This is a collection of rather strange advice about Shanghai. Remember, this is primarily a city for business. You can see all the tourist attractions three times over in three days IMO. I honestly think no matter how slowly you go, it's hard to fill up even a week in Shanghai, let alone 10 days.

Some of the folks who posted here -- moondog, jamoldo. etc -- have an incredible amount of local experience. Others, less so. For example, going up the TV tower is, IMO, a huge ripoff, especially since there are two nearby buildings that are considerably taller. Better to spend the $20+ tower admission fee on a drink or two in either the Grand Hyatt or Park Hyatt!

1. Thanks for the compliment, though I would pass the praise onto Moondog, Jie Jie (esp in BJ) as well as others far before myself. I only post what I know or have done before.

2. Agreed 100%.

I think it's all about what the OP wants. 10 days is a long time for Shanghai, and why spend it all in SH? Unless the OP knows a lot of people or friends to meet there, is researching or really wants to get in and out of local neighborhoods. Theoretically, the OP could spend the better part or more of a week with the two books I suggested in my previous post. However, as much as I like strolling, taking photos and interacting with folks, even that would be quite a stretch for me!

If one hasn't before he/she could easily fly up to Beijing, Xi'an or more easily, spend a few days in Hangzhou, Suzhou and Nanjing (Only been to the former and that was for business - 1 hour walk on the lake was all I got, - and some great food and a lovely first impression). Plenty of other parts/cities in China too. Chongqing? Chengdu? Kunming etc...

I agree that 10 days in Shanghai is a rather long time if you're there for tourism. The suggestion to hire a driver and go to Suzhou or Hangzhou is a particularly good one -- you'll get a nice contrast to the ultra-modern parts of Shanghai. Also, though this is a matter of personal taste, I find Shanghainese cuisine a little to "subtle" (read as "bland") for my tastes. China is a very good country to get around by air -- frequent, inexpensive flights with excellent on-board service. I'd consider a several-day trip to one of the secondary cities.

With that said, I'd recommend a visit to People's Square which has a large park frequented by locals. It's also home to an interesting art museum, as well as the Grand National Theatre where you may be able to catch a good performance of real (as opposed to "for the tourists") Peking or other local opera, ballet, etc.

Hi

The reason why we will be in Shanghai for a number of days is that the wife is involved in a conference connected to the World Expo. So I think that we will be in Shanghai for that bit for 5-6 days but after that we are more open and that is why I posted this to start with. We have been to Beijing, Xi'an and Hong Kong (as you can see from my trip reports on the homepage) but it would be fun to see more of China when we are in Shanghai. Thanks for the feedback so far.

In that case, Suzhou is a great option. It's about a one hour drive from Shanghai. Suzhou is famous for its ancient Chinese gardens, and is home to an excellent museum designed by I.M. Pei. There's also an old district that preserves some of the "canal culture." If you want to strike out to further destinations, Guilin is suitable for a couple of days, as is Dali (though, if you want to include Lijiang, you'd need at least one extra day). Someone earlier mentioned Kunmin. I think of it as a rather "typical" mid-sized Chinese city, but I don't recall there being an awful lot to see or do. If you're flying to Dali, you'll probably go through Kunmin, however. I found Yunnan Province to be quite interesting.

Here's a video of one of the larger parks in Kunmin:

http://vimeo.com/453481

You can stay at one of the Expo center itself-Hotel evergreen. You can find internet rate as low as $65. I was there just two months back.

Hangzhou is also a very easy 2 hour train ride away. Zhu Jia Jiao (near Shanghai) is great too. I did a bike tour of it through Bodhi Bikes (google it) that a friend arranged. It was incredible to say the least. I think Bodhi runs lots of Biking tours inside and outside of SH. And no, none of us were expert bikers or in great shape - by any means..

Or 36 minutes by CRH train.

Another activity: have clothes made. You'll have time for extra fittings.

I just came back from two nights in Hangzhou for the end of Spring Festival. It was 1:15 on the CRH. Lovely place for a break and to see some hills. As for Shanghai, it's also worth looking into the local art scene. There's 50 Mogenshan Road next to Suzhou creek, an old set of warehouses and factories that is now home to galleries and studios.

Personally, I think there's plenty to see and do in Shanghai to occupy 10 days, but you need to be willing to walk and explore and get off the beaten tracks. Shiny Shanghai isn't nearly as interesting and fun as grimy, old Shanghai. There are also an infinite number of restaurants and bars if you are into nightlife.

PM me if you want to meet up for a drink when here. I live in Luwan district behind Xintiandi.

I'll second that. It's a very large area with dozens and dozens of studios.

I can't speak to the bars as we're not "bar people" , but I have to say that I do find Shanghai cuisine, on the whole, on the bland side.

And one can always catch a film in Xintiandi.

As you probably know, I'm not a big fan of Chinese food in general, and 上海菜 is near the bottom of my list; only neighbor Zhejiang province manages to offend my stomach and taste buds more.

With that caveat out of the way, I always eat nice food when I'm in Shanghai. Aside from quality western restaurants, there are lots of Chinese options that are fine with me.

But, I will say that my food spend in SH is much higher than Portland (assuming I ate every meal hear at restaurants).

I'm planning on going back as early as Saturday; it's all about award availability.

That pretty much somes it up. It ain't worth the trip unless its free.

I haven't been to Portland yet.

I will say this for Shanghai: there is an absolutely phenomenal dumpling restaurant in Xintiandi. It has a fast-food look about it and, evidently, is part of a chain, but, man, those dumplings are good!

Not exactly. I've changed my business model during the past year+ for three reasons:

1) it's insanely easy to get miles these days
2) flying in Y sucks
3) if I "pay" for my own tickets, I can generate better returns for myself (i.e. travel expenses --even Y-- are big deal for many clients)
4) I'm still able to bill ~$1500 for my free tickets, though I'm cognizant -- but not nervous -- about tax issues

Of course, you're correct to suggest that SH is a terrible tourist destination, unless you're really into KTV.

In closing, my plan is to go there, hit HK and BJ, and then return to the cheapest real city on the Pacific Rim in which to base yourself.... repeat same drill in April.