 I've been to Shanghai last Summer of 2006. I went there to study Mandarin language for a month, I did another month of study in Beijing. Prior to going Shanghai, I don't know anything about it except it's a Chinese city but people from Beijing were saying it's a very cosmopolitan city comparable to New York and Hong Kong. Having no visual picture of Shanghai in my mind, I was in a nice surprised to find a charming city. The downtown is a historical area by itself, they managed to preserve the old colonial buildings which is like walking in the museum when you stroll on it's street. Unlike Beijing, streets are narrower and blocks are smaller so that makes it easier to walk from one point to the next. The downtown is pedestrian friendly, there are cobbled pedestrian lanes on both sides of the street. Most of the attractions are within walking distance of each other, some of the attractions are the Xintiandi area, a cluster of old houses they called french concession houses that they turned into cafes and restaurants, houses of prominent people in China which showcase interesting tidbits of history, the Shanghai Museum of coursem The Bund area, which I advice you see at night, and the Yuyuan garden which showcase the beautiful chinese landscape architecture. If you like shopping then Shanghai will not fail you as they have lots of malls everywhere, the two main shopping street are Nanjing Road and Huai Hai Road. Public transport is very convenient, you can take the subway or bus, it helps to know a little Chinese word by the way. Taxi drivers don't speak English much so it's quite difficult to get around if you don;t speak Chinese, so it's better to have someone write the place you want to go to in Chinese and just show it to the taxi driver. For people who have lots of time to spare, it's worth checking out some places outside Shanghai which is only an hour or two ride like Hangzhou, Suzhou, and several water villages. Also there's the Pudong area which is part of Shanghai, it's a new development, not much to see but tallest building in Shanghai and one of the world's tallest, Jinmao Tower, and Pearl tower where you can go up and look down the whole city.
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