One day walking tour in Shanghai downtown

Shanghai Municipality -- that's Shanghai proper and all of its satellite townships and districts -- covers a land area of about 6,340 square kilometers. Suffice it to say, you would have a hard time covering all of it in a year, much less a day. Fortunately, many of the city's most interesting bits are concentrated near the center of town. With a little bit of drive and determination, you can get the shorthand version of Shanghai in well under 24 hours. The following is our basic one-day walking tour of Shanghai. 

9am. We begin at People's Park 人民公园, the main entrance is on West Nanjing Road near its intersection with North Huangpi Road. Pathways wind through beautifully manicured gardens, lotus ponds and pavilions. It's a place where locals go to unwind over a game of chess, practice their English at the weekly "English corner", or get centered with tai chi 太极, a slow and graceful form of shadow boxing. On the weekends don't miss the marriage market, where parents seek out suitors for their sons and daughters -- quite a fascinating social spectacle. There are also a few carnival rides if you're keen. A brisk stroll through the park and you can be out in about 30 minutes.

Exit the park from where you entered, and across the street you can catch a glimpse of some stunning architectural landmarks by modernist Hungarian Architect Lazslo Hudec, The Grand Cinema and The Park Hotel. Follow Nanjing Road eastward, and on the north side of the road you’ll eventually encounter Shanghai New World Department Store 上海新世界百货. On the tenth floor is the Shanghai Branch of the world famous wax museum Madame Tussaud's 杜莎夫人蜡像馆. Inside you'll find a host of celebrities past and present that have passed the Tussaud test of popularity – everyone from a life-size likeness of Yao Ming to U.S. President Barack Obama. Fair warning: On the weekends Madame Tussaud's is jam-packed with shutter bugs seeking photo ops with their favorite movie stars, so be prepared to negotiate with dense crowds.

Moving on, follow Nanjing Road further eastward to Xizang Road. Turn right and follow Xizang Road until you get to Renmin Avenue 人民大道. At that corner, you'll see the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall 城市规划馆. Here there are several interactive displays charting the evolution of Shanghai from its early days as a fishing village to the megalopolis it is today. The exhibit culminates on the sixth floor with a remarkable scale model of the city. Time permitting there is also the Shanghai Museum kitty corner across the street. It's the distinctive building that looks like a gigantic bronze kettle. Inside are 11 galleries of archaeological artifacts and other artwork from China's long and rich history. A thorough visit will take the better part of the day, but you can easily catch a couple of exhibits within an hour or two.

12pm. Hail a taxi to the Yuyuan Bazaar in Yu Garden 豫园. This is a cluster of shops selling all manner of souvenirs like tea, chopsticks, Chinese boxes, dragon kites, Mao memorabilia, jade bangles. It's directed primarily at tourists, but it's fun for China first-timers and definitely warrants a visit. If you're feeling peckish, you can grab a basket of xiaolongbao 小笼包, Shanghai's signature dumplings, at Nanxiang Mantou 南翔馒头店. This restaurant is a popular stop on the tourist circuit and draws huge crowds. For a more comprehensive Shanghai-style lunch, there is Lü Bo Lang 绿波廊. Located next to the zig-zagged Jiuqu Bridge 九曲桥 in the center of the bazaar, Lü Bo Lang serves a wide variety of classic Shanghai dishes and assorted dim sum. It's also a popular dinner spot for visiting foreign dignitaries. Both Bill Clinton and Fidel Castro have graced its halls when on official visits.

Culture vultures can be sated with a walk through the area's namesake Yu Garden 豫园. Completed in 1577 at the behest of a Ming-era administrator named Pan Yunduan 潘允端, this two-hectare plot offers picturesque pavilions with elegant Suzhou-style flourish as well as serene koi ponds and rockeries. Just south of the bazaar you can pay your respects and make incense offerings at the Temple of the City Gods 城隍庙. Built in 1403, it houses images of three deified historical personages. The oldest is Huo Guang 霍光, a famed Chancellor of the Han Dynasty who is venerated for deposing a corrupt emperor for the good of the state rather than his own gain. The second is Qin Yubo 秦裕伯, a public administrator in Shanghai during the late Yuan Dynasty who resisted a summons to serve in the court of the nascent Ming dynasty. Finally, there is Chen Huacheng 陈化成, a Qing Dynasty General who died in battle in 1842 defending Shanghai against the British during the First Opium Wars.

2pm. The less-developed areas immediately surrounding the bazaar feature scores of colorful and crowded streets and alleyways. If time permits, it's good fun to wander around and get lost. Failing that, follow Anren Road/Street 安仁街 north to Renmin Road 人民路. Turn right, and take it to the Bund. If your legs need a rest, you can find a bench in Gucheng Park 古城公园 off to the right. Once you're on the Bund go north. Once you pass Yan'an Road 延安路, look for Bund No. 2. Once upon a time, this was the Shanghai Club, an exclusive Victorian-era gentlemen's club for Shanghai's well-heeled British contingent. In 2010 the building was restored to its original splendor and is now a hotel under the management of the famed luxury hotel brand The Waldorf-Astoria 华尔道夫.

Besides Waldorf-Astoria's, there is another heritage building No.3 on the bund which is famous for its high end F&B functions. This neo-Renaissance-style building was completed in 1916 and was the first in Shanghai to use a steel structure. It's home to some of Shanghai's premier dining destinations like Jean Georges and Mercato.

