06-Get to know Shanghai

Plan your Shanghai tour on a budget? Each year millions of travellers and businessmen visit Shanghai, the largest metropolitan city in China. Shanghai boasts plentiful splurge hotels and posh restaurants, local and international.

But you don’t need to break the bank to visit this most advanced and futuristic city showcasing the fast development in the contemporary China . The 10 steps and tips will help you arrange your Shanghai trip on a budget without forgoing your enjoyment.

1. Travel out of season

First, you ought to avoid visiting Shanghai during China public holidays: May 1-3 and October 1 – 7 each year in particular. If possible, visit Shanghai in shoulder or even off season when everything is cheaper – discounted accommodations, entrance fees, flights and many more.

In addition, the hordes of domestic tourist crowds are gone so you can enjoy the city peacefully without too may other tourists jumping into your pictures.

High season: April, May, September and October;
Shoulder season: March, June, July, August and November;
Low season: December, January and February.

2. Shanghai airport or rail transfer by metro

Shanghai has the highest taxi fares in China. When you arrive at Shanghai by air or rail, basically you should forgo taking taxis except something emergent or you cannot roll your luggage.

The two Shanghai airports – Pudong Airport and Hongqiao Airport are both linked by the same metro line 2 which brings you to the center of Shanghai with the important metro stations of People’s Square and Nanjing Road.

Shanghai Pudong Airport also has the fastest train –Shanghai Maglev in the world. Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station is accessible by metro line 2; Shanghai Railway Station by metro line 1 and Shanghai South Railway Station by metro line 1.

3. Looking for cheap hotels

Though it is rife with luxury hotels, Shanghai is also a purse-friendly city opening its arms for all with large choices of budget hotels and hostels. You can easily find a cozy hotel on your budget.

First you should decide where to stay in Shanghai and then search for an ideal hotel on your desired area without footing the costly bill. Check Top 10 Shanghai Budget Hotels for more information.

4. Shanghai’s abundant free sites and attractions

Many of the must see attractions in Shanghai are free of charge including the Bund, Pudong New Area, Nanjing Road, People’s Square, Shanghai Museums, Tianzifang, Xintiandi, etc. Just a note, most of the museums in Shanghai are free for entry as well as many city parks.

Check out:
10 Non-Touristy Things to Do in Shanghai
Top 10 Shanghai Attractions
Top 10 Most Romantic Places in Shanghai.

5. Tour Shanghai by Metro

As you know, Shanghai has the highest taxi fares in China, plus the possible traffic congestion, in most occasions, you should just avoid using them except that you cannot manage your large pieces of luggage on your way to your hotel or airport.

All almost all the important attractions in Shanghai can be accessed by metro lines. Spend a few minutes studying the metro map of Shanghai for a clear direction of your destinations. See Visit Zhujiajiao Water Town by metro; Visit Qibao Water Town by metro; Visit Tianzifang by metro and Visit Xintiandi by metro.

6 Hop on hopoff Buses

Apart from using the convenient metro system in Shanghai for city sightseeing, joining in a Shanghai bus tour can also be money-saving and more sociable, a good way of traveling Shanghai: picked from and returned your lodging hotel.

The hop on hop off double decker Buses in Shanghai are also a perfect choice for your sightseeing in Shanghai – Booked through your hotel for a joyful Shanghai day tour.

7. Eating out Cheap

Yes, as an international metropolitan city, Shanghai provides many sorts of cuisines from all parts of the world with countless posh restaurants. But this doesn’t put you off eating right and affordably at local restaurants. Breakfasts usually are covered by your hotel package.

Suggest you have a fast food lunch while dinner at a clean restaurant. You may spoil yourself occasionally by eating at an upscale or nice restaurant. See Shanghai top 1o best restaurants and Shanghai top 10 vegetarian restaurants.

8. Bargain shopping

Shanghai is a shopping paradise, with countless bustling commercial streets and shopping centers beckoning the visitors. Shopping malls in Shanghai are most fashionable inside country as Shanghai is the window of modern China.

Most of the shopping malls are located in busy commercial centers. Window shopping is a fun even if you don’t like to do shopping in these expensive shopping malls.

Going to a local market can be an interesting experience. See Shanghai top 10 markets and Shanghai top 10 shopping malls.

