Shanghai in four days: a student's first visit

Shanghai is the easiest introduction to modern China: well organised, simple to move around and full of contrast. Four days allow a student to see the city without hurry.

Day one: the Bund and Pudong

Start on the Bund, the riverside sweep of banks and trading houses built in the early twentieth century. Across the Huangpu River stands Pudong, which was largely farmland and warehouses until the 1990s. Go up the Shanghai Tower, the tallest building in China, for the view, and return to the Bund after dark, when both banks are lit.

Day two: the old city and the museum

Yu Garden is a classical garden of pavilions, rockeries and ponds that dates from the Ming dynasty. The lanes around it are crowded and commercial, but the garden itself is calm. Spend the afternoon at the Shanghai Museum, whose collection of bronzes, ceramics and calligraphy is among the best in the country.

Day three: streets and neighbourhoods

Walk the plane-tree avenues of the former French Concession, where lane houses, cafes and small shops show the city at a human scale. Visit Jing'an Temple, a Buddhist temple surrounded by office towers. In the evening, a performance by one of Shanghai's acrobatic troupes is a reliable choice for younger visitors.

Day four: beyond the city

Suzhou, about half an hour away by high-speed train, has classical gardens and canals. The water town of Zhujiajiao is closer and gives a sense of the region before the skyscrapers.

Practical points

The metro reaches almost everything and has signs in English. Summer is hot and humid; spring and autumn are more comfortable. Above all, leave time to eat. Soup dumplings, pan-fried buns and scallion noodles are as much a part of Shanghai as its skyline.