Making your way north, you can take in some of the remarkable architectural specimens that line the Bund. Bund No.12 is a highlight. When HSBC (Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation) moved its offices here it was widely regarded as “the most luxurious building from the Suez Canal to the Bering Strait.” Done up in stately neo-classical style by architecture firm Palmer & Turner, No. 12 was built with fine bronze work, Italian marble and ornate inlays. Shanghai Pudong Development Bank now occupies the building, and when the company funded a renovation in 1997, several intricate dome mosaics were uncovered. They can be seen in the building's entrance hall.

The Customs House at No. 13 is Shanghai's answer to Big Ben. Completed by Palmer & Turner in 1927, its clock tower used to toll every hour. During the Cultural Revolution the bell was decommissioned. A set of speakers has replaced it. Now every hour recorded bells play a verse of the Chinese patriotic anthem “The East is Red”. No. 13 isn't opened to the public, so you’ll have to admire this one from the outside.

No. 18, with its Grecian columns and pediment, was first built in 1847 and has been a headquarters to a host of banks, most notably British Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China. After 1949, however it served as an office for China's Bureau of Land Resources and Housing Management as well as Shanghai's Air Defense command post. In 2002 a Taiwanese developer purchased it and dropped about 110 million rmb on a restoration project headed by architect Fillipo Gabiani. It re-opened in 2005 as a luxury lifestyle hub featuring Zegna and Cartier flagship stores and several fine food and beverage venues. Today it's home to Bar Rouge, one of Shanghai's hottest nightclubs, and Mr & Mrs Bund, one of the city's most critically acclaimed restaurants. In 2016, Joel Robuchon opened his fine dining restaurant L'atelier de Joel Robuchon here on the 2nd floor too.

Crossing Nanjing Dong Road brings you to The Peace Hotel 和平饭店. Built by famed hotelier and businessman Victor Sassoon in 1929, it was originally named The Cathay Hotel and was the epicenter of all that was glamorous in the swinging Shanghai of the 30s. In 1952, however, the property was appropriated by the municipal government, who reopened it in 1956 and gave it its current name. In 2007 it closed down for a three-year renovation. The results are nothing short of spectacular. The interiors are some of the most stunning examples of art deco architecture in the city. The lobby is open to the public (only paying guests are permitted on any of the floors). Every night from 7:30 to 9:45pm and old time jazz band plays in the hotel's jazz lounge.

4:30pm. After that, make your way westward down Nanjing Dong Road. When the Cathay Hotel was host to the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks this thoroughfare was Shanghai's Fifth Avenue. It was the first street in Shanghai to introduce Western-style department stores and was the place to get fitted with the most fashionable threads. After the 1950s, East Nanjing Road lost some of its luster. There was an effort to revitalize the street as a center for luxury retail, but West Nanjing Road has largely assumed this role now. Still it's a popular spot for a stroll for both locals and tourists alike, especially in the evening when the stores and restaurants turn on their neon signs. 

Once you cross Henan Road, you'll see an entrance to East Nanjing Road Metro Station. It's time to cross over to Pudong. Metro Tickets are quite easy to buy. All stations are equipped with touch-screen dispensers that operate in both English and Chinese. Just tap your destination and how many tickets you want to purchase, insert your money and grab your ticket. Lujiazui 陆家嘴 on the other side of the river is one stop away from East Nanjing Road Station. There are a number of attractions all within walking distance of Lujiazui station. You can view Shanghai's endless skyline from the observation decks of the Oritental Pearl Tower 东方明珠 for RMB 180, meanwhile, in the basement of the tower is the Shanghai Municipal History Museum 上海城市历史发展陈列馆. Here you'll find a collection of artifacts from the city's past. The collection features about 30,000 items -- half of them from the city's modern history, the rest unearthed from before its days as a treaty port. Follow Shiji Dadao (Century Avenue) 世纪大道 south toward the Shanghai World Financial Center 环球金融中心. RMB 180 gets you express access to the observation decks on the SWFC's 97th and 100th floors. Northward on North Yincheng Road you can walk to the Shanghai Aquarium 上海海洋水族馆, where you can view a collection of over 10,000 varieties of sea creatures. Adults get in for 160rmb, kids for 110rmb. Or you can simply take a scenic stroll along the riverside promenade of Binjiang Avenue 滨江大道.

6-7pm. While you enjoy the scenes of this city's modern party, you could also make the plan for your dinner, you can decide make it on the east side or head back to west side.

For the plan of staying on the east side for dinner, the riverfront is flush with options. If you want to make your dinner easy and fast, any one from the American corner (Fucheng Road by West Lujiazui Road 富城路靠近陆家嘴西路) would meet your requirement. While Blue Frog, Fat Cow or Hooters may easily serve you with authentic burgers or steaks in American passion ways, Element Fresh offers the choice of making it lighter. Laying down closer to the waterfront, Paulaner Brauhaus has plenty of German beer choices as well as Tavola at the northern end of the promenade do fantastic Italian food. For some contemporary French fine dining, there is no better choice than Jade on 36 in the Pudong Shangri-La hotel. Reservations and appropriate attire are essential.

Regarding on the plan of heading back to Puxi (west side of Huangpu River) for dinner, you have several options at your disposal. Mr & Mrs Bund does very creative modern French cuisine. For Mediterranean cuisine with Australian attitude there is M on the Bund. Celebrity chef Jean Georges has his namesake restaurant in Three on the Bund, and a superb Italian restaurant called Mercato as well.

9pm - late. Order some drinks in Lujiazui, the Bund, or Xintiandi to get the nightlife theme started, or head back to hotel for resting, refreshing, and preparing for the plan of another day.