walk and an abundance of good restaurants, bars, shops, and spas. With the possible exception of Sheshan, I can't think of much "countryside" worth visiting. I can't imagine that you would benefit from a car hire, but if you decide to go that route, shoot for around y50/hour.

Welcome to FT!

1. Try the (far from perfect) search function.

2. How active are you? http://www.bohdi.com.cn/

I did a day bike tour of Zhujiajiao - which was incredible. Rice fields, fish
farms, countryside, new but unocupied villas real mix/clash of old and new. The surface was all flat and the guides were great. Something I would defintiely do again - though probably at a different place.

3. As for main ideas of things to see - plenty of guidebooks will have them.

If you like walking (like I do). Go to the Old China Hand Reading Road on Shaoxing Lu (http://www.frommers.com/destinations...ai/S28873.html) -dont mean to plug Frommer's; it was just the first result on Google. Buy a copy of "Six Shanghai Walks (I've said this quite a bit in previous threads) and pick one. I did walk number 4 - the French Concession - which was fantastic (I have some tips on this walk - PM me). The book takes you step by step through neighborhoods, with maps, history, descriptions etc.

Do like the Shanghainese, head out to Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing...Just arrange your transport in time.

I'll be staying at the Shanghai 88 Xintiandi Hotel so I understand there will be plenty of shops, restaurants, etc. in the area.

I'll do a little research on Sheshan. You say why I would benefit from rendting a car. At $7-$8/hr. that seems pretty resonable. (If I have my exchange rates straight.) What other mode of transportation would you recommend for getting out of the city? Perhaps trains are available?

Thanks for the suggestions and the links. First time in China, so I expect it to be a good adventure, between the work!

I caught a local bus to Zhou Zhuong (one of the canal towns outside of Shanghai) that took about 90 minutes to get to and cost around $2 one way. You an book an actual tour for this for $50-$70 but it really is quite easy to go to the local bus.

I always think of Xintiandi as a U.S. festival-style marketplace somehow accidentally stuck in the middle of Shanghai, complete with U.S. prices. So while there may be plenty of places near where you're staying, if I was staying there, I would do my best to explore other parts of town.

As an addendum to my original post (I do support an excursion out of town), if you do not have the time during the week, I really think you should give preference to exploring SHanghai for at least one weekend. It's a fantastic city with so much to offer for everyone.