For those nights when you just can't sleep (or, at least, are still awake from the night before), don't despair. Time Out has rounded up all the (legit) ways you can while away the hours until dawn...
Archery. As improbable a late-night activity as archery sounds, Daoshun is a South Korean chain with two archery centres in Shanghai – one in Jingan and one in Pudong – that stays open until 1am. A round of 12 arrows (and free instruction for beginners) will set you back 18RMB.
Visit a bathhouse. OK, so checking into a bathhouse in the dead of the night admittedly sounds a bit sordid, but Shanghai’s Korean spas – equipped with steam rooms, saunas, and cosy, heated relaxation areas – are actually family joints – try New Star’s massive flagship in Gubei.
Stock up your reading list. Every Sunday before dawn, a book market materialises nearby the Confucius Temple on Wenmiao Lu – nicknamed a ‘ghost market’ on account of the phantasmic appearance of its vendors in the early morning light.
Hop in a go kart. The slick Stampede - open until 2am - claims to be the world’s only nightclub with an indoor go-kart track, so it’s tailor-made for midnight karting (and clubbing if you really must, upstairs). At 5,000 sqm, the circuit is the largest indoor track in Asia, and the 150cc gas karts with inbuilt electronic timers are the fastest in town.
Go to the gym. We're not medical experts, but a good way of expending unwanted nocturnal energy might be to slog it out at the gym. Kerry Sports at the Kerry Hotel in Pudong is open 24 hours.
Do Tai Chi on the Bund. Every morning at the crack of dawn, old folk gather in Shanghai’s most iconic location to get their qi flowing. You don’t even need to join in – just watch, learn, and soak up the magic.
Badminton on Nanjing Dong Lu. If Tai Chi isn’t your thing, and playing an old British colonial game on the deserted streets of Shanghai is, then join some of the city’s active retirees on Nanjing Dong Lu, who set up a makeshift badminton court every morning at sunrise.
Go bowling. Did you know there's a 24-hour bowling alley in Xuhui? Orden Bowling on Hengshan Lu boasts 16 alleys, and on weekends, has somewhat of a 'party atmosphere'. So if you're looking for some melancholic late-night reflections, maybe it's not your best bet. But still – bowling. Everyone loves bowling.