Stroll along Miami Beach
Downtown Shanghai doesn’t lack for Art Deco gems (send ‘Art Deco’ to our WeChat account for a guided tour), but beside Shanghai Disneyland you’ll find a whole world of Art Deco, with buildings that take their cues from classic 1920s and ’30s architecture in New York, Paris, Milan, Vienna and, of course, Shanghai.
Set in a crescent facing a central lake, the buildings summon up a sense of nostalgia (possibly for a place you’ve not actually been to) and feel a bit like a film set – but one that you’re able to stroll around at will while picking up some bargains on name brand designer clothing. Because this is no theme park, but instead the latest Mainland China development from Value Retail, the people behind cut-price designer shopping destinations such as Bicester Village in the UK and, more recently, Suzhou Village.
Among the big brands like Armani, COACH and Kate Spade New York – all stocked in spaces designed to the same specifications as their normal stores – there are alternatives such as Chuang x Yi (Made by China), where buyers hand-pick clothes and accessories from emerging and established Chinese designers, including Shanghai-based Helen Lee, Jenny Ji and Three Society. The selection might not be hot off the runway, but we’re promised it’s never more than two seasons old.
Even the bathrooms at Shanghai Village compete for attention, with each of the five drawing decorative inspiration from a prominent artist (O’Keeffe, Balla, Chini, Delaunay and Klimt). The O’Keeffe bathroom, for example, comes with bright pink mosaic walls and fancy make-up mirrors beside the individual cubicles.
Still not convinced you’re getting away from it all? Head to the space operated by Chinese travel start-up Zanadu and plug in to one of their VR holiday experiences – you can find yourself immersed in a skiing trip on Changbaishan or at a beach resort in the Maldives, without leaving your chair.
And if you need further reason to head to the eastern end of Line 11, from Saturday 27 August Shanghai Village is hosting a series of weekend live music performances beside the water with accompanying food and drink
specials as well.
Get there Take Line 11 to Shanghai Disney and get one of the regular shuttle buses to Shanghai Village (Yi Ou Lai) from outside the station.
Shanghai Village is at 88 Shengdi Dong Lu, Pudong New Area (open 10am-8pm Mon-Fri; 9am-9pm Sat-Sun and public holidays).
Sunbathe on the Gold Coast
One of the fastest ways to get your toes in the sand without leaving the city, these large sand pits opposite the Waterhouse hotel overlook the Huangpu and feature a small paddling pool, volleyball nets, a bar and large daybeds to relax on. Bund Beach is at Waima Lu, near Maojiyuan Lu, Huangpu district.
Another man-made beach, Jinshan’s sands are at least next to the sea. From downtown, it’ll take you a while to get here, but your reward is a 1.3km stretch of sand dotted with mini water top activity parks, swimming areas and lots of families. Jinshan City Beach is at Fuchuan Lu, near Liucheng Lu, Jinshan district.
The Shanghai Sculpture Park in Songjiang district is a well-tended park complete with grassy picnic areas and a man-made beach. There’s water zorbing and boats for rent on the lake, and a decent-sized pool near the sands for splashing around in. Shanghai Sculpture Park is at 1158 Linyin Xin Lu, near Jiasong Nan Lu, Songjiang district.
There's also a man-made beach at the park beside Shanghai Circus World in Zhabei and a proper slice of seaside out at Sanjia Gang in eastern Pudong, but perhaps one of our favourite options for a bit of beach action is the Shimao Riviera's outdoor swimming pool. Their large wave pool is accompanied by a glorious stretch of sand that never seems to get overly crowded, despite being right in the heart of Lujiazui. Shimao Riviera is at 1-2 Weifang Xi Lu, near Pucheng Lu, Pudong.
Witness the wonders of the Amazon
When it’s 30-odd degrees outside and the humidity is doing wonders for your hair, heading to a greenhouse may not seem like the smartest of choices. But Chenshan Botanical Gardens’ impressive trio of glass-enclosed spaces (billed as the largest of their kind in Asia) provide an incredible array of rare tropical plants that are well worth working up a little sweat over.
They have hard-to-find horticultural wonders such as the ipoh tree (the source of poison for Malaysian tribes people’s blow darts) and South America’s captivating cockspur coral plus a wealth of cacti and succulents. Everything is well presented as you wander among the greenery and the sheer scale of Chenshan’s tropical section helps it eclipse that on offer at Shanghai’s original Botanical Gardens near the South Railway Station.
And if you really can’t bear a trip to the tropics or the desert, the rest of the sprawling site makes for a good few hours out of the city centre regardless, with a quarry-turned-lake, numerous themed gardens and some lovely lawns for lounging on.
Get there Take Line 9 to Dongjing station. Cross the road outside the metro station and catch the direct bus (number 19) that will drop you right at the Gardens’ main entrance. Entry is 60RMB.
Chenshan Botanical Gardens is at 3888 Chenhua Lu, near Jiasong Lu, Songjiang district.
