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Jing'an Temple
The Jing'an Temple (Temple of Tranquillity) was originally built in AD 247 but was largely destroyed in 1851. Khi Vehdu, who ran the Jing'an Temple in the 1930s, was one of the most remarkable figures of the time. The nearly 2m-tall abbot had a large following and each of his seven concubines had a house and a car. The temple was shorn of its Buddhist statues in the Cultural Revolution and turned into a plastics factory.
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Jinjiang Amusement Park
Roller coasters, rides and a huge Ferris wheel are all here in this amusement park. It's a bit out of town, but easy to get to, as it has its own metro station.
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Jinmao Tower
In a city of dubious contemporary architecture, the colossal Jinmao Tower stands out for its winning design, loosely inspired by a traditional Chinese subject, the pagoda. If you want to see Shanghai in a splendid nutshell, travel in the elevators (moving at 9.1m/second) to the 88th-floor observation deck, accessed from the separate podium building to the side of the main tower. Time your visit at dusk for both day and night views.
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Liu Haisu Art Gallery
This hulking gallery exhibits works of the eponymous painter, as well as often impressive visiting exhibitions, with the Chine Antiques store in the lobby. Check the expat magazines for exhibition details.
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Liuligongfang Museum
The iridescent glass creations of Liuligongfang have emerged as highly prized mantelpiece ornaments for the well-to-do Chinese middle classes. The museum air-con is set to super chill mode, but it's thankfully offset by the warming hues of some splendidly wrought pieces on view. The handy branch of Liuligongfang at Xīntiāndì across the way can help empty your wallet if you find yourself in gift-buying mode.
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Longhua Temple & Pagoda
Southwest of central Shanghai, close to the river, this is the oldest and largest monastery in Shanghai. Said to date from the 10th century, it has been much renovated. Lónghuá refers to the pipal tree under which Buddha achieved enlightenment.
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Lu Xun Former Residence
Lu Xun buffs will adore ferreting around this simple three-floor domicile on lovely Shanyin Rd, where an English-speaking guide can fill you in on all the bits and bobs, including a clock displaying the exact time of Lu Xun's death and a painting hanging on the wall of the writer's son, Zhou Haiying, as a baby.
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Lu Xun Memorial Hall
An excellent museum, this modern hall charts the life and creative output of Lu Xun (China's most celebrated modernist writer) with photographs, first editions, waxworks and the author's vestments (including his fedora and lamb-skin lined coat) and personal effects. Detailed English captions throughout. The museum bookshop sells Lu Xun's stories in English, French and German.
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Lu Xun Park
Especially gorgeous in spring and summer when the trees are in blossom, Lu Xun Park is one of the city's most pleasant parks, with elderly Chinese practising taichior ballroom dancing, and even the occasional retired opera singer giving a free performance. The English corner on Sunday mornings is one of the largest in all of Shanghai and a good place to chat to locals in English. You can take boats out onto the small lake.
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Lujiazui Development Showroom
This exhibition of photos, folk life and recent development in Pǔdōng, on the edge of Lujiazui Park, is mildly diverting but it's the historic building itself - unique in a forest of skyscrapers - that stands out. Built in 1914-17 as the residence of a rich merchant, Chen Guichun, it has both a main hall and interior courtyard. It's easily viewed from the outside.
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Martyrs Memorial
Next to the Longhua Temple, this rambling park marks the site of an old Kuomintang prison, where 800 communists, intellectuals and political agitators were executed between 1928 and 1937. You can take a modern underground tunnel to the original jailhouses and the small execution ground. Scattered throughout the manicured lawns are epic sculptures of workers and soldiers, depicted in true socialist-realism art style.
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Moller House
One of Shanghai's most whimsical buildings, the Scandinavian-influenced gothic peaks of the Moller House could double as the Munsters' holiday home. The Swedish owner and horse-racing fan, Eric Moller, owned the Moller Line. Previously home to the Communist Youth League, the building now houses a hotel, the Hengshan Moller Villa.
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Natural Wild Insect Kingdom
Aimed at kids, this collection of creepy-crawlies includes an opportunity to handle some of the hairy monsters. It's one that could be missed unless your kids have a special interest.
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Ohel Moishe Synagogue
This synagogue was built by the Russian Ashkenazi Jewish community in 1927 and lies in the heart of the 1940s Jewish ghetto. At the time of writing it was closed for restoration. The restoration is being done in conjunction with the Israeli Consulate, which should guarantee some authenticity. There'll be a small museum as well.
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Old Film Café
With the golden age of Shanghai cinema as its theme, this place makes for a pleasant pit stop if you're touring the Duolun Rd area. Movie buffs will enjoy the photos of the vintage Chinese movie stars and the screenings of classic films from the '30s. Spread over three floors, there's also a small outside area. There's a wide range of teas available and they serve alcohol too. Look for the statue of Charlie Chaplin out front.
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Oriental Pearl TV Tower
Love it or hate it, this preposterous 468m-tall poured-concrete shocker of a tripod tower has become a symbol of Pǔdōng and of Shanghai's renaissance, even though it has long been literally and stylistically eclipsed by the much superior Jinmao Tower and other skyscrapers sprouting skywards.
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Peach Garden Mosque
Originally dating to 1917, this famous mosque is the city's main place of worship for Shanghai's Muslims. If you come on a Friday at lunch time you'll see the faithful streaming in to pray.
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Qībǎo
The gǔzhèn (ancient town) of Qībǎo - literally 'Seven Treasures' dates back to the Northern Song dynasty (AD 960-1127). Easily reached from town, the ancient settlement prospered during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Now, it's run by the quaintly named Shanghai Qibao Ancient Town Tourism Exploitation Co. It's overrun with visitors, but is also littered with traditional, historic architecture.
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Qinci Yangdian Temple
Shanghai's largest Taoist temple is, perhaps surprisingly, located in Pǔdōng. It's worth a perusal for its massive trinity of Taoist gods in the Hall of the Three Clear Ones (三清殿; Sānqīng Diàn), although the temple architecture is all recent (at the southern end of the temple grounds are what appears to be older, semi-destroyed temple halls).
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Renmin Park
Occupying the site of the old settlement racecourse (built in 1862), which later served as a holding camp during WWII, Renmin Park is a pleasant refuge from Shanghai's fumigated roads, with its Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, green splashes of foliage and pond-side bar, Barbarossa. If you're in Shanghai in June, join the photographers ringing the gorgeous pink lotuses that flower in the park's pond.
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Riverside Promenade
Hands down the best stroll in Pǔdōng, the sections of promenade alongside Riverside Ave on the eastern bank of the river offer splendid views to the Bund across the way and choicely positioned cafés looking out over the water.
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Room With a View Gallery
Art critic Wu Liang conceived of this trendy space atop a department store for showcasing contemporary artworks and the output of up-and-coming artists. An accessible and successful combination, the gallery doubles as an image-conscious loft-bar where the tried and trusted blend of alcohol and art gets the nod from Bohemians city-wide.
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Russian Orthodox Mission Church
Built in 1934, the lovely blue-domed church was built for the huge influx of Russian worshippers to Shanghai in the 1930s. The Grape Restaurant is adjacent to the church.
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Shanghai Art Museum
Venue of the Shanghai Biennale, this excellent museum is particularly worth a visit for its location within the former British racecourse club building next to Renmin Park. Refreshingly cool in summer, the interior galleries - arranged over three floors - are perfectly suited to appreciating art, with well-illuminated alcoves and a voluminous sense of space.
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Shanghai Arts & Crafts Museum
Repositioned as a museum, this arts and crafts institute displays traditional crafts such as embroidery, paper cutting, lacquer work, jade cutting and lantern making. Watch paper cutting and other traditional crafts being performed live by craftspeople and admire the wonderfully wrought exhibits, from jade, through ivory to inkstones and beyond.