9. Splurge occasionally

Traveling on a budget doesn’t mean you should not splurge on food, a high-priced attraction or shopping occasionally and forgo everything expensive Shanghai has to offer.

At least one dinner at a posh restaurant; ascending the Jinmao Tower for a panoramic view of Shanghai and buying a Shanghai souvenir.

10. Tourist Scams

When you are traveling in Shanghai and planning your city trip on a budget, you must be vigilant on possible tourist scams which may happen to you.

The tourist scams in Shanghai are more or less than the same as those in Beijing, see ” Top 10 Beijing Tourist Scams” for your reference. If you are a victim, just keep calm and contact the police immediately.

source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai

Shanghai (/ʃæŋˈhaɪ/;^[16] Chinese: 上海, Shanghainese: Zaon⁶he⁵ [zɑ̃̀.hɛ́] (listen), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: [ʂâŋ.xàɪ] (listen)) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).^[a] The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowing through it. With a population of 24.89 million as of 2021, Shanghai is the most populous urban area in China with 39,300,000 inhabitants living in the Shanghai metropolitan area,^[19] the second most populous city proper in the world (after Chongqing) and the only city in East Asia with a GDP greater than its corresponding capital. Shanghai ranks second among the administrative divisions of Mainland China in human development index (after Beijing). As of 2018, the Greater Shanghai metropolitan area was estimated to produce a gross metropolitan product (nominal) of nearly 9.1 trillion RMB ($1.33 trillion), exceeding that of Mexico with GDP of $1.22 trillion, the 15th largest in the world. Shanghai is one of the world’s major centers for finance, business and economics, research, education, science and technology, manufacturing, tourism, culture, dining, art, fashion, sports, and transportation, and the Port of Shanghai is the world’s busiest container port. In 2019, the Shanghai Pudong International Airport was one of the world’s 10 busiest airports by passenger traffic, and one of the two international airports serving the Shanghai metropolitan area, the other one being the Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport.

Originally a fishing village and market town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to both domestic and foreign trade and its favorable port location. The city was one of five treaty ports forced to open to European trade after the First Opium War. The Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession were subsequently established. The city then flourished, becoming a primary commercial and financial hub of Asia in the 1930s. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, the city was the site of the major Battle of Shanghai. After the war, with the communists takeover of the mainland in 1949, trade was limited to other socialist countries and the city’s global influence declined. Despite this, modern trade in the newly established PRC began in the late 1940s/early 1950s, and Shanghai officially became one of the biggest and most important cities among socialist states before the economic reform in 1978.

By the 1990s, economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping a decade earlier resulted in an intense redevelopment of the city, especially the Pudong New Area, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment. The city has since re-emerged as a hub for international trade and finance; it is the home of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, one of the largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalization and the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone, the first free-trade zone in mainland China. As of 2020, Shanghai was classified as an Alpha+ (global first-tier) city by the GaWC and ranked as having the 3rd most competitive and largest financial center in the world behind New York City and London. It has the largest metro network of any city in the world, the fifth-highest number of billionaires of any city in the world, the fifth-largest number of skyscrapers of any city in the world, the fifth-most Fortune Global 500 headquarters of any city in the world within its city limits, the third-largest scientific research output of any city in the world, and highly ranked Double First Class Universities including Fudan, Shanghai Jiao Tong, Tongji, East China Normal, Shanghai, Donghua, ShanghaiTech, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, and East China University of Science and Technology.

Shanghai has been described as the “showpiece” of the booming economy of China. Featuring several architectural styles such as Art Deco and shikumen, the city is renowned for its Lujiazui skyline, museums and historic buildings including the City God Temple, Yu Garden, the China Pavilion and buildings along the Bund, which includes Oriental Pearl TV Tower. Shanghai is also known for its sugary cuisine, distinctive local language and vibrant international flair. As an important international city, Shanghai is the seat of the New Development Bank, a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states and the city hosts more than 75 foreign representatives, the second highest after Beijing and numerous national and international events every year, such as Shanghai Fashion Week, the Chinese Grand Prix and ChinaJoy. Shanghai is the highest earning tourist city in the world, with the seventh most five-star hotels in the world,^[20] and the third tallest building in the world, the Shanghai Tower. In 2018, Shanghai hosted the first China International Import Expo (CIIE), the world’s first import-themed national-level expo. Shanghai joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2019.^[21]