Explore Shanghai by public transport & walking
China's major cities have a fantastic public transport networks, and with a little guidance this can be a very rewarding way to getting around a city and viewing it as the locals do.
After breakfast your guide will meet you at your hotel and you will set out together for a guided tour of Shanghai. Firstly, take the short walk from your hotel to the Bund, lined with fine colonial buildings from its 1930's heyday when the city was occupied by European, American, and Japanese banks, trading houses, clubs, consulates, and hotels. These buildings have been restored as a showcase of the city and are spectacularly lit up at night. Continue on foot to the old city and the Yu Gardens. Within the past turbulent century much of Shanghai's old quarters were destroyed; however what remains gives an interesting insight into Shanghai's past. The Yu Gardens date from the 16th century, and are a wonderful mixture of pavilions and corridors, small hills, lotus ponds teeming with goldfish, bridges, winding paths, trees and shrubs. After looking around the gardens you will have time to visit the adjoining market or sip tea in the tea pavilion.
Enjoy a dim sum lunch in a local restaurant, and then hop on the metro to visit the former French Concession. This area was established for the French population of Shanghai, resident from 1849 to 1946, and the leafy streets still retain a European air. Spend some time walking along the pleasant streets before jumping back on the metro to Renmin Square where you can visit the Shanghai Museum. Set in a newly designed building in the 'People's Park', the Shanghai Museum is China's foremost collection of exhibits dating from Neolithic times. The bronze collection is considered the best in the world, with other first-rate exhibits of sculpture, jade, calligraphy, painting, and Ming and Qing dynasty furniture and minority art. Afterwards, you can walk along Nanjing Road back to your hotel.