Tips for Senior Travelers

The Chinese generally respect age far more than do their Western counterparts. Increasingly there are more "senior discounts" (for those over 70) offered at tourist attractions. If you book a hotel from an international hotel chain overseas, inquire about but don't expect senior discounts. In Shanghai, brace yourself for long stairways at some museums and temples, and impatient crowds everywhere you turn.

Elderhostel (tel. 877/426-8056; www.elderhostel.org) arranges study/travel programs for those age 55 and over (and a spouse or companion of any age) in the U.S. and in more than 80 countries around the world, including China. ElderTreks (tel. 800/741-7956; www.eldertreks.com) also offers expensive small-group tours to China.

When to Go

Except for the windy, chilly winter months, Shanghai teems with tourists and business travelers, most notably May through October. July and August are unpleasantly hot and humid as a rule; locals often sleep on cots on the sidewalks to escape the pent-up heat of the day in their small apartments. Shanghai's busiest tourist periods coincide with its mildest weather in the spring and fall. September and October are really the ideal times to visit, but they're also popular times for meetings and conventions, leading to high hotel occupancy and uncompetitive room rates. To avoid the big crowds and still enjoy decent weather, the best time to visit is in late March or late October/early November. Besides the climate, the other major consideration in the timing of your visit should be the domestic Chinese travel season.

Climate

Shanghai, located on the 31st parallel north, has a climate comparable to that of the southeastern coast of the United States, except that Shanghai's summer is hotter. Spring, from mid-March to mid-May, is mild but rainy. Summer, from mid-May to mid-September, is oppressively hot and humid. Winter, from mid-November to mid-March, is damp and chilly, but there is seldom snow and the daytime temperatures are usually above freezing. Autumn, from mid-September to mid-November, is the most comfortable season, being neither too hot nor too rainy, but typhoon-propelled rains can strike in September.

Holidays

National holidays observed in Shanghai with days off include New Year's Day (Jan 1), Spring Festival/Chinese New Year (first day of the lunar calendar: Feb 3, 2011, Jan 23, 2012), Qingming Festival (usually Apr 5 on the Gregorian calendar; Apr 4 during leap years), Labor Day (May 1), Dragon Boat Festival (early June on the lunar calendar), Mid-Autumn Festival (Sept on the lunar calendar), and National Day (Oct 1).

Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year, is the most important holiday. Officially, it is a 3-day national holiday (usually expanded to 7 days, making the weekend after the 7-day holiday normal working days). On the first 3 days, banks, offices, and many workplaces are closed. In reality, the effects of this holiday are felt from 2 weeks before the date until 2 weeks after, as Chinese travel to and from their hometowns, which may be very far from their place of work. The 15th day of the New Year is marked by the Lantern Festival celebrations.

The National Day (Oct 1) holidays will also last 7 days. While offices, banks, smaller restaurants, and some sights may be closed for part of each holiday period, you will find in Shanghai that hotels that normally cater to business travelers will offer significant discounts during those times.

Tips for Multicultural Travelers

The Ethnic Chinese Foreigner

Ethnic Chinese who are born and raised outside China, but who do not speak any Chinese (and that includes any number of second-generation-on-down Chinese-Americans, Chinese-Britons, Chinese-Australians, and more) usually find themselves in an awkward position when visiting China. Simply by virtue of the fact they look Chinese, they are expected to speak the language, and those who don't are often viewed with a mix of subtle derision and exasperation. At the same time, they are not given the same benefit of the doubt as non-Chinese foreigners. While the reasons for this unfortunate phenomenon are age-old and complex, ethnic Chinese foreigners, like any foreign visitor, can go a long way in endearing themselves to locals by learning some Chinese and displaying some knowledge of Chinese culture and history. Even if you speak with a funny accent, the effort is usually appreciated. Learn the words for "We're all Chinese!" (Women doushi zhongguoren!), and you may well find yourself paying a little more than local but a little less than foreigner prices for that special scarf. Mainland Chinese also tend to look very favorably upon ethnic Chinese foreigners "returning" to the motherland to search for their roots, a process known in Mandarin as xun gen.

Calendar of Events

Festivals and celebrations are not numerous in Shanghai, and many are family affairs, but there are some opportunities to mix with the locals at city parks and other locations at annual public events.

For an exhaustive list of events beyond those listed here, check http://events.frommers.com, where you'll find a searchable, up-to-the-minute roster of what's happening in cities all over the world.

Winter

Longhua Temple Bell-Ringing. On New Year's Eve in the Gregorian calendar (Dec 31), crowds gather at Longhua Temple to pray for good fortune as the bell is struck 108 times during a special midnight Buddhist service. Fireworks, dragon and lion dances, folk art shows, and music go on into the wee hours.

Spring Festival/Chinese New Year (Chun Jie). This is the time when Chinese return to their hometowns for family get-togethers, to visit friends, to settle the year's debts, to visit temples to pray for prosperity in the coming year, and to decorate their homes with red paper (signifying health and prosperity). Parks and temples hold outdoor celebrations and put on markets, the best places for tourists to visit. Begins the first day of the lunar calendar: February 3, 2011; January 23, 2012.

Lantern Festival (Deng Jie, sometimes called Yuanxiao Jie). On the 15th day after Chinese New Year, on the first full moon, people used to parade through town with paper lanterns, while parks and temples displayed more elaborate and fanciful lanterns, all accompanied by fireworks and folk dances. In Shanghai in recent years, there's been a minor revival of sorts, especially around the Yu Yuan Old Town Bazaar, but Shanghainese mostly mark the occasion by eating yuanxiao (glutinous rice balls with sweet stuffing). This always falls 15 days after the Spring Festival.

Guanyin's Birthday. Held on the 19th day of the second lunar month, about 50 days after Chinese New Year, in honor of the Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin, this is a good opportunity to visit one of the Buddhist temples in Shanghai and join in the celebrations.

Spring

Shanghai International Literary Festival. Started in 2006 with entirely volunteer help, this festival, which is timed with the Hong Kong Literary Festival to better bring in international authors, is starting to attract a loyal following of bibliophiles. Big names who have held book readings at the Glamour Bar include Booker-prize winners Arundhati Roy and Anne Enright. Local authors are featured as well. Two weekends in early March.

Longhua Temple Fair (Longhua Miaohui). Beginning on the third day of the third lunar month, this 10-day temple fair, featuring an array of vendors, Buddhist worshippers, and local opera performers, dates from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Typically first or second week of April.

