No tourist buses, no filler. How to weave the Bund, the plane-tree lanes of the Wutong Quarter, soup dumplings, art corridors, and a symphony-and-vinyl night into seventy-two effortless hours.
The reigning benchmark for crab-roe soup dumplings (xiaolongbao) in central Shanghai: tissue-thin skins sagging with golden crab oil, paired with a Shanghai-style pork chop and Worcestershire sauce.
Since 1932: fluffy, fully leavened pan-fried buns (shengjian) steps from the Bund.
Automated tabletop charcoal skewers of Inner Mongolian lamb—a late-night cult hit with Korean travelers.
The Bund’s undisputed modern grand dame: Art Deco dressing rooms, Sir Elly’s rooftop terrace, and a Forbes Five-Star spa.
Victor Sassoon’s 1929 Art Deco masterpiece; stay for the octagonal rotunda and the nightly Old Jazz Band (average age 82).
Ian Schrager’s seductive Bund outpost inside the former Power Building, crowned by the ivy-draped Roof terrace.