Active Pursuits

Most visitors to Shanghai do not come intending to pursue outdoor recreation or sports, but there is a wide range of such activities. Hotels routinely offer exercise machines, weights, aerobic and workout areas, swimming pools, locker rooms, and, less often, tennis and squash courts, all at little or no charge to their guests. It is possible to use some hotels' fitness facilities even if you are not a guest (although the fees can be steep). Joggers in Shanghai will find the early-morning streets and public parks conducive to running. Shanghai has its own annual international marathon, the Toray Cup (run in mid-Nov).

Golf and bowling are two of the most popular recreational sports in Shanghai, pursued by well-to-do locals, foreign residents, and overseas visitors, but you can also enjoy kite-flying, traditional taiji quan, and even go-cart racing if time and energy allow.

Spectator sports include Formula One racing, professional basketball, interleague soccer, and international badminton.

Bowling (Baoling Qiu)

Bowling experienced a boom in China during the 1990s, when more than 15,000 alleys were built, many of them in Shanghai. There are good alleys in the Regal International East Asia hotel. The Orden Bowling Center at Hengshan Lu 10 (tel. 021/6474-6666) is open 24 hours. Rates run from ¥8 to ¥30 ($1.15-$4.30/58p-£2.15) per line at Shanghai bowling halls, depending on the quality of the facility and the time of day (the later, the more expensive); shoe rentals toe the line at ¥3 to ¥10 (45¢-$1.45/23p-73p).

Go-Karting (Kasing Che)

Best track for a Formula One drive in miniature is the indoor arena at Disc Kart (Dishika Saicheguan, Zaoyang Lu 609 [near Metro Line 3, Jinshajiang Lu Station]; tel. 021/6285-7778; www.kartingchina.com), where the timing system is high-tech, the carts have new Honda engines, and the driving goes on into the wee hours (2pm-2am). An outdoor alternative is the Quyang Racing Cart Club, Zhongshan Bei Yi Lu 880 (tel. 021/6531-6800; Mon-Thurs 10am-5:30pm; Fri-Sun 9am-6pm).

Golf (Gao'erfu Qiu)

Greens fees at Shanghai's dozen or more golf courses run from ¥400 to ¥830 ($57-$119/£29-£60) on weekdays, ¥830 to ¥1,660 ($119-$237/£60-£119) on weekends. Caddies cost ¥90 to ¥200 ($13-$29/£6.50-£15) and club rental ¥250 to ¥450 ($36-$64/£18-£32). All courses require advance reservations; summer weekends are particularly crowded. One of Shanghai's best is the Sheshan International Golf Club (Sheshan Gao'erfu Qun), Linyin Xin Lu 288, Sheshan National Tourism Resort, Songjiang District (tel. 021/5779-8088; www.sheshangolf.com), about 30 minutes outside the city. Vijay Singh and Tiger Woods have all played here in the HSBC Champions Tournament on the Nelson and Haworth course featuring natural forest and manmade lakes. Other top courses include the world-class, Robert Trent Jones, Jr.-designed Shanghai International Golf and Country Club (Shanghai Guoji Gao'erfu Xiangcun Julebu), Xinyang Cun, Zhujiajiao (tel. 021/5972-8111; Wed-Mon 9am-5pm), an hour's drive west of Shanghai in Qingpu District; the Shanghai Riviera Golf Resort (Shanghai Dongfang Bali Gao'erfu Julebu), Yangzi Lu 277, Nanxiang Town, Jiading District (tel. 021/5912-6888; Tues-Fri 9am-10pm; Sat-Sun 8am-10pm), a Bobby J. Martin-designed 18-hole par-61 course with a driving range and year-round night golfing; the 18-hole Jack Nicklaus-designed Shanghai Links Golf and Country Club (Gao'erfu Xiangcun Juluebu), Lingbai Lu 1600 (tel. 021/5897-5899; Tues-Fri 7:30am-6pm, Sat-Sun 7am-4pm, closed Mon), in the Pudong region; the Tomson Golf Club (Tangchen Gao'erfu Julebu), Longdong Da Dao 1, also in Pudong, with reservations available through the Inter-Continental Hotel Pudong (tel. 021/5833-8888; Mon 1-10pm, Tues-Sun 8am-10pm); and Shanghai's only 54-hole course, the Shanghai Binhai Golf Club (Binhai Gao'erfu Julebu), Binhai, Nanhui, located near the Pudong Airport (tel. 021/5805-8888 or 021/5047-6811; call for hours).

