Shanghai: Scraping the surface

Shanghai's Pudong skyline is at its best lit up in all its neon glory. Photo / 123RF

Three days in Shanghai's metropolis is one way to touch the sky, discovers Katie Wright.

It is 8am on a Friday in Jing'An - the central district of Shanghai, packed with gleaming hotels and shopping malls - and already the pace on the streets is frenetic.

I am trying to cross a busy main road but even super-sized traffic lights, a green man and a zebra crossing hold no sway against drivers who seem to see pedestrians as an annoyance best ignored.

I make it across unscathed and head for the Jing'An Park, a leafy haven where pensioners are huddled around mahjong boards and a group of teens are attempting to get a drone camera into the air.

It is 20 years since I have been to China and, boy, is it clear things have changed.

The number of foreigners visiting the world's largest city (now home to 24 million) has grown significantly since short-term visa restrictions were relaxed in 2013, and Australians and New Zealanders are among those who can now stay in China for up to 72 hours without a visa.

So how do you maximise a three-day stay in this vast metropolis?

While I could happily gawp at the stunning view from my 17th floor room at the Puli Hotel all day, I am keen to explore old-school Shanghai. So after my stroll, I make a beeline for Tian Zi Fang, where the narrow criss-crossing streets are lined with low rise "Lane" houses built in the 1930s.

The area now has a market feel, with former residential houses mostly transformed into shops selling silk clothing, loose leaf tea, cartoonish trinkets and other tourist-friendly goods.

With the help of my iPhone calculator, I manage to haggle down the price of some silver jewellery and a traditional silk cheongsam dress.

Ready for a breather, I make my way over to the picturesque Yu Garden to watch koi carp and turtles paddling in jade green ponds, as I walk across the Zigzag Bridge to reach Huxinting Teahouse and a refreshing jasmine brew.

Ever since I learnt that Shanghai's space-age skyscrapers were used to represent futuristic Los Angeles in the Spike Jonze film Her, I have been dying to experience the vertiginous views myself.

The best place to do so? It has got to be the Bund, the wide riverside boulevard opposite the Pudong skyline that is to Shanghai what the Southbank is to London.

I stroll happily along the riverfront as the sun is setting, and by the time I have finished my first mojito at the seventh floor POP terrace bar at the top of Three on the Bund, Pudong is lit up in all its neon glory.

After dinner downstairs at Mercato - home to the best Italian food I have found east of Italy - I take a taxi (they are cheap as long as you make sure the driver puts the meter on) to glitzy club Myst for more cocktails. And dancing. And more cocktails.

Head pounding, I drag myself out of bed the next morning and remember I am booked on a street food tour. Described accurately by American guide Jamie as "four hours of eating", it is just what the doctor ordered.

We wander through the avenues of the historic French Concession, stopping to sample all kinds of delicious hangover-busting dumplings, my favourite being the soft white steamed buns filled with sweet, sticky black sesame paste.

I spend the afternoon walking off my enormous lunch and perusing the works of local artists in the cool M50 art district, before heading back to the Bund for dinner and one last glimpse of that irresistible vista.

Not long before midnight, I watch the lights of Pudong go out one by one, but that does not mean this city is going to sleep.

Far from it. I have 12 hours until my plane leaves and I intend to make the most of them.

The French Concession is home to great bars, restaurants and galleries. Photo / 123RF

While you're in town...

THE RESTAURANTS
If you want to taste authentic Shanghainese food, book yourself on a four-hour Untour street food sampler. All dishes are included in the price and Mandarin-speaking American guides will, crucially, explain how to eat a piping hot, juice-filled pork dumpling without giving yourself third-degree burns. For more upmarket dining, head to the Bund, where Michelin star supremo Jean-Georges Vongerichten oversees three of the five restaurants at Three on the Bund.

THE BARS
Start with an aperitif at a swanky rooftop bar on the Bund, like the POP terrace, then take a cab to one of the big name clubs like Muse, M2 or Myst (but only after midnight, of course). Shanghai's drink du jour is Chivas Regal and green tea - but in the clubs, locals spend more time at the tables playing a game called Liar's Dice than on the dance floor. For a down-and-dirty flavour, head to The Shelter (a converted bomb shelter in the French Concession so cool it doesn't even have a website) or Perry's, a dive bar chain that is a hit with expats.

CHECKLIST

Getting there: Air New Zealand offers daily non-stop flights to Shanghai.

Accommodation: Shooting up 23 storeys, the Puli Hotel and Spa in Jing'An offers spectacular views across the city. The Long Bar and terrace attract locals in need of a cocktail and the hotel spa is also open to visitors (but the pool and gym are reserved for guests).

The writer was a guest of the Puli Hotel & Spa.

- AAP