Shanghai Tang

To visit Shanghai is to greet a Jetson-like skyline sitting on top of a wonderland of ancient, brick and wood labyrinthine neighborhoods where you can carry your bags from the glistening mall to a subterranean hot pot shop across the street that has been serving up steaming dumplings in pungent beef broth for the past century or more.

This classy mélange of old and new, east and west, futuristic and traditional, carries on as much through the cuisine, shopping, arts and museum attractions as it does through the architecture. In this land where the lion's share of the world's cranes have been buzzing for the past two decades building Feng Shui-perfect monuments to the heavens, there is always a huge hole for dragons to use should they need to make a quick escape through a skyscraper of steel and glass.

The old is preserved most aesthetically at the Yuyuan Garden, a medieval classical garden of the Ming and Qing dynasties abutted by a colorful and lively street bazaar of handicrafts and clothing where time-choked visitors can have a quick and satisfying shopping venture. Then there is the Jade Buddha Temple built more than a century ago in Song Dynasty style around a six-foot white jade Buddha encrusted with jewels. It is one of the city's few Buddhist temples and is still active with worshippers. Jews also have a history here - and a temple museum. The Ohel Moishe Synagogue built in 1927 was the centerpiece of the Jewish ghetto that housed a great migration of European refugees fleeing the Nazis between 1933 and 1941.

A cruise along the Huangpu River is a good way to spend the heated afternoon hours in shade and breeze while getting to know the city from the scapes along the banks. The river cuts through the heart of Shanghai and the cruise runs from the Bund to Wusongkou, about 40 minutes each way passing such icons as the Pearl Television Tower needle and the Monument to the People's Heroes. The Bund starting point is an attraction in itself - a mile of 52 high rises in all shapes, sizes and designs of contemporary Shanghai. The area is undergoing an extensive renaissance to become a global epicenter of galleries, restaurants, design, fashion and all that is fast-forwarding the world's indicators of cool.

Shoppers will beeline to Nanjing Road, about three miles long and the busiest commercial center in the city crowded with chic malls, restaurants, department stores and specialized boutiques. Catch clean and fast levitated train, take a taxi or enjoy exploring the neighborhoods en route and upon arrival, note, all prices are negotiable and tailoring to fit can be managed on the spot.

Whether the experience is Shanghai's lively night markets or neon night life, underground noodle bars or five-star banquets, world-class museums, cultural attractions or eye candy architectural offerings, shanghai will have it and deliver it with bragging rights. China begs to be seen now, and again. Its currency is change. Its magic is in its continuously disappearing and reappearing metamorphosis -- the dragonhead in the clouds.

*Food: While Shanghainese can be considered a hybrid of regional influences from neighboring Zhejiang and Jiangsu, often resulting in a sweeter and more oily constitution of noodle, dumplings and rice dishes, Shanghai has its roots in international exchange and there, too, food has found its sheen. You'll find such favorites as "beggar's chicken," (complete with the story of the pauper without a pot for his stolen chicken who plucked the bird bare, covered it in clay and buried it in a burning hole), fish with corn and pine nuts, crab roe dumplings and Bao (claypot) dishes. But also find fine continental foods cooked up by Euro-trained chefs, even hamburgers done to perfection and chocolates shaped by imagination. Many of the city's top restaurants can be found on the Bund, in fine hotels and along the pedestrian-friendly streets of Xintiandi where fashionista shopping, dining, clubbing and living collide.

Recommendations:

*Fashion: Shanghai is easily the Paris of China, and for far fewer dollars and virtually no snobbery. Nanjing Road is the traditional center of it all with gleaming malls, known chain designer stores, a Ritz-Carlton, banks and restaurants and wide, walkable sidewalks that lead to the Bund river-walk. Just behind Nanjing Road, however, find old and atmospheric noodle shops, street performers as talented as anyone in the Shanghai Circus, and shop upon shop of desperately discounted jeans and sports clothes. Watch sellers will approach. Buy if you want. A fine fake Rolex is still a bargain at $5. Better yet? The Mao watch.

The latest layout of Shanghai chic is Xintiandi, a bustling shopping and entertainment district near the French Concession area that mixes local mid-century building styles with car-free corridors and alleys and a cornucopia of sleek shops, clubs and cafes.

Also consider the Bund of Old Shanghai, a phalanx of fancy Art Deco splendor lining the Huangpu River. Find a fine mix of upmarket shops and high-class restaurants along this pleasant and walkable mile of Shanghai history. Find forward homegrown fashion, contemporary Chinese couture and accessories from such flashy designers as Zhang Da, Wang Yiyang and Han Feng (designer of the costumes for Anthony Minghella's production of Madama Butterfly).

A visit to Yuyuan Garden brings a bustling madhouse of tourist class restaurants, famous bun shops, tea houses and street vendors and the avenues around the garden bring a crowded bazaar of great souvenir offerings - from beaded purses to Mao jackets to finely woven rugs - all easily haggled for even greater deals.

*Fun: The five-floor, sun-dappled Shanghai Art Museum is one of the finest in all of Asia. The modern "ding-shaped" (as in tripod cooking pot) structure houses 120,000 pieces in all manner of jade, calligraphy, bronzes, paintings, ceramics, coins and folk art. It also offers a splendid array of quality gifts, jewelry and clothing in its gift shops.

*Future: More than 70 million visitors are expected to show up between May and October of 2010 for the World Expo in Shanghai. The riverside site of the festivities will span more than two square miles with participation from 185 countries so far to illustrate the hope of urban futures with the theme, "Better City, Better Life." Shanghai is gearing up with a system of green transport options to get visitors to the site and packaging with airlines and hotels to create seamless experiences for visitors.

*Favorite Stays: Shanghai is a haven of over-the-top hotels - literally. From the 1,614-foot high World Financial Center and the Park Hyatt occupies the 79-93 floors as the highest hotel in the world, to the 1,377-foot Jin Mao Tower featuring the high tech Grand Hyatt on floors 55 to 87 and its Cloud Nine lounge on the 87th floor to the Regent with its floor to ceiling glass views of the city along 53 floors. Four Seasons, Portman Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis Shanghai, Peninsula and Shangri-La can also be counted amid the city's snazziest stays. All have spas sporting the latest beauty and pampering treatments dripping in the ambience of the Orient as well as six-star suites, lobbies, dining, shopping and services that put even the fanciest hotels in the U.S. to shame. For a fun stay by Shanghai's latest "in" spot, try 88 Xintiandi, a boutique hotel of only 53 rooms, but winner of numerous awards for its comely designs. Also consider the Peace Hotel on the Bund, now part of the Fairmont Hotels collection. This was formerly the showpiece residence of Victor Sassoon and its Art Deco interiors are meticulously preserved for an authentic experience of Old Shanghai.

*FYI: Find fabulous fakes at Longhua Fashion and Gift Market -- the unofficial new "Xiangyang Market," that was the epicenter of faux until the city closed it up. The new market is as busy as the old with Prada, Longchamps, Polo, Rolexes, Fendi, Dolce and Gabana, Chloe, Dior and Chanel. Bargain hard - less than a quarter of the asking price is feasible - and note the inferior quality of materials as you do. Then have fun. Shanghai has markets galore and no doubt something for everyone - even an insect market selling worms, snakes, spiders and well, antique books and scrolls.

Call us to book your trip today!