A Visit to Shanghai, China

After years of stagnation, the great metropolis of SHANGHAI is undergoing one of the fastest economic expansions the world has ever seen. The skyline is filling with skyscrapers; there are three thousand now, more than New York, and another two thousand are coming soon. Gleaming shopping malls, luxurious hotels and prestigious arts centres are rising alongside. Shanghai's 21 million residents enjoy the highest incomes on the mainland, and there's plenty for them to splash out on; witness the rash of celebrity restaurants and designer flagship stores. In short, it's a city with a swagger, bursting with nouveau riche exuberance and élan.

Shanghai is one of the few Chinese cities that rewards aimless wandering, but it does not, however, brim with obvious tourist attractions. Most of the sights lie to the west of the Huangpu River and its colonial waterfront, the Bund, the commercial hub of late-nineteenth-century European imperialism in mainland China. But the city's major landmark is on the east side, in Pudong – the rocket-like Oriental Pearl TV Tower, so high its antenna is often shrouded in mist. The best way to check out both banks of the Huangpu River and their sights is to take a splendid Huangpu River tour.

Nanjing Lu, reputedly the busiest shopping street in China, runs through the heart of downtown Shanghai towards Renmin Square, which today houses the excellent ShanghaiMuseum as well as a couple of decent art galleries. The other main sights lie about 1500m south of Nanjing Lu in the Old City, the longest continuously inhabited part of Shanghai, with the Yu Yuan – a fully restored classical Chinese garden – and bazaars at its heart. To the southwest of here lies the marvellous former French Concession, with its cosmopolitan cooking traditions, European-style housing and revolutionary relics. The energetic eating and nightlife centre of Shanghai, Huaihai Lu, serves as the area's main artery.