Take a gastronomic tour of Urumqi
Okay, so this isn’t exactly Kashgar’s Grand Bazaar or some of the huge markets you find in Uzbekistan and its neighbours, but it’s not a far cry from the street food versions found in Xinjiang’s capital city, and is certainly something a little different for Shanghai. Every Friday from around 11am, a large portion of the city’s Uyghur community congregates on the streets beside the Huxi Mosque at a bustling collection of tents and stalls.
Vendors are friendly, the food is authentic and there’s generally a pleasant community vibe as crowds form following the main Friday prayers and linger until late afternoon and sometimes into the evening. In addition to whole-roasted lamb and the standard Xinjiang fare of chuanr, breads and pilau, you’ll find a colourful array of seasonal Xinjiang fruits, noodle dishes and more. Be adventurous and you’ll discover foods that you might not usually see at your go-to Xinjiang restaurant.
Get there Take Line 7 or 13 to Changshou Lu station and cross Changshou Lu itself heading north on Changde Lu until you reach the junction with Aomen Lu.
The 'Muslim Market' is at the corner of Aomen Lu and Changde Lu, Jingan district.
Go wild on an African safari
At 153 hectares, Shanghai Wild Animal Park is considerably larger (and newer) than the city’s original zoo in Puxi. Over 200 species from around the world are housed here, including everything from pandas and tigers to elephants. The zoo is a spacious, well-kept park that offers a good family day out, though be wary of crowds at peak times. The attraction is clean and the animals are on the whole relatively well looked after by Chinese zoo standards, but unfortunately animal ‘performances’ still persist and are best boycotted.
The bus tour is thankfully more enlightened and is actually a fun way to see the animals in something resembling their natural habitats. Far from fearing the buses, lions and bears sprawl along the road, and it takes some hard honking to convince them to budge. If you’re lucky, one of the white tigers will run alongside your vehicle as you make your way through their enclosure.
And if lingering questions over animal welfare (or the entry price) put you off, you can always just take the Line 16 metro and keep an eye out for animals from the train as it passes by the park instead.
Get there Take Line 16 to Shanghai Wild Animal Park. Entry is 130RMB.
Shanghai Wild Animal Park is at 178 Nanliu Gong Lu, near Renmin Xi Lu.
Wander through Little Britain
Cor blimey guv’nor! This corner of Shanghai features street signs with Oxford, Chelsea and Soho written on them, mock-Tudor buildings covered in ivy, a church with garish ‘stained glass’ windows and even a statue of Winston Churchill in the middle of it all. Yes it’s Thames Town, the mock little England development in spiffing Songjiang.
While the Brexit referendum decision may have sent the pound into free-fall and made a visit to actual Britain cheaper than ever for most Chinese tourists, Thames Town allows visitors a taste of the UK for the price of a metro and bus ticket rather than an intercontinental flight. The area’s English stylings may make Dick Van Dyke’s cockney accent seem bona fide, but that doesn’t stop young couples flocking here for wedding photos or families coming here for a selfie-filled day out.
Originally planned as a satellite town for Shanghai – together with other European-themed settlements on the outskirts of the city (a German town in Anting, a Dutch town in Pudong) – Thames Town has often been characterised as something of a ghost town, but there are people living in the development and at weekends it’s positively bustling, albeit as a slightly bizarre theme park of sorts.
There’s not a huge amount to do other than wander around smiling wryly at details such as the road names, the faux EIIR insignia on the bins and the security guards dressed in combination London bus driver and royal guard outfits, but there is a branch of glo London here if you want some traditionally average British food. To add extra authenticity to snaps of yourself supposedly enjoying the Great British summertime, be sure to visit on a grey, drizzly day.
Get there Take Line 9 to Songjiang New Town. From here it’s a 15 minute (20RMB) taxi to Taiwushi Xiao Zhen. Alternatively, you can get off the metro at Songjiang University Town and get bus number 15 from outside the station to the Hongxiang Lu stop.
Thames Town is at Thames Town, Wencheng Lu, near Yuhua Lu, Songjiang district.
Experience Seoul
While there are numerous Korean restaurants, bars and bathhouses dotted across the city, there’s little doubt that the main Korean cluster is located to the west. And most of these are concentrated on a three block stretch of Hongquan Lu, where the characters are rounder, there are regular signs for fried chicken and beer and the streets host Korean grocery shops and supermarkets. At the area’s easternmost fringe, a new development entitled Koreatown in Chinese is slowly filling up with tenants, while at is western edge the long-established Seoul Plaza is a great place for unearthing Korean culinary gems (both inside the drab looking mall building and on the street immediately outside).
Our ideal day in Koreatown starts with a dip in the outdoor pool and baths of chilled out bathhouse New Star, then takes in the snack stalls outside Seoul Plaza before ending up at one of the numerous Korean barbecue joints in the area or heading to Bulloman for their deliciously crispy fried chicken.
Get there Take Line 9 to Hechuan Lu and head north on Hechuan Lu itself. Take a left on Hongquan Lu and you’ll be on the main strip’s eastern fringes with the Koreatown.
Check out our walking tour of Koreatown as well as a guide to the best Korean restaurants in the city on our website.
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