Shanghai

Shanghai really is unlike any other destination in China. Of course, you’ll find the rich history that is ubiquitous throughout all China, however, Shanghai’s unique appeal is found in the way the ancient entwines with the contemporary, a reflection of colonial conquest, commerce, and international influences. As far back as history is recorded, the magnificent Huangpu River has been the city’s life force, moving the vital goods of the day. Formerly opium, tea and silk, trade out of Shanghai is now more likely to reflect the pace and power of China’s ever advancing development in technology.

A thriving cosmopolitan city, Shanghai is not just a playground for Asia’s financial elite; it’s home to 24 million residents too. Humming and hustling every hour of the day, a Shanghai day tour – or three or four days in Shanghai – is the ideal way to start or wrap up one of our best China tour experiences. Skyscrapers, city precincts and culture abound, but in every way that’s different to elsewhere across the country. While the English and European populations in the city were always relatively small by comparison to the resident Shanghainese, their influence is still evident in architecture, lifestyle, and the way modern Shanghai continues to embrace influences from around the globe, while also casting its own unique cultural authority too.