What's New

Shanghai continues to evolve at warp speed. As the city hurtles towards its 2010 deadline to host the World Expo, expect to see constant changes as record numbers of foreigners and Chinese flock here to stake out their share of the ever-expanding pie. Here are the latest openings and offerings in a city that is easily the most exciting in China, if not the world.

Planning Your Trip To Shanghai

Pudong Airport has opened its Terminal Two, which was servicing Shanghai Airlines, British Airways, Northwest Airlines, Qantas Airways, and Virgin Atlantic Airways when this guide was published. To be sure, check with your airline to find out which terminal it uses. There are now Shanghai-Beijing express shuttle flights that depart practically every half-hour from Hongqiao Airport that promise a maximum 3-hour turnaround from check-in to baggage claim.

Shanghai's subway system now has 9 lines with 11 lines expected to be fully operational by 2010. For visitors, Metro Line 4 is another way to get to Pudong; Metro Line 8 will be useful to access World Expo sites; and Metro Line 9 now connects directly with outlying areas like Qibao ancient town and Sheshan. With road and subway construction ramping up for the 2010 World Expo, expect traffic to worsen, so allow plenty of time to get to your destination.

Where to Stay

In preparation for the 2010 World Expo, new Chinese-ranked four- and five-star hotels continue to open in Shanghai at an astonishing rate. Topping the list of new luxury hotels is the high-flying Park Hyatt, the tallest hotel in the world, located in the Shanghai World Financial Center in Pudong. A sister property, the elegant Hyatt on the Bund, part of the Grand Hyatt line, is located nearby just north of the Bund in Hongkou. Le Royal Meridien, ideally located at the start of the Nanjing Lu Pedestrian Mall, is now the tallest hotel in Puxi and the newly opened Swissotel Shanghai is well situated right next to the City Air Terminal Building and the Jing An subway station. The Renaissance Yuyuan Hotel is the first top-caliber hotel right in the old Chinese city, minutes from Yu Garden. Finally, The Conrad and the Jumeirah HanTang Xintiandi hotels located next to Xintiandi are also expected to generate some buzz when they open in late 2008.

In the last few years, boutique hotels have become all the rage in Shanghai. Leading the way are the design-centered JIA Shanghai, in a renovated mansion on Nanjing Lu; the Mansion Hotel, evoking 1930s Shanghai in the French Concession; the ultra-luxurious Pudi Hotel also in the French Concession; and Shanghai's first carbon-neutral hotel, URBN Hotel.

Meanwhile, being given a complete makeover is Shanghai's famous Peace Hotel, which is closed until 2010 and has therefore been left out of this guide's listings. Also undergoing a total refurbishment is the 1934 Art Deco Yangtze Hotel, which should hopefully still remain moderately priced when it reopens. The River Wing of the Pudong Shangri-La Hotel is also being renovated and will have some of the city's most sought-after Bund view rooms when complete at the end of 2008.

On the budget scene, Chinese business motels continue to proliferate, and make for adequate inexpensive stays if you're just looking to crash somewhere for a night or two. A Motel 168, located right above the Maglev station, is now the closest hotel to Pudong Airport, while the Australian-managed Argyle International Airport Hotel is a 5-minute walk from Hongqiao Airport.

Where to Dine

We're happy to report that many of our restaurant recommendations from the previous edition are still around and thriving, even as restaurant openings and closings continue at a dizzying rate. Headlining the list of must-try new restaurants is Jade on 36, where Chef Paul Pairet delivers a nonpareil avant garde dining experience that alone is worth a trip to Shanghai.

Shanghainese restaurants open and close with alarming frequency, but we hope the exquisite Fu 1088 serving Shanghainese classics in a restored mansion stays around for awhile. Franck is a charming bistro in the lovely Ferguson Lane that has the French expats all but singing the Marseillaise. Eduardo Vargas' 239 Restaurant and Bar closed shortly after opening, but his long-standing Azul is still one of the most popular places in town for tapas and mojitos, and deservedly so. And we've added Southern Beauty because spicy Sichuan cuisine is still all the rage, especially served up in a fine garden setting.

