Switched on ... Shanghai's Nanjing Road buzzes after midnight.Credit: AFP
Expo homestay
Visitors hoping to delve into local culture can stay with a Shanghainese family as part of the government's World Expo 2010 homestay program. You'll be able to stay with selected families either in downtown or outer neighbourhoods, get a glimpse of authentic lane house (longtang) communities, learn a little Shanghainese dialect and sample home-cooked meals. The families are likely to have been schooled carefully to present a polished Shanghai but this need not take away from the unique opportunity to interact with the city's residents.
Linfen Community Expo Centre Office, phone 189 1897 0019.
Chinese massage
One of Shanghai's most affordable luxuries is the full-body massage. It can cost anything from 50 yuan for a thorough all-over knead in a local massage parlour to 2000 yuan for a deluxe experience in a five-star hotel. If you're feeling brave, try one of the cheap but squeaky-clean bathhouses where you can strip off, have a dip in the communal single-sex baths, get a rough exfoliating scrub and a massage for less than 300 yuan. Bring a Mandarin-speaking friend and be sure to leave your modesty at the door.
Dragonfly is an English-speaking massage chain, see www.dragonfly.net.cn. For a bathhouse, try Xiao Nan Guo, 3337 Hongmei Road, by Yan'an Road, phone +86 21 6465 8888, entry 58 yuan, open 11am-9pm.
Bar 88
For a taste of the local party scene, jump in the deep end at Bar 88. This club is full of young Shanghainese letting their hair down by drinking, on-stage dancing, playing dice, checking magicians and other wild performers. The decor is bonkers, with colossal chandeliers, kitsch red velvet thrones and an overall theme somewhere between Dali's melted clock and Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. Most fun after midnight.
See www.no88bar.com.
Yongfoo Elite
If Bar 88 sounds like your idea of hell on Earth, head to its polar opposite, Yongfoo Elite. The last word in colonial chic, this 1920s villa in the leafy former French Concession used to be a private members' club but now anyone can pop in for a gin and tonic on the immaculately groomed lawns. You can have dinner inside, too, but the food is decidedly less spectacular than the lovely antique furnishings.
Lupu Bridge
As far as sightseeing spots go, Lupu Bridge has been one of the best kept secrets in Shanghai. That's bound to change now, though, as it's easily the most exhilarating spot in the whole city to view the expo site, as well as 360 degrees of the city skyline and the Huangpu River. Be warned, at 367 steps, it's a bit of a climb but certainly not exhausting if you're in reasonable shape.
No. 909 LuBan Road (Puxi Square), open 8.30am-5pm, 80 yuan a person.
Chun
Chun restaurant has always had rave reviews, but they are well deserved - this is unquestionably one of the best places to try authentic Shanghainese cuisine without breaking the bank. The tiny restaurant has just four tables and a no-frills attitude, with service bordering on brusque. You're served whatever the chef is cooking that day, so if you want a vegetarian meal, make sure you mention it when you book. And book you must - for an evening meal, phone a few days ahead. Keep your fingers crossed for the famous stir fried river shrimp and, when in season, hairy crab. No English is spoken.
Chun, 124 Jinxian Lu, near South Maoming Road, phone +86 21 6256 0301.
Shanghai South Bund Fabric Market
If you're in town for at least a week, take the opportunity to visit the fabric market, where you can get tailor-made clothes for low prices. Most vendors speak good English. Suits are excellent value at 500 to 700 yuan but you can get anything you like made up.
South Bund Fabric Market, 399 Lujiabang Lu, near South Zhongshan Road, phone +86 21 6377 7288. Open 9am-6.30pm.
Getting around
The metro is a breeze to use and although taxis are cheap and plentiful, if you want to avoid the killer traffic jams during peak hour, this is an easy alternative. Ticket machines, announcements and signs are in English and the lines extend to both airports, across town and to the expo site. If you take taxis, make sure you have your destination written down in characters, with the closest crossroad, not just the building number. Many roads in Shanghai are very long, so drivers won't necessarily know which area you specifically want.
If you're stuck
The Shanghai Call Centre is a godsend for travellers. Operators at this around-the-clock free service speak 17 languages between them and can help out with any jam you find yourself in, from on-the-spot translation, texting your addresses in Mandarin, opening times and the nearest metro stations.
Phone +86 21 96 2288.
By Helen Elfer, a resident of Shanghai and the city editor of That's Shanghai, a local listings, culture and entertainment magazine.
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