Health and Fitness Clubs

Some hotels offer day rates to outsiders. The Spa at the Hilton (tel. 021/6248-0000, ext. 2600; 6am-11pm), for example, charges ¥480 ($69/£35) per day for use of its gym, pool, tennis and squash courts, sauna, Jacuzzi, locker rooms, and exercise room. The most complete range of fitness facilities in town is offered by the Shanghai International Tennis Centre Club, attached to the Regal International East Asia Hotel, Hengshan Lu 516, third floor, Xuhui (tel. 021/6415-5588, ext. 82), with its 25m (82-ft.) indoor lap pool, aerobics studio, exercise machines, simulated golf range, 12-lane bowling alley, and 10 of China's best indoor and outdoor tennis and squash courts (6am-11pm). Among private fitness clubs, one of the best offering day passes is Megafit at Huaihai Zhong Lu 300; tel. 021/5383-6633; www.megafitchina.com), which offers a vast array of state-of-the-art equipment; a full range of classes including spinning, yoga, and boxing; and excellent changing rooms with sauna and massage (Mon-Fri 6:30am-11pm; Sat-Sun 9am-9pm). The new boutique fitness club One Wellness at Yanping Lu 98 (near Xinzha Lu, tel. 021/6267-1550; www.onewellness.com.cn) claims to be the first carbon-neutral gym in China and features a gourmet health-food cafe and free Internet stations and Wi-Fi. Daily hours are 6am to 11pm, and a day pass costs ¥150 ($21/£11).

Shanghai Spas

In most people's minds, Shanghai may not be readily associated with the spa experience, but those addicted to their mud wraps, body polishes, and lomi lomi massages can now get some world-class pampering at a number of classy, brand-name spas in town. In fact, it has become de rigueur for every top hotel worth its salt (rub) to have a brand-name spa.

One of the most sybaritic of the lot is Chi, the Himalayan-themed spa at the Shangri-La Hotel Tower (Fucheng Lu 33; tel. 021/6882-8888, ext. 460), delivering top-of-the-world treatments at predictably sky-high prices. The world-famous Banyan Tree Spa, located on the third floor of the Westin Hotel (Nanjing Dong Lu 88; tel. 021/6335-1888; www.banyantreespa.com/shanghai), is beautifully designed using the theme of the Chinese five elements (wood, water, fire, earth, and metal). A host of beauty, hair-care, and massage treatments is available at steep international spa prices. Also from Thailand, the first Mandara Spa in China can be found at the JW Marriott Hotel (Nanjing Xi Lu 399; tel. 021/5359-4969; www.mandaraspa.com), while the Spa at the Hilton (Huashan Lu 250; tel. 021/6248-0000, ext. 2600) continues to dole out some of the city's consistently best massages, especially its signature shenti massage, which combines Swedish with Chinese massage. The Evian Spa at Three on the Bund (Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu 3; tel. 021/6321-6622) delivers luxury pampering at luxury prices.

Many expats and discerning locals head for Dragonfly Therapeutic Retreat (Xinle Lu 206; tel. 021/5403-9982; www.dragonfly.net.cn), which offers an exotic Asian ambience with all the standard treatments at just the right prices (often less than half the rates at hotel spas), though its recent rapid expansion has resulted in somewhat uneven service at different branches. The small but excellent Shui Urban Spa (Wukang Lu 376, Ferguson Lane, fifth floor, tel. 021/6126-7800; www.shuiurbanspa.com.cn) features a variety of pampering treatments by very strong and skilled English-speaking massage therapists. For the truly intrepid, Funing Point Pressure Massage Center of Blind People (Fuxing Lu 597; tel. 021/6437-8378) offers invigorating Chinese massages for around ¥60 ($8.55/£4.30) an hour. Little to no English is spoken here, however.

Kite-Flying (Fang Fengzheng)

Chinese have been flying their invention for more than 2,000 years. The best places to buy and to fly local Shanghai kites are in the public parks and in People's Square in front of the Shanghai Museum.

Tai Chi (Taiji Quan)

These venerable and graceful "shadow-boxing" exercises, which tens of thousands of Shanghainese practice every morning before work, and Wu Shu, the martial arts forms developed in China, can be learned at the Shanghai Wushu Center (Wushu Yuan), Nanjing Xi Lu 595, Huangpu (tel. 021/6215-3599); or at the Longwu International Kung Fu Center, Maoming Nan Lu 1 (tel. 130/0325-2826; www.longwukungfu.com).

Yoga (Yujia)

You can now practice your sun salutations at a number of places, including Breeze Yoga (Xizang Zhong Lu 120, seventh Floor; tel. 021/6350-1086; www.breezeyoga.com), offering more than 30 yoga classes, and Y+ Yoga Centre (Fuxing Lu, Lane 299, no. 2; tel. 021/6433-4330; www.yplus.com.cn), offering ashtanga, bikram, and prenatal yoga as well as Pilates.