Tomb Sweeping Festival (Qing Ming Jie). This day honors the dead, which in Chinese communities overseas and some rural counties usually entails the sweeping of ancestral graves and the offering of food and wine to the departed. This is now a public holiday. In Shanghai this means crowds of tourists from neighboring regions at the main sights. April 4 (Apr 5 in leap year).

Formula One Grand Prix Racing. It was hoped that this glamorous event, held in the northwestern suburb of Anting, would draw fans from around the world for 3 days of high-speed, high-adrenaline racing featuring the sport's biggest names, but the event has consistently lost money since its Shanghai inaugural in 2004. Although a race is scheduled for 2011, F1's future in Shanghai remains uncertain after that. April.

Labor Day. There's little for the Shanghai tourist to do except shopping, shopping, and more shopping. May 1.

Shanghai Spring International Music Festival. One of many recent festivals instituted by Shanghai, this one usually runs for 2 weeks in mid-May and has attracted such performers as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Choir. It's also when the "Golden Chime" award is given to China's best music DJs.

Summer

Shanghai International Film Festival. Scores of international films are screened, providing many Chinese with a chance to see films they would ordinarily not be able to. Foreign films are usually dubbed into Chinese. An international jury judges competition films. This is usually preceded by the Shanghai TV Festival. May/June.

Autumn

Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie). Traditionally the time to read poetry under the full moon, this festival, also known as the "Mooncake Festival," and primarily celebrated by the eating of "mooncakes," pastries with extremely rich sweet bean filling, is now an official public holiday. During the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368), Chinese attempting to revolt against their Mongol rulers sent each other messages hidden inside these cakes. Held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (usually Sept).

Shanghai Biennale. With the art scene thriving in Shanghai, this relatively new festival held every 2 years showcases the works, sometimes highly experimental, of local and international artists at the Shanghai Art Museum and at various galleries and venues throughout the city. Usually October to November, even-numbered years.

Shanghai International Arts Festival. This wide-ranging annual festival features local and international plays, concerts, and music and dance performances at various locations throughout the city. Usually the month of November.

Western Holidays in Shanghai

Christmas has become an increasingly popular holiday in Shanghai, celebrated at hotels and restaurants with large dinner parties. As commercial a holiday as it is in the West, Valentine's Day has caught on with a vengeance, with hotels and international restaurants offering room and dining packages that would have Cupid working overtime. Western New Year's has not caught on to the same extent, although Longhua Temple has become the place to literally ring in the new year. St. Patrick's Day and Halloween are celebrated by locals and expatriates at the cafes, bars, and discos.

Entry Requirements & Customs

Passports

Visitors must have a valid passport with a 6-month validity beyond the date of arrival and two consecutive blank pages remaining to allow for visas and stamps that need to appear together.

For an up-to-date, country-by-country listing of passport requirements around the world, go to the "Foreign Entry Requirement" Web page of the U.S. State Department at http://travel.state.gov.

Allow plenty of time before your trip to apply for a passport; processing normally takes 3 weeks, but can take longer during busy periods (especially spring). And keep in mind that if you need a passport in a hurry, you'll pay a higher processing fee.

For Residents of Australia: You can pick up an application from your local post office or any branch of Passports Australia, but you must schedule an interview at the passport office to present your application materials. Call the Australian Passport Information Service at tel. 131-232, or visit the government website at www.passports.gov.au.

For Residents of Canada: Passport applications are available at travel agencies throughout Canada or from the central Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G3 (tel. 800/567-6868; www.ppt.gc.ca).

For Residents of Ireland: You can apply for a 10-year passport at the Passport Office, Setanta Centre, Molesworth Street, Dublin 2 (tel. 01/671-1633; www.irlgov.ie/iveagh). Children under age 3 must apply for a €15 3-year passport; children ages 3 to 17 must apply for a €25 5-year passport. You can also apply at 1A South Mall, Cork (tel. 021/272-525), or at most main post offices.

For Residents of New Zealand: You can pick up a passport application at any New Zealand Passports Office or download it from their website. Contact the Passports Office at tel. 0800/225-050 in New Zealand or 04/474-8100, or log on to www.passports.govt.nz.

For Residents of the United Kingdom: To pick up an application for a standard 10-year passport (5-year passport for children under 16), visit your nearest passport office, major post office, or travel agency, or contact the United Kingdom Passport Service at tel. 0300/222-0000 or search its website at www.ips.gov.uk.

For Residents of the United States: Whether you're applying in person or by mail, you can download passport applications from the U.S. State Department website at http://travel.state.gov. To find your regional passport office, either check the U.S. State Department website or call the National Passport Information Center toll-free number (tel. 877/487-2778) for automated information.

Visas

All visitors to mainland China (but not the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau) are required to have a visa. Tour groups are usually issued a group visa, with the paperwork handled by the travel agency (check with your agent). Individual travelers should apply for visas from your nearest Chinese embassy or consulate. Contact information for all Chinese embassies and consulates can be found at www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng. Some consulates require in-person applications while others allow applications by post or courier with extra charges. Visas are typically processed in 3 to 5 business days, though 1-day service is possible if you apply in person and pay extra fees.

The most common type of visa is the single-entry "L" tourist visa, usually good for 30 days, though you can request a longer validity period. Your request may not always be granted, and in some cases, you may be asked to produce supporting documentation (such as a travel agent-issued itinerary or an airline ticket with a return date). If you're going to be leaving and then returning to mainland China (even if you're just making a short trip to Hong Kong), apply for a double-entry visa. There are also multiple-entry 6-month or 1-year visas, which are now increasingly easy to come by. Visas are typically valid for 1 to 3 months after the date of issue.

To apply for a visa, you must complete an application form, which you can request by mail or download from the various consular websites. Also required is one passport photo per individual traveler (including a child traveling on a parent's passport). Though the visa is valid for the entire country (with a few exceptions that may require special permits), in general, avoid mentioning Tibet or Xinjiang on your application.

Following is a list of embassy addresses and visa fees for some countries, along with their respective Web pages that link to the appropriate consular sites and downloadable visa application forms. Warning: Visa fees listed are accurate as of press time, but are subject to change at any time.

• United States: 2201 Wisconsin Ave., Room 110, Washington, DC 20007 (tel. 202/338-6688; fax 202/588-9760; www.china-embassy.org). All visas, whether single or multiple-entry visas are US$130. Applications must be delivered and collected by hand, or sent via a visa agency.

