Hello, I’m Nancy! I have lived and worked in Shanghai for the past five years. Here I would like to share some advice for traveling in this great city. When I came to Shanghai for the first time I was amazed! As soon as you come here, a feeling comes over you, a feeling that you aren’t a visitor. Very quickly you will blend in, and you will feel at ease. No matter where you are from you will find your home in Shanghai….. From the wide and clean streets lined with lush trees to the feeling of safety even late at night. Whether strolling the Bund with all the historic European architecture or shopping at the high-end western brands on Nanjing Road, you feel transported to a street in New York, London, Tokyo or Hong Kong…

What’s more, people here are very friendly, and you won’t feel different at all. In fact, the Shanghainese enjoy a life influenced by the East and West, a modern fashionable life with a much lower cost of living than you would ever find in the West. Shanghai is a huge city with a long history and a huge population of 23 million. Today she receives thousands upon thousands of travelers from all over China and all over the world. Her tolerance, warmth, and beauty attract more and more people to visit this graceful, fresh, and vigorous city every day.
Also, Shanghai has been a city of immigrants for centuries since its origin, a melting pot of the old and new. The history of Shanghai can be traced back to the Southern Song Dynasty with its founding in 1267 AD, its fortification in 1553, and finally evolving into a major commercial port in the midst of the Opium Wars in 1843 to 1853 when it was opened to the west in 1843. A British section was created in 1845, quickly followed by French and American missionaries. From 1912 until 1936 these international “concessions” were extremely prosperous and established Shanghai the east’s premier international city of the early 20th century. There are still many reminders of this international past, with the still vibrant French Concession, the beautiful facades of old European buildings overlooking the Bund, and the strong international flavor of the people.
So today when you walk in Shanghai in main districts, you always can feel the tinge of Chinese culture mixed with western culture, and see a variety of characteristic buildings and wonderful scenes in this city left from 19th century: Continue reading →