Things to Do in Shanghai

Early-morning bike ride along the Bund

Pedal between flood barriers at dawn. The Huangpu smells of diesel and river weed; Art-Deco facades blush pink. Delivery guys balance polystyrene towers. Retirees walk caged thrushes. Pudong's LEDs fade into daylight.

Lost Heaven on the Bund for Yunnan flavours

The dining room glows indigo like a tribal cloak. Lime-leaf steam rises from goat-cheese croquettes. Order Dai-style pork neck with pomegranate seeds. Crunch yields to lemongrass heat that outlasts the lantern view above the river.

50 Moganshan Road graffiti crawl

Factory chimneys still drip rust. Cables snake underfoot. Turpentine and wet concrete fill your lungs. Artists blast K-Pop while retouching murals that peel like sunburnt skin. One wall shows a crimson dragon coiling through QR codes. Another has tiles warm from afternoon sun.

Jazz at the Peace Hotel Old Jazz Band

Inside the Fairmont Peace Hotel, octogenarians in tuxedos wheeze through 'Night and Day.' The chandelier glitters like sugar frost. Cigarette smoke curls above cracked leather banquettes. The sax smells of brass polish. The drummer's whisky tumbler rings with ice after every solo.

Secret rooftop above a fake-market exit

Climb fire stairs behind a counterfeit-bag stall. Pop onto a tar roof where laundry snaps like sailcloth. The Pearl Tower blinks between neon slogans; scallion-oil noodles drift up from a 4th-floor kitchen. No tickets. Nod to the guard.

The Bund & Nanjing Road: wake to river fog curling past 1930s banks, walk to breakfast queues for sesame pockets.

Former French Concession: plane-tree shade, villa bars, coffee that smells of cocoa nibs on Fumin Road.

Jing'an: glass towers above temples, metro hub that reaches both airports in 40 minutes.

Xintiandi: shikumen bricks polished for tourists but still handy for midnight pork-maple pancakes.

Pudong Lujiazui: high-floor views of neon calligraphy, plus cheaper five-stars on weekends when bankers flee.

Hongkiao & Changning: leafy lanes, Korean BBQ smoke, direct rail to Suzhou day trips.