Must see attractions in Shanghai

Chinese towns traditionally had a Taoist temple of the town god, but many fell victim to periodic upheaval. Originally dating from the early 15th century,…

This vast expanse of forested parkland (131 hectares) on the western shore of the Huangpu River is a tranquil slice of countryside in Shanghai with around…

Founded by Taiwanese artists Loretta Yang and Chang Yi, the Liuli China Museum is dedicated to the art of glass sculpture (pâte de verre or lost-wax…

Repositioned as a museum, this arts and crafts institute displays traditional crafts such as needlepoint embroidery, paper cutting, lacquer work, jade…

Built in the 1920s by a Greek shipping magnate, this quiet building became home to Soong Qingling, wife of Dr Sun Yatsen, from 1948 to 1963. Size up two…

Occupying the site of the colonial racetrack (which became a holding camp during WWII), People’s Park is the city centre's green refuge. It's home to the…

A very pleasant walk up through the trees of Sheshan National Forest Park, this cruciform red-brick and granite church is the highlight of the West Hill…

This leafy spot with a large lawn, laid out by the French in 1909 and used by the Japanese as a parade ground in the late 1930s, remains one of the city’s…

This two-floor exhibition invites you into a typical shíkùmén (stone-gate house) household, decked out with period furniture. The ground-floor arrangement…

Standing at No 27 on the Bund is the former headquarters of early opium traders Jardine Matheson, which went on to become one of the most powerful trading…

Sun Zhongshan predictably receives the full-on hagiographic treatment at this shrine to China’s guófù (国父, father of the nation). A capacious exhibition…

Set on the former site of the World Expo China Pavilion, this 160,000-sq-metre, five-floor, modern-art museum hosts some excellent international…

This charming little pebble-dash residence with a delightful garden is where the acclaimed author Ba Jin (1904–2005) lived from 1955 to the mid-1990s. Ba…

Head down the lane and through courtyards until you see blue cloth drying in the yard. Originally produced in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guizhou provinces,…

Plans are in the works for Shanghai's own Legoland to open in 2022, but until then the Discovery Centre is more than enough to keep Lego fans happy. It…

Designed by Hungarian architect Ladislaus Hudec and erected as a bank in 1934, the Park Hotel was Shanghai’s tallest building until the 1980s, when…

Until 2019, this was the largest Starbucks store on the planet, with 30,000ft of space built in the shape of a giant coffee bean. The Tokyo store…

The dignified twin-spired St Ignatius Cathedral (1904) is a major Xujiahui landmark. Its nave is a long span of Gothic arches, while the exterior is…

Located at the former site of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, this museum showcases the history of world expositions. Using old video footage, interactive…

This simple but very active temple is curiously accessed from the west, rather than the south, where the entrance to Buddhist temples usually lies. The…