• Canada: 515 St. Patrick St., Ottawa, ON K1N 5H3 (tel. 613/789-3434; fax 613/789-1911; www.chinaembassycanada.org). Single-entry visas are C$50; double-entry C$75. Applications must be delivered and collected by hand, or sent via a visa agency.

• United Kingdom: 31 Portland Place, London W1N 3AG (tel. 020/7631-1430; fax 020/7588-2500; www.chinese-embassy.org.uk). Single-entry visas are £30, double-entry £45, with an extra charge of £20 for each package received through the mail.

• Australia: 15 Coronation Dr., Yarralumla, ACT 2600 Canberra (tel. 02/6273-4780; fax 02/6273-5848; http://au.china-embassy.org/eng). Single-entry visas are A$40; double-entry A$60, with an extra charge of A$50 for each package processed by mail or courier.

• New Zealand: 2-6 Glenmore St., Wellington (tel. 04/472-1382; fax 04/499-0419; www.chinaembassy.org.nz; www.chinaconsulate.org.nz). Single-entry visas are NZ$140, double-entry NZ$210, with an extra charge of NZ$15 for each package processed by mail or courier.

Getting a Visa in Hong Kong -- Nationals of most developed nations require only a valid passport to enter Hong Kong, even though it's a part of China. Chinese visas (single- and double-entry only; multiple-entry visas have to be obtained in your home country) can be easily secured at countless Hong Kong travel agencies, but they are cheapest at the Visa Office of the PRC, 26 Harbour Rd., China Resources Building, Lower Block, seventh floor, Wanchai (tel. 852/3413-2424; www.fmcoprc.gov.hk; Mon-Fri 9am-noon and 2-5pm), where single-entry visas costs HK$1,020 for U.S. citizens, HK$450 for U.K. citizens, HK$150 for Canadians and Australians. At press time, the office was accepting HK$ cash only. Another outlet to get visas is at the Hong Kong operation of CTS (China Travel Service), with a popular branch at 27-33 Nathan Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui (tel. 852/2315-7188; fax 852/2315-7292; www.ctshk.com). Or try Grand Profit International Travel Agency, 705AA, seventh floor, New East Ocean Centre, 9 Science Museum Rd., Tsim Sha Tsui (tel. 852/2723-3288).

Visa Extensions -- As a rule, single-entry tourist visas may be extended once for a maximum of 30 days at the local PSB (Public Security Bureau, gong'an ju) in most cities. In Shanghai, head to the Foreign Affairs Section of the PSB (chujing guanliju) which has been relocated to Pudong, at Minsheng Lu 1500 (tel. 021/2895-1900, ext. 2; Metro: Shanghai Kejiguan/Science and Technology Museum, exit 3). Office hours are Monday through Saturday 9am to 5pm. Extensions usually require 5 business days. Bring your passport and two passport photos.

Customs

What You Can Bring into China -- In general, you can bring in anything for personal use that you will take with you when you leave, including laptops, GPS devices, cameras, video recorders, and other electronic equipment. You're also allowed four bottles of alcoholic beverages and three cartons of cigarettes. Travelers are prohibited from bringing in firearms, drugs, plant material, animals, and food from diseased areas, as well as "printed matter, magnetic media, films, or photographs which are deemed to be detrimental to the political, economic, cultural, and moral interests of China." This last section covers pornography, overtly political and religious material, and anything related to Tibet. In practice, however, small amounts of personal reading material in non-Chinese languages have yet to present a problem. Currency in excess of US$5,000 is supposed to be declared on Customs forms, though most major points of entry seem to have dispensed with the Customs declaration form entirely.

What You Can Take Home from China -- Upon departure, antiques purchased in China, defined as any item created between 1795 and 1949, must be accompanied by an official red wax seal before being taken out of the country. Any item created before 1795 is prohibited for export. For information on what you're allowed to bring home, contact one of the following agencies:

U.S. Citizens: U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP), 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20229 (tel. 877/287-8667; www.cbp.gov).

Canadian Citizens: Canada Border Services Agency, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0L8 (tel. 800/461-9999 in Canada, or 204/983-3500; www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca).

U.K. Citizens: HM Customs & Excise, Crownhill Court, Tailyour Road, Plymouth, PL6 5BZ (tel. 0845/010-9000; from outside the U.K., 020/8929-0152; www.hmce.gov.uk).

Australian Citizens: Australian Customs Service, Customs House, 5 Constitution Ave., Canberra City, ACT 2601 (tel. 1300/363-263; from outside Australia, 612/6275-6666; www.customs.gov.au).

New Zealand Citizens: New Zealand Customs, The Customhouse, 17-21 Whitmore St., Box 2218, Wellington, 6140 (tel. 04/473-6099 or 0800/428-786; www.customs.govt.nz).

Medical Requirements

If you will be arriving in mainland China from a country with yellow fever, you may be asked for proof of vaccination, although border health inspections, when there isn't a health crisis, is cursory at best.

Staying Connected

Mobile Phones

China's wireless capabilities function on the quasi-universal GSM (Global System for Mobiles) network, which is used by all Europeans, most Australians, many Asians (except in Japan and Korea), and many North Americans as well. In the U.S., T-Mobile, AT&T Wireless, and Cingular use this quasi-universal system; in Canada, Microcell and some Rogers customers are GSM. If you're coming from North America and want to use your GSM phone in China, make sure it's at least a tri-band (900 MHz/1800 MHz/1900 MHz) phone that's been "unlocked" to receive service in China. Also call your wireless operator at home and ask for "international roaming" to be activated on your account. The roaming and international call charges will be predictably exorbitant, so consider buying a prepaid SIM card (known as quanqiutong, about ¥100) in China, which you can install in your GSM phone. SIM cards are available at airports, railway stations, and mobile phone stores. Recharge or top-up cards (shenzhouxing chongzhi ka) are available at post offices, mobile phone stores, and some news kiosks. If you don't have a GSM phone, you can purchase an older Chinese model in any of Shanghai's department stores or phone shops for around ¥300 or more, though depending on the model, don't expect it necessarily to work back in North America.

Alternatively, it's easy to rent a phone in Shanghai. There are rental shops in the arrival hall of Pudong Airport; and the city's largest phone company, China Mobile (www.china-mobile-phones.com), can deliver phones to your hotel. Rental costs range from ¥68 to ¥116 a day before airtime (at least ¥7 a minute) and long-distance charges.

Some hotels in Shanghai have also started to make available mobile phones for guests staying in executive level rooms, while one hotel, the Peninsula, offers free VOIP calling to anywhere in the world for all its guests.

Internet & E-mail

Travelers in China should find it quite easy to check their e-mail and access the Internet on the road, despite periodic government attempts to block websites, control traffic, and shut down cybercafes. If you find yourself unable to access a popular website or search engine, try returning to it in a day or two; some shutdowns are temporary.

Without Your Own Computer -- The comparative wealth of the Shanghainese (making personal computers more popular than ever), along with occasional government crackdowns, has reduced the number of cybercafes, or wangba (literally, "net bar") in town. Where they still exist, most of them are smoke-filled dens full of young Chinese playing online video games. Charges range from ¥3 to ¥5 an hour. These days, you will be asked to show your passport at cybercafes before you are allowed to surf the Net. Hotel business centers with broadband Internet access are the old stand-by, but expect to pay significantly higher rates. The most reliable and the cheapest Internet access can be found at the Shanghai Library (Shanghai Tushuguan), Huaihai Zhong Lu 1557 (tel. 021/6445-2001), in a small office on the ground floor underneath the main entrance staircase. It's open from 9am to 8:30pm daily (¥4 per hr.), and is always packed with Chinese students. Captain Hostel (Chuanzhang Qingnian Jiudian, Fuzhou Lu 37; tel. 021/6323-5053) charges ¥5 for 15 minutes of broadband access.

With Your Own Computer -- These days, many Shanghai hotels offer in-room broadband Internet access. The typical charge is around ¥120 for 24 hours, though an increasing number of hotels are starting to offer it free. If you don't have your own Ethernet cables, hotels can usually provide them, either for free or for a small fee.

Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity) has caught on quickly in Shanghai, with a number of the top business hotels (Westin, Shangri-La, the Peninsula, the PuLi Hotel and Spa, just to name a few) offering wireless "hot spots" in their lobbies, executive lounges, and boardrooms, and also in their rooms. Charges range from free to ¥120 for 24 hours. There are also many cafes and bars around town offering free Wi-Fi.

Mainland China uses the standard U.S.-style RJ11 telephone jack also used as the port for laptops worldwide. Standard electrical voltage across China is 220v, 50Hz, and most laptops can deal with it.

Newspapers & Magazines

Foreign magazines and newspapers, including USA Today, International Herald Tribune, South China Morning Post, and Asian editions of the Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and Time, are sold at kiosks in international hotels. For the world according to China's Communist Party, there's the English-language China Daily, distributed free at many hotels. The local version, Shanghai Daily (www.shanghaidaily.com), a 6-day-a-week newspaper, covers the city with the same propagandistic outlook, but has an occasionally helpful arts and entertainment section appearing on Saturday. Several free, weekly and monthly English-language magazines and newspapers produced expressly for travelers and expatriates in Shanghai such as that's Shanghai, City Weekend, and Shanghai Talk can be useful for entertainment listings (not always accurate) and restaurant reviews. 

Telephones

The international country code for China is 86. The city code for Shanghai is 021.

To call Shanghai:

1. Dial the international access code: 011 from the U.S. or Canada; 00 from the U.K., Ireland, or New Zealand; or 0011 from Australia.

2. Dial the country code 86 for China.

3. Drop the first zero and dial the city code 21 (for Shanghai) and then the number.

To call within China: Local calls in Shanghai require no city code; just dial the eight-digit Shanghai number (or the three-digit emergency numbers for fire, police, and ambulance). Calls from Shanghai to other locations in China require that you dial the full domestic city code (which always starts with 0). Similarly, if you are calling a Shanghai number from outside the city but within China, dial the city code (021) and then the number. Public pay phones require either a deposit of a ¥1 coin or an IC card ("aicei" ka) available from post offices, most convenience stores, and street stalls.

To make international calls: To make international calls from China, first dial 00 and then the country code (U.S. or Canada 1, U.K. 44, Ireland 353, Australia 61, New Zealand 64). Next you dial the area code and number. For example, if you wanted to call the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., you would dial 00-1-202-588-7800.

You can also use your calling card (AT&T, MCI, or Sprint, for example) to make international (but not domestic) calls from Shanghai. The local access number for AT&T is tel. 10-811; for MCI tel. 10-812; for Sprint tel. 10-813. Check with your hotel for the local access numbers for other companies. The directions for placing an international calling-card call vary from company to company, so check with your long-distance carrier before you leave home. To save money, however, use an IP card (aipi ka), available from post offices, most convenience stores, and street stalls, but bargain for less than the face value of the card (in other words, you should bargain to pay around ¥80 for a ¥100 card). Depending on where you call, a ¥50 card can yield you up to an hour's talk time. Instructions in English should be on the back of the card.

For directory assistance: Dial 114 if you're looking for a number inside Shanghai. If you want numbers for other cities in China, dial zero, the city code, followed by 114. Dial 116 for numbers to all other countries.

For operator assistance: If you need operator assistance in making a call, it's best to ask your hotel for help.

Toll-free numbers: Numbers beginning with 800 within China are toll-free, but calling a 1-800 number in the U.S. from China is not toll-free. In fact, it costs the same as an overseas call.

Fast Facts

Area Codes -- China's country code is 86, and Shanghai's area code is 021. In mainland China, all area codes begin with a zero, which is dropped when calling China from abroad. The entire area code can be dropped when making local calls.

Business Hours -- Offices are open Monday through Friday from 9am to 6pm, although some still close at the lunch hour (about noon-1:30pm); a few maintain limited Saturday hours. Bank opening hours are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. Sights, shops, restaurants, and transportation systems offer the same service 7 days a week. Department stores are typically open from 10am to 10pm. Restaurants outside of hotels are generally open from 11:30am to 2pm and 5 to 9:30pm, while those catering to foreign visitors usually stay open later. The official closing time for bars is 2am, though some stay open later on weekends.

Doctors & Dentists -- Shanghai has the most advanced medical treatment and facilities in China. The higher-end hotels usually have in-house or on-call doctors, but almost all hotels can refer foreign guests to dentists and doctors versed in Western medicine. The following medical clinics and hospitals specialize in treating foreigners and provide international-standard services: With multiple branches around town, Parkway Health Medical Center (formerly World Link Medical Center), Nanjing Xi Lu 1376, Shanghai Centre, Ste. 203 (24-hr. hot line tel. 021/6445-5999; www.parkwayhealth.cn), offers family medical care, 24-hour emergency services, a 24-hour hot line, Western dental care, OB-GYN services, and inpatient care (Danshui Lu 170, second and third floors; tel. 021/6385-9889). Walk-in hours at the main clinic at Nanjing Lu 1376 are Monday through Friday 9am to 7pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 5pm. Call for times at other clinics. Hua Shan Hospital, Wulumuqi Zhong Lu 12, Jing An District, has a Foreigners Clinic on the eighth floor of Building 1, and a 24-hour hot line (tel. 021/6248-3986). A representative office of International SOS (Hongqiao Lu 3, 2 Grand Gateway, Unit 2907-2910; tel. 021/5298-9538) provides medical evacuation and repatriation throughout China on a 24-hour basis.

Dental care to foreign visitors and expatriates is provided by Parkway Health Dental Centers Monday to Saturday from 8:30am to 6:30pm , and by DDS Dental Care, Huaihai Zhong Lu 1325 (at Baoqing Lu), Evergo Plaza, B1-05 (tel. 021/5465-2678; www.ddsdentalcare.com). DDS Dental Care has multilingual Western-trained dentists and its own lab.

Drinking Laws -- There are no liquor laws in Shanghai worth worrying about (in other words, no legal drinking age). Bars keep irregular closing hours, some not shutting down until well after the official 2am closing time. Supermarkets, hotel shops, and international restaurants sell imported and domestic beer, wine, and spirits. Inexpensive domestic beer and liquor can be bought anytime at the 24-hour neighborhood convenience stores.

Drugstores -- In general, bring any and all of your own prescription medicines, and your favorite over-the-counter pain and cold remedies. A limited selection of Western amenities like cough drops, toothpaste, shampoo, and beauty aids are available in international hotel kiosks, and most reliably at Watson's Drug Store, which has branches throughout town, including at Huaihai Zhong Lu 787-789 (tel. 021/6474-4775; 9:30am-10pm). If necessary, prescriptions can be filled at the Parkway Health Medical Center, Nanjing Xi Lu 1376, Shanghai Centre, Ste. 203 (tel. 021/6279-7688). Chinese medicines (as well as some Western remedies) are dispensed at the Shanghai No. 1 Pharmacy, Nanjing Dong Lu 616 (tel. 021/6322-4567, ext. 0; 9am-10pm).

Electricity -- The electricity used throughout China is 220 volts, alternating current (AC), 50 cycles. Except for laptop computers and most mobile-phone chargers, other North American electrical devices will require the use of a transformer. Outlets come in a variety of configurations, the most common being the flat two-pin (but not the three-pin or the two-pin where one is wider than the other), and also the round two-pin, the slanted two-prong, and slanted three-prong types. Most hotels have a variety of outlets and can supply a range of adapters. Transformers and adapters can be purchased in department stores.

Embassies & Consulates -- The consulates of many countries are located in the French Concession and Jing An districts several miles west of downtown. Visa and passport sections are open only at certain times of the day, so call in advance. The consulates are open from Monday to Friday only, and are often closed for lunch (noon-1pm). The Consulate General of Australia is in CITIC Square at Nanjing Xi Lu 1168, 22nd floor (tel. 021/2215-5200; fax 021/2215-5252; www.shanghai.china.embassy.gov.au). The British Consulate General is in the Shanghai Centre, Nanjing Xi Lu 1376, Ste. 301 (tel. 021/3279-2000; fax 021/6279-7651; www.uk.cn). The Canadian Consulate General is in the Shanghai Centre at Nanjing Xi Lu 1376, West Tower, Ste. 604 and 668 (visa section, tel. 021/3279-2800; fax 021/3279-2801; www.shanghai.gc.ca). The New Zealand Consulate General is at Changle Lu 989, the Centre, Room 1605-1607A (tel. 021/5407-5858; fax 021/5407-5068; www.nzembassy.com). The Consulate General of the United States is at Huaihai Zhong Lu 1469 (tel. 021/6433-6880; fax 021/6433-4122; http://shanghai.usembassy-china.org.cn), although the American Citizens Services Unit is at Nanjing Xi Lu 1038, Westgate Mall, eighth floor (tel. 021/3217-4650, ext. 2102, 2103, 2114).

Emergencies -- The emergency phone numbers in Shanghai are tel. 110 for police (English operators available), tel. 119 for fire, and tel. 120 for ambulance, though no English is spoken at the last two.

Etiquette & Customs -- Appropriate attire: The Shanghainese have a long-held reputation of being fashion-conscious and are, on the whole, a comparatively well-dressed bunch. For the worldly Shanghainese who've seen it all, foreigners tend to get a pass when it comes to attire anyway, so wear whatever you find comfortable. Chances are, you'll be out-dressed (or under-dressed in some cases) by the trendy fashion plates. When in doubt, err on the side of modesty even if some of the younger locals don't. Business attire is similar to that in the West.

Gestures: The handshake is now commonplace, as is the exchange of business cards (ming pian), so bring some along if you have them. Cards and gifts should be presented and received with both hands. Speaking a few words of Mandarin will go a long way in pleasing your host; you'll be told you speak very well, to which the proper reply should be a self-effacing denial, even if you are fluent. When invited to someone's house, never go empty-handed; always bring a small gift, even if it's just some fruit picked up at the last minute at the corner store.

Avoiding offense: Causing someone to lose face is the surest way to offend, and should be avoided as much as possible. This means not losing your temper and yelling at someone in public, not calling public attention to their mistakes, and not publicly contradicting them, no matter how great the grievance. Instead, take up the matter privately or complain to a superior, when appropriate.

Eating & drinking: If possible, master the use of chopsticks before you go. Chinese food is eaten family-style with everyone serving themselves from several main dishes. As the guest, you'll be served first; accept graciously. Then reciprocate the gesture by serving your host in return. Use the communal serving spoon(s) or chopsticks provided. Eat with your chopsticks, but don't leave them sticking out of the bowl. Never criticize the food in front of your host. Your cup of tea will be constantly topped up. A Cantonese custom that has started to catch on in Shanghai is to acknowledge the pour by tapping your fingers lightly on the table. Feel free to top up other people's cups of tea every now and then, though it's likely that after the first time, your host will remove the teapot from your reach. If you're invited to eat at someone's home, always bring a small gift (fruit is always a fail-safe gift) and take off your shoes at the entrance even if your host/hostess demurs. They're merely being polite. If you're invited to a banquet, expect a great deal of drinking. Toasts are usually made with baijiu (potent Chinese spirits), often to the tunes of "gan bei" (literally dry glass, the equivalent of "bottoms up"). If you can't keep up, don't drain your glass (for it will be filled up again quickly, sparking another round of drinking), but do return the toast, if necessary with beer, mineral water, or tea.

Hot Lines -- The 24-hour Shanghai Call Center (tel. 021/962-288) should be able to handle most tourist queries in both English and Chinese.

Insurance -- Check your existing insurance policies and credit card coverage before you buy travel insurance. You may already be covered for lost luggage, cancelled tickets, or medical expenses. The cost of travel insurance varies widely, depending on the cost and length of your trip, your age and health, and the type of trip you're taking, but expect to pay between 5% and 8% of the vacation itself. You can get estimates from various providers through InsureMyTrip.com. Enter your trip cost and dates, your age, and other information, for prices from more than a dozen companies.

Trip-cancellation insurance: This will help you retrieve your money if you have to back out of a trip or depart early, or if your travel supplier goes bankrupt. Permissible reasons for trip cancellation can range from sickness to natural disasters to the State Department declaring a destination unsafe for travel. Insurers usually won't cover vague fears, though, and travelers have not been given refunds for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-related cancellations.

Note: Many tour operators, including those catering to China, include insurance in the cost of the trip or can arrange insurance policies through a partnering provider, a convenient and often cost-effective way for the traveler to obtain insurance. Make sure the tour company is a reputable one; however, some experts suggest you avoid buying insurance from the tour company you're traveling with, saying it's better to buy from a "third party" insurer than to put all your money in one place.

Medical insurance: Check with your individual health plan to see if it provides coverage for travel to China. In any event, consider purchasing travel insurance that includes an air ambulance or scheduled airline repatriation, but be clear as to the terms and conditions of repatriation. With several advanced clinics staffed by foreign doctors in Shanghai, travelers can expect a fairly high quality of health care, though avoid, if possible, regular Chinese hospitals. In the latter, you'll have to pay your (more than likely substantial) bill upfront and in cash, and then only submit your claim after you've returned home. Be sure you have adequate proof of payment.

If you require additional medical insurance, try MEDEX Assistance (tel. 410/453-6300; www.medexassist.com) or Travel Assistance International (tel. 800/821-2828; www.travelassistance.com; for general information on services, call the company's Worldwide Assistance Services, Inc., at tel. 800/777-8710).

Language -- Mandarin is the official language throughout China. However, while many Shanghainese speak Mandarin, you're just as likely to hear locals conversing everywhere (shops, businesses, restaurants) in Shanghainese, which is as different from Mandarin as Cantonese is from English. Written Chinese, however, follows one standard script. Outside of international hotels, restaurants, and shops, English is still seldom spoken, though compulsory English classes from primary grade one was implemented in local schools in 2003. Many younger urbanites should recognize at least a smattering of English words and phrases.

Legal Aid -- If you end up on the wrong side of the "still evolving" law in China, call your consulate immediately.

Lost & Found -- Be sure to tell all of your credit card companies the minute you discover your wallet has been lost or stolen, and file a report at the nearest police precinct. Contact the PSB (see "Police") for this. Your credit card company or insurer may require a police report number or record of the loss. Most credit card companies have an emergency toll-free number to call if your card is lost or stolen; they may be able to wire you a cash advance immediately or deliver an emergency credit card in a day or two. In China, the emergency toll-free numbers for lost or stolen credit cards are as follows: Visa (tel. 010/800-440-2911 or 021/6374-4418); American Express, which will also replace lost or stolen traveler's checks (tel. 021/6279-8082 or 010/800-610-0277); and MasterCard (tel. 010/800-110-7309). Diners Club members should call Hong Kong at tel. 852/2860-1800 or call the U.S. collect at tel. 001/416/369-6313. If you need emergency cash, you can have money wired to you at many post offices and a few Agricultural Bank of China branches throughout China via Western Union (tel. 800/325-6000; www.westernunion.com). The loss of your passport should be immediately reported to your consulate. For other personal items, contact the site where you think you lost it, then report the loss to your hotel staff or the police, but don't expect much sympathy, let alone results.

Mail -- Sending mail from China is remarkably reliable. Most hotels sell postage stamps and will mail your letters and parcels, the latter at a hefty fee, so take your parcels to the post office yourself, if possible. Overseas letters and postcards require 5 to 10 days for delivery. Current costs are as follows: overseas airmail: postcard ¥4.20, letters under 10g ¥5.40, letters under 20g ¥6.50. Domestic letters are ¥1.20. EMS (express parcels under 500g/18 oz.): to the U.S. and Canada ¥180 to ¥240; to Europe and the U.K. ¥220 to ¥280; to Australia and New Zealand ¥160 to ¥210. Normal parcels up to 1kg (2.2 lb.): to the U.S. and Canada by air ¥102, by sea ¥20 to ¥84; to Europe and the U.K. by air ¥142, by sea ¥22 to ¥108; to Australia and New Zealand by air ¥135, by sea ¥15 to ¥89. Customs declaration forms in Chinese and French are available at post offices. When sending parcels, bring your package to the post office unsealed, as packages are often subject to inspection. Large post offices will sell packaging material.

The main Post Office (youzheng ju) (7am-10pm daily) is located at Bei Suzhou Lu 276 (tel. 021/6325-2070), at the intersection of Sichuan Bei Lu, in downtown Shanghai just north of Suzhou Creek; international parcels are sent from a desk in the same building, but that entrance is actually around the corner at Tiantong Lu 395. Other post offices where employees can speak some English are located at Shanghai Centre, Nanjing Xi Lu 1376, lower level (tel. 021/6279-8044), and at Huaihai Lu 1337.

International parcel and courier services in Shanghai include FedEx, Shilong Lu 411, no. 28 (tel. 021/5411-8333); DHL-Sinotrans, Jinian Lu 303 (tel. 021/6536-2900); and UPS, Lujiazui Dong Lu 166, China Insurance Building, 23rd floor (tel. 021/3896-5599). Pickup and delivery can usually be arranged by your hotel.

Measurements -- China uses the metric system.

Police -- Known as the PSB (Public Security Bureau, gong'an ju), the Shanghai police force has its headquarters at Fuzhou Lu 185 (tel. 021/6231-0110 or 021/6854-1199). Known as jingcha, the police are no more keen to get involved in your business than you are to contact them. Ideally, any interaction with them should be limited to visa extensions. These are handled at the Foreign Affairs Section at Minsheng Lu 1500 in Pudong (tel. 021/2895-1900, ext. 2; Metro: Shanghai Kejiguan/Science and Technology Museum, exit 3). The emergency telephone number for the police is tel. 110.

Smoking -- China has more smokers than any other nation, an estimated 350 million, accounting for one of every three cigarettes consumed worldwide. About 70% of the men smoke. Recent antismoking campaigns have led to laws banning smoking on all forms of public transport (including taxis) and in waiting rooms and terminals, a ban, which has, surprisingly, been largely observed (except on long-distance buses). Top hotels provide nonsmoking rooms and floors, and a few restaurants have begun to set aside nonsmoking tables and sections. Still, expect to encounter more smoking in public places in China than in most Western countries.

Taxes -- Most four- and five-star hotels levy a 10% to 15% tax on rooms (including a city tax), while a few restaurants and bars have taken to placing a similar service charge on bills. In the case of the latter, you can almost be assured that the service will not justify the charge. There is no sales tax. Airport departure taxes are now included in the price of your airline ticket.

Time -- Shanghai (and all of China) is on Beijing time, which is 8 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT + 8), 13 hours ahead of New York, 14 hours ahead of Chicago, and 16 hours ahead of Los Angeles. There's no daylight saving time, so subtract 1 hour in the summer. For the current time in Shanghai, dial tel. 117.

Tipping -- There is officially no tipping in China, but the reality is that it has become quite commonplace in Shanghai's hospitality industry, especially where bellhops (four- and five-star hotels), tour guides, and tour bus drivers are concerned. Though you may feel pressured to do so, only tip if you feel truly inclined to or for exceptional service. Restaurant waitstaff and taxi drivers usually do not expect tips, and will return any change due you.

Toilets -- For hygienic restrooms, rely on the big hotels, restaurants catering to foreigners, new malls, and fast-food outlets, in that order. There are, of course, hundreds of public restrooms in the streets, parks, cafes, department stores, and tourist sites of Shanghai, but most of these consist primarily of squat toilets (a trough in the ground), are not always clean, and do not provide tissues or soap as a rule. Some public restrooms charge a small fee (¥.50) and will give you a rough sheet of what passes for toilet paper. Look for WC or TOILET signs at intersections pointing the way to all public facilities.

Water -- Tap water throughout China is not safe for drinking (or for brushing teeth). Use only bottled water, widely available almost everywhere (supermarkets, convenience stores, neighborhood shops, vendors' stalls), and also provided in most hotel rooms.

Weather -- The China Daily newspaper, CCTV 9 (China Central Television's English-language channel), and some hotel bulletin boards furnish the next day's forecast. You can also dial Shanghai's weather number, tel. 121.

Tips for Families

If you have enough trouble getting your kids out of the house in the morning, dragging them thousands of miles away may seem like an insurmountable challenge, especially to a place as seemingly foreign as China. But the difficulties of family travel to China lie less in the "foreignness" of the environment than in the lack of services and entertainment geared towards children.

Hygiene, or rather the lack thereof, presents the other main challenge. Much of China is quite dirty, so young children who have the tendency of putting their hands in their mouths should be closely monitored, while older children should be reminded to wash their hands frequently and to follow the general health tips outlined in the "Health & Safety" section. Challenges notwithstanding, family travel to China can be immensely rewarding, and you shouldn't let the absence of children-friendly resources deter you from venturing here en masse.

The Chinese tend to dote on their children, and you may find your children given the same amount of attention, which usually takes the form of a lot of friendly touching, chatter, and photo sessions with the young ones.

Many hotels in Shanghai allow young children (usually under 12) to stay free with their parents, and some hotels provide babysitting service for a fee (though the caretakers are usually just culled from in-house staff).

Unlike most other cities in China, Shanghai has plenty of sights to dazzle and distract your children. For Western kids, there are many familiar fast-food and foreign-style eateries, several amusement and theme parks, a natural history museum, a children's palace, the zoo, indoor playgrounds and toy stores in shopping centers, and plenty of parks for rowing, kite-flying, and in-line skating. As a rule, there are special discounts for children at museums and attractions, though discounts are given based on height, not age.

Recommended family travel websites include Family Travel Forum (www.familytravelforum.com); Family Travel Network (www.familytravelnetwork.com); Traveling Internationally with Your Kids (www.travelwithyourkids.com); and Family Travel Files (www.thefamilytravelfiles.com).

Tips for Travelers with Disabilities

Most disabilities shouldn't stop anyone from traveling. There are more options and resources out there than ever before. China has more citizens with disabilities than any nation on Earth. Despite the fact that some efforts have been made to address their needs (spearheaded for several decades by the son of former Supreme Leader Deng Xiaoping, who is in a wheelchair as a result of persecution during the Cultural Revolution), Chinese with disabilities are still largely hidden from public view, while specialized facilities for them range from sporadic to nonexistent. The situation is fractionally better in Shanghai: Sections of some major sidewalks are now equipped with "raised dots" to assist the blind; modern buildings and some major tourist sites have elevators; and a handful of top hotels have wheelchair-accessible rooms, but the bottom line is that Shanghai is a city of long stairways (even at most subway stations) and crowded, crumbling sidewalks. Even so, most disabilities haven't stopped travelers from making their way through the Shanghai obstacle course and enjoying its many sights.

To minimize the difficulties of navigating a place like China, it's best that you travel with a specialist group (such tours to China are rare, but are slowly starting to catch on). One outlet offering such customized tours to China is Flying Wheels Travel (www.flyingwheelstravel.com), which organizes escorted private tours in minivans with lifts. Access-Able Travel Source (www.access-able.com) offers extensive access information and advice for traveling around the world with disabilities.

Tips for Women Travelers

Women travelers to China generally have no more difficult a time of it than their male counterparts. You should, however, be prepared for the inevitable questions, whenever casual communication has been established (and especially if you're traveling solo), of whether you are married and have children.

In general, there is very little discrimination against women travelers. If anything, women (who "hold up half the sky" as Mao Zedong proclaimed) are expected to pull their own weight. Don't expect any help in lugging that heavy bag up and down trains, or for doors to be opened for you.

In response to the greater numbers of women business travelers, several top hotels in Shanghai like the St. Regis have started to offer secure "women only" floors, complete with added perks like fine toiletries, women's magazines, and spa services.

Check out the award-winning website Journeywoman (www.journeywoman.com), a "real life" women's travel-information network where you can sign up for a free e-mail newsletter and get advice on everything from etiquette and dress to safety.

Getting Around

Given the size of Shanghai and the overcrowded condition of its public buses, taxis and the subway become indispensable for any sightseer. Fortunately, both are relatively inexpensive. Unfortunately, the number of vehicles on the street has multiplied at a much faster rate than roads are being built, so you are likely to be caught in a few traffic jams. Allow for extra time to get to your destination. An adventurous alternative is to travel as many Shanghai residents do: by bicycle.

By Subway

In the months leading up to the Shanghai Expo, the city's subway (ditie) system (www.shmetro.com), an inexpensive and fast way to cover longer distances, began a massive expansion. At press time, there are 12 lines in various stages of operation, with another 10 lines projected for completion by 2020. Despite the expanded number of lines, the original Metro Lines 1 and 2 are still quite overburdened, especially during morning and evening rush hours and on weekend afternoons. With the recent expansion of the subway system, stops and lines can also get a little confusing. A useful online interactive subway aid can be found at www.exploreshanghai.com/metro.

Operating from 5:30am to midnight daily, the subway currently has 12 lines, but for tourists, Lines 1, 2, 4, 7, 9, and 10 are the most useful. Metro Line 1, the red line, winds in a roughly north-south direction connecting the Shanghai Railway Station in the north, through the French Concession and on down Hengshan Lu to the Shanghai South Railway Station and points southwest. In the future, the northern terminus of Metro Line 1 will be Chongming Island. Metro Line 1 connects with Metro Line 2, the green line, at People's Square (Renmin Guangchang) near Nanjing Xi Lu. This is the busiest subway station in the city as Metro Line 8 also connects here. Metro Line 2 runs in an east-west direction from Hongqiao Railway Station and Hongqiao Airport in western Shanghai across downtown, under the Huangpu River, and through Pudong's most developed areas all the way to Pudong Airport.

Metro Line 3, actually more of an aboveground light rail, encircles the western outskirts of the city and also links Shanghai's main railway station with the South Station, though it is seldom useful for sightseeing except for its stop near Lu Xun Gongyuan (Hongkou Stadium Station) and Duolun Lu cultural street (Baoxin Lu Station) north of downtown. Metro Line 4, the purple line, forms a ring around the city and connects Pudong to the Shanghai Railway Station. Metro Lines 5 and 6 run in the far southwest reaches of the city and in the eastern part of Pudong respectively, and are not useful for most tourists. Metro Line 7 connects northwest Shanghai with the western French Concession before hitting the Expo stops and Longyang Station in Pudong. Metro Line 8 runs up Xizang Lu all the way from the main Expo stop in Pudong through downtown into Hongkou, while Metro Line 9 can take visitors all the way from Pudong out to Qibao and Sheshan in Songjiang District via stops in the southern part of the French Concession. Metro Line 10 provides a convenient connection between Hongqiao Railway Station and Hongqiao Airport in the west and the heart of the French Concession before heading northeast to Hongkou. Metro Line 11 serves the northwestern suburbs of Shanghai. At press time, the post-Expo plans for Metro Line 13, which operates only inside the Expo Park, had not been verified. See the map on the inside back cover for all stops. Note: There are plans to rename some of these subway lines, though hopefully not during the life of this edition.

Navigating the subway is relatively easy. Subway platform signs in Chinese and English indicate the station name and the name of the next station in each direction, and maps of the complete Metro system are posted in each station and inside the subway cars as well. English announcements of upcoming stops are made on trains. Fares range from ¥3 for the first few stops to ¥10 for the most distant ones. Tickets can be purchased from the ticket vending machines (in both English and Chinese). Note: Hang onto your electronic ticket, which you have to insert into the exit barrier when you leave.

If you are going to be riding the subway a fair amount, consider purchasing a rechargeable Shanghai Public Transportation Card (Jiaotong Ka), which costs ¥20, onto which you can add more money, and which can be refunded (but only at certain stations like Jiangsu Lu). Instead of inserting your ticket into the slot, simply hold your card over the sensor on the barriers. The card, which can be purchased at Metro stations and convenience stores throughout the city, can also be used to pay for bus, ferry, and taxi rides, with your fare being automatically deducted from the amount remaining on the card.

By Taxi

With more than 45,000 taxis in the streets, this is the most common means for visitors to get around Shanghai, though as in any urban metropolis, available taxis can be almost impossible to find during rush hour or when it rains. Taxis congregate at leading hotels, but can just as easily -- and indeed, should preferably be -- hailed from street corners. The large majority of vehicles are fairly clean, air-conditioned, and reasonably comfortable Passat or Santana sedans (both built in the local Shanghai factory by Volkswagen). In recent years, overall service has improved noticeably (at least at the top companies), and some cars have recorded messages in English greeting you and reminding you to take all items when you leave.

By and large, most Shanghai taxi drivers are honest. If there's a commonly heard complaint, it's less about the dishonesty of taxi drivers than about their inexperience (some drivers may have arrived in town around the same time as you), and their lack of familiarity with local streets. I've sometimes had drivers ask me how to get to my destination, though that is unlikely to happen to you. Instead, you'll just be driven around in circles, the driver unwilling to admit to a foreigner that he or she doesn't know the way. To minimize the chances of this happening to you, stick with the top taxi companies, though it must be said that even then, such an experience may sometimes be simply unavoidable. 

Your best bets for service and comfort are the turquoise blue taxis of Da Zhong Taxi (tel. 800/6200-1688 or 021/6258-1688), the yellow taxis of Qiang Sheng Taxi (tel. 021/6258-0000), and the blue taxis of Jin Jiang Taxi (tel. 021/6275-8800). The fare is ¥12 for the first 3km (2 miles) and ¥2.40 for each additional kilometer. After 11pm, flag-fall rises to ¥15 for the first 3km (2 miles). Expect to pay about ¥15 to ¥25 for most excursions in the city and up to ¥60 for longer cross-town jaunts. Carry smaller bills (