The Shelter is a dark tunnel that is currently beating all nightclub competition in the city by a mile.

Hip-hop, dub, techno and d'n'b all sound good in this underground spot where the drinks are reasonable, people smile while they dance and the pretentious need not apply.

No chrome, no flashy lightshows, no rolling dice, no sparklers in Champagne bottles, great music. A breath of fresh air (despite all the tobacco smoke).

5 Yongfu Lu near Fuxing Xi Lu.
Line 1 Changshu Lu Station
6437-0400

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Taikang Lu is located near the central shopping street of Huaihai Xi Lu. It's one of the few remaining hutongs in the city. It offers an authentic Chinese feel, whilst resembling parts of Mediterranean Europe. Locals hang out their washing and go about their daily lives whilst you can visit boutiques and enjoy a range of international foods, including excellent Chinese cuisine.

Taikang Lu

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It gives you an overview of all the places you can visit, where you can eat and drink as well as info on daily Shanghai life.

shanghai.mychinastart.com/

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This bar might appear a trifle tacky, but the great live music, good drinks and friendly service more than offset the dubious visuals. Here, one can enjoy good clean fun. Beer starts at 20RMB.

13 XingFu Rd near FaHuaZhen Rd
logoshanghai.com

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This hotel is an absolute gem of colonial history. For about £40 the Richard Executive Suite makes you feel like a visiting diplomat!

The building has a rich history and is located on the edge of the bund - within easy walking distance of Shanghai's main attractions.

It really made our visit to Shanghai, I can't imagine there is a better place to stay in the city.

I would also recommend a cocktail at M on the Bund - if you want to continue the glamorous feel.

www.pujianghotel.com/

15 Huangpu Road Shanghai,China ZIP：200080
TEL:008621-63246388
FAX：008621-63243179
E-mail: sales@pujianghotel.com

www.m-restaurantgroup.com/ for cocktails.

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This blog gives menu translations, reviews, photos and videos to help order street food in Shanghai.

It's completely independent, and will guide the absolute beginner to eating like a local. The author has been in Shanghai since 2002 and he knows how to enjoy the city on a budget.

www.likealocal.cn

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eno is a lifestyle brand created in Shanghai. They provide a platform for Chinese artists, musicians and designers to create fresh clothing and lifestyle products. Also consumers can hand in their design and have the chance for them to be sold in the store.

Eno creates limited edition products: t-shirts, hoodies, long sleeves, bags, shoes.

Also very much worth visiting are their two monthly in store events called enoise with chinese and foreign bands performing in a relaxed atmosphere.

139-23 changle road/chengdu bei road
021-63860120

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eno is a lifestyle brand created in Shanghai. They provide a platform for Chinese artists, musicians and designers to create fresh clothing and lifestyle products. Also consumers can hand in their designs and have the chance for them to be sold in the store.

Eno creates limited edition products: T-shirts, hoodies, long sleeves, bags, shoes.

Also very much worth visiting are their two monthly instore events called enoise with Chinese and foreign bands performing in a relaxed atmosphere.

139-23 changle road/chengdu bei road
021-63860120
www.eno.cn

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It's one of the places that you'll miss if you walk past it. Located in the basement of an apartment building it has an extensive exhibition of propaganda posters published during the cultural revolution. It's a part of Chinese history that can't be found anywhere else in China.
More info can be found here: www.chinasnippets.com/shanghai-cultural/propaganda-poster-art-centre/

Room B-OC, 868 Huashan Rd. Shanghai

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Shopping is THE favourite pastime in Shanghai. Vervia does a very good job at combining a lifestyle design shop with a cosy coffee lounge, making you feel just like at home while discovering that designed gem.

Shop 46, Lane 248 (enter from Lane 210), Taikang Road near Sinan Road www.vervia-house.com

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A fantastic place for everyone who wants to spend a whole afternoon with relaxation and romantics.

Located in the central of Shanghai (very close to the Oriental Pearl Tower), the tea house is fully British style and you can find every genuine tea that you've missed from the west for a long time.

Surrounded by the lovely music and rose aroma, enjoy reading a book from the shelf, you will be kept away from city's noise and fully relax yourself in an elegant way.

Address: Gound floor ZhengDa Square, LuJiaZui Road, PuDong, Shanghai.

Nearest tube station: LuJiaZui Station.

tw.teaorcoffee.com/index/

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BA and Virgin have frequent direct flights to Shanghai Pudong International airport from London.

Other airlines with good connecting flights from the UK are KLM, Air France, Emirates and Qatar Airways.

To check fares from a number of different airlines from London see
www.lowfareflights.co.uk/Pu%20Dong%20(Shanghai)-China-Flights.asp
or direct BA see
www.britishairways.com/travel/fx/public/en_gb?to=Shanghai&from=LON

For flights from airports outside London check KLM (via Amsterdam) see www.klm.com/travel/gb_en/index_default.html
they have good value direct flights from Amsterdam to Shanghai.

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Meat in China can be revolting - take a slip of paper with "I don't eat meat or fish" written on it if you are at all squeamish. They don't eat "meat" they eat "animal" and don't distinguish between lean meat or other body parts such as intestines, rectums, stomach, heads, eyes etc are all considered meat. Many vegetables dishes also contain meat but if you say you don't eat meat they go to the trouble of keeping it out.

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Da>Space is China's first and only street art gallery, and it's also a stylish shop selling t-shirts and design toys. It's a new concept for China, a meeting place for young Chinese creatives and a fun place to hang out whenever the hectic city gets too much! The owners are friendly and speak Chinese and English.

84 Fujian Zhong Road (at the cross road of Guangdong Road) on the 2nd floor (look up!);
www.da-space.com

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Get out of Shanghai for a change of scene. Suzhou is a breath of fresh air from the high-energy city. An overnight stay is best as it gives you time to see parts of the old city as Marco Polo saw it... such as Ping Jiang Lu (parallel and east of the main North-South Lin Dun Lu) and at least one of the famous gardens (one garden is enough).

From the Railway Station, take a taxi from the taxi rank to the Kai Lai Da Ju Dian (Chinese for Gloria Hotel) on Gan Jiang Lu near Lin Dun Lu (10 yuan), which is a good base to catch your breath. The south end of Ping Jiang Lu is almost directly opposite the west side of the hotel; cross Gan Jiang Lu and walk north up Ping Jiang Lu alongside the canal to the second bridge where you will see the Ping Jiang Lodge, a very nicely preserved local-style inn where you can stay in historic surroundings for less than US$100 (I know - not so cheap). If you continue north on Ping Jiang Lu to the 5th bridge and turn right for 20m, you will see an equally ancient and interesting Tea House that’s well worth the visit.

If you want a cheap clean room, go over to Lin Dun Lu and walk north 500m to the China Mobile 'M-Zone' store - you will find a small hotel on the other side of the street in the small east-west side street (next to the hair salon on the corner) where you can get a room for US$30. Near here you can find Harry's Bar (150m south on Lin Dun - West side) where English speaking staff can help you! Also a great place to return to in the evening for music and good bar conversation with local expats.

Fast trains (train number beginning with 'T') run from Shanghai railway Station to Suzhou frequently and take from 40 to 50 minutes;
www.bootsnall.com/hotels/last-minute/cy/China/Suzhou;
www.tripadvisor.com/Tourism-g297442-Suzhou_Jiangsu-Vacations.html

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Here’s a tip for those travelling in groups: abandon mutual chopstick dipping into various dishes served traditionally on revolving tables. We did this after eight of our 14 succumbed to stomach ailments. Unfortunately, it was in Shanghai that we were served the most commercial and unappetising meal of our seven-city visit.

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They call them 'chopsticks' for a reason - it's because they're from chopped-down trees. Vast tracts of forests are thoughtlessly used and thrown away every year.

Commendably, the PRC government is now beginning to crack down on this, and Japan for example has begun to tax imported chopsticks heavily. So to help this process along - anywhere in Asia for that matter - when dining in restaurants ask for (or bring along your own) plastic chopsticks. Wipe them with a tissue if you're worried about hygiene, it's not hard. And if you really can't handle the chopstick issue, bring a fork.

Yu Yuan Gardens (see www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1036) is a nice place to buy souvenir choppies - try the Shanghai Chopsticks Store, 31 Yuyuan Lao Lu

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In the main room of this vegetarian restaurant is a Buddha shrine where diners can, if they wish, burn incense. I doubt that monks will eat as well as we did in this long-established Shanghai retaurant. The menu is huge and almost any kind of Chinese dish one can think of is listed, but the difference is that it is all vegetarian even if the description sounds carnivorous. For example, the roast chicken is beancurd in a chicken shape. If you are fed up with pak choi and doufu, you'll love this place. We went twice in one day because it was so good.

445 Nanjing Xi Lu; West of People's Square and close to the Art Museum

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One of the great pleasures of living in Shanghai and China generally is tea. From an early age living in England tea was a staple. I first started buying oolong (tie guan ying), green and pu er teas from a shop on Nanjing Road. Later when I went back the lady that had worked there had opened her own shop. She had been so patient, knowledgeable and had a very calm air about her which was so pleasant in the hectic bustle of Shanghai it was only natural to go to her new tea shop on my return. Wan Ling, or Candy as she is also known, is willing to spend as long as you wish chatting about tea, letting you try a number of the types she has in the shop and providing a great insight into the fascinating world of Chinese tea. Her shop is slightly hidden in a Chinese antiques market, which is in fact a great benefit once you find it. The market offers a great place to explore for an hour or two depending on your interest (porcelain, jade, stones, carvings). This is an especially good place during some of the dark and damp days we get here in Shanghai.

Located fairly centrally, Wan Ling's Tea House is fairly easy to find - located on Beijing road at the corner of Wang Hang Du Road (Lu) it is in walking distance from Jing An Temple (Nanjing raod). Her website has a map and also exact location written in both english and Chinese (great for the taxi driver).
www.wanlingteahouse.com

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It can be described as many things: a spicy omlette; a 'breakfast burrito'; the literal meaning approximates to 'egg pancake'. Great for a quick, cheap hot snack; a useful fallback for vegetarians in a meat-loving nation; plus great to watch them being made. My friend Dave, moreover, lives on an exclusive diet of these - check out his eulogy at daveinchina.com/archives/000341.html

At streetside vendors everywhere

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