We've also introduced some wine bars in this edition, including Enotecca, Just Grapes, and Otto Gourmet Cafe, which all serve tasty vittles with their vino.

What to See and Do in Shanghai

The Bund still stands in all its glory, but plans to build a vehicle tunnel underneath the main street to Hongkou will likely create some traffic snarls. In addition, the famous Waibaidu Bridge just north of the Bund has been temporarily removed for repairs, but should be restored in the first half of 2009. Shanghai's most famous Art Deco landmark, the Peace Hotel, has also closed for renovations until mid-2010. The world-class Shanghai Museum now offers free admission, but the downside is the additional crowds you'll have to contend with as a result. As the city gears up for the World Expo, you can now climb to the top of the Lupu Bridge for a bird's eye view of the Expo grounds taking shape on the shores of the Huangpu River. For art and sculpture lovers, the Shanghai Sculpture Space, formerly a steel plant, and the Zendai Museum of Modern Art in Pudong, are just two of the many new spaces to view the works of contemporary Chinese artists. Last, but certainly not least, the tallest building in China, the Shanghai World Financial Center, boasts a 100th-floor all-glass observation deck that will surely be the tallest, and likely the biggest attraction in town.

Shopping

Two years after the closing of the Xiangyang Clothing Market, sellers of knockoff designer goods have largely relocated to two other main areas: the Qipu Lu Market in Zhabei District, and the A.P. Plaza at the Science and Technology Museum (Shanghai Keji Guan) stop on Metro Line 2 in Pudong, though the vendors actually selling brand-name goods are more scattered and don't tend to advertise their wares quite so openly or brazenly anymore. The Friendship Store, still as overpriced as ever, has moved to Changshou Lu in Jing An district.

One of the latest trends in Shanghai is to convert former factories and warehouses to high-end shopping and entertainment complexes, such as the High Street Loft in the French Concession, a favorite with the trendy set. When this guide was published, two other spots were just starting to attract tenants but should be attractive destinations for the life of this edition: the Cool Docks south of the Bund by the river, and the wonderful 1933 in Hongkou, on the grounds of a former abattoir. Meanwhile, Taikang Lu 210 in the French Concession continues to expand and draw ever greater crowds to its charming boutiques, galleries, and cafes.

Shanghai After Dark

Nightlife continues to flourish despite (or perhaps because of) the large turnover of bars and clubs. Tongren Lu is Shanghai's main bar and clubbing street, but will likely be replaced by another bar street during the life of this guide. Hot new nightclubs include Attica, located in the Bund with some of the best views of Shanghai; the consistently popular bonbon off Hengshan Lu; The Shelter, in a former bomb shelter in the French Concession, and a favorite for alternative indie music; the gigantic Muse, all the way out in the New Factories in Jing An district; the ultra-hip Philippe Starck-designed Volar just outside Fuxing Park; and the Pudong-based The Wall, on the Riverside Promenade with great views of the Bund, and filling the club void left by the closing of Pu-J's Entertainment Centre in the Jin Mao Tower.

The bar scene gets ever more crowded and sophisticated, with David Laris' The Vault and its popular Thursday martini nights a top draw, as is Jean Georges' JG Bar at the same Three on the Bund address. Just up the street, Bar Rouge at Bund 18 recently underwent renovations and is still the destination for the hip set; three floors below it is the more elegant Lounge 18. Other newer bars of note include I Love Shanghai, a popular dive bar south of the Bund offering an alternative to the costly bars up the street; and two Xintiandi bars, Sugar and Racks, complete with pool tables and mechanical bulls. As far as hotel bars go, Vue Bar at the Hyatt on the Bund boasts the best of both worlds by showcasing views of both Pudong and the Bund.

On the jazz scene, due to the temporary closure of the Peace Hotel, the famous Peace Hotel Jazz Band has moved to the Huating Hotel, while the House of Blues and Jazz has relocated to bigger and nicer quarters just off the Bund on Fuzhou Lu.