I lived there on and off for more than 6 month during the last 2 years and I'm going back there for the next 8 month thanks to a baller internship.
Shanghai is an amazing city, it's like New York on steroide. Everything is happening there, it's the Capital of the world right now. Be sure to check the Bund where the future meets the past, literally. The Huang Pu (the river) divides Pudong with its futuristic skyscrapers and Puxi with the old foreign concession. Every night, thousands and thousands of people (mostly chinese) walk their way there to enjoy the scenery.
Beside this, be sure to check out:
The Maglev Train . You most likely will arrive in Pudong Airport. Don't taxi there and look for the Maglev train direction. It will take you almost in the center of the city at 300km/h, somethime 450 if you're lucky. there you can either thake the subway (easy to use, english ticket machine and direction) or take a taxi for the rest of the way.
The Nanjing Road: most famous street in SH. Lots of shopping center, light everywhere, the most touristic place in the city. But PLEASE be careful of the scams there (cute girls asking for english lessons or offering various stuff like tea ceremony and art gallery. DO NOT TALK TO THEM)
Yuyuan Gongyuan (garden): Some kind of old fashioned city. A bit like Disney Land but still nice if you need souvenirs or if you want a glimps of old chinese architecture. Be sure to try the Jiao Zi there. You might need to wait 30 min to taste them but it's worth it. A bit touristic tho.
French Concession: One of the biggest neighborhood in Shanghai. Historic place, and a good way to leave the hectic part of the city and find some peace. The main street is HuaHai Lu, which is nice for shopping, but just wander around it and you'll be amazed by the peacefullness of this area. Get lost.
Pudong: Go up one of the big 3, the pearl tower, the Jin Mao tower or the World Financial Tower (the biggest one) . The view is breathtaking, mostly at night. A nice museum is in the basement of the Pearl Tower.
Jing An Temple: A good looking temple in the middle of the city.
Fake Markets: there is 3 famous one. I recommend the one on Nanjing west road. Bargain the hell out of it. Usually they will set the price 5 time it's value. Persevere and don't hesitate to turn it down and look around, they''ll come back to you.
Fabric Market: Same as fake market but foe textil. You can get amazing deals on suits, shirts and so on. (100 rmb a shirt, 800rmb a suit if you're good at bargaining)
Thee are a LOT of amazing restaurants in SH, cuisine from all around the world, usually very cheap. Look around, try everything. At least eat one meal in one of the Bund terasse ("M on the bund" exemple) a bit pricey, but the view is amazing.
But please, don't be afraid and try the street food. You'll come across a lot of street vendors selling various stuff. It's usually delicious and extremely cheap. Noodle soup, meat sticks, jiaozi, baozi and so many other. This is China, experience it.
The nightlife. It is AMAZING, So many clubs and bars in the city. You got the chinese club like Bobolia where there are almost no foreigners, where the music is shit, the dance floor small, but still interesting to see. They play dice (learn it, its easy and fun, and a perfect way to connect with them), they'll easily offer you drink by curiosity.. that's usually where I have the most fun. But don't be offended if you see a big rich chinese dude ordering girls like it's food. Those are hostess, it looks sketchy, but it's in the culture of the country, deal with it.
Then you got the more usual nightclubs were most of the foreigners mix with the locals. Music is better, dancefloor is bigger. Muse 1 and 2 are the most well known one. Sky club and G club are safe bet aswell. Most of the nights, you can get some deal for the drinks, usually 10$ for 10 drinks.
Bar rouge is a must aswell. More expensive, more foreigners there but the best view in Shanghai, and some of the best house music aswell. Then you have some after club starting at 3 4 am finishing at 10 11 am, like Mao and Dragon.
You have an indoor ski place in Shanghai too. It's pretty shitty and hard to find, but still fun.
Now for the tips: always ask for the "money counting machine" in the taxi. If they don't want, find an other one. Most of them don't speak good english, but there is a phone number in everytaxi where u can call for free and an english speaking person will help you find your way with the driver.
Chinese people love to stare at you. Dont worry they're not racist (most of them) they are just very curious. Don't mind it.
Take the subway as much as u can. It's cheap and very efficient. It's easy to find your way even if you don't speak Mandarin.
Try the local food
Get lost in the not so touristic area if you want to experience the real China.
BE PATIENT
Chinese hates to say no, they'll always say yes eventho they have no idea what you're talking about, that is so they don't loose their "face" . Always be aware of that.
Changle Lu (road) is the best street for shopping in my opinion.
And last but not least: Learn a little bit of Mandarin. It helps a LOT to get around. Here is one that will help a lot: Wo Men Yao Qu(pronouce "tchu") *name of a street+lu* *name of a street +lu* .
Exemple: wo men yao qu maoming lu julu lu. Means we want to go to the crossing of maoming street and julu street. if you learn this, taxi's won't be a pain in the ass anymore.
if you have any questions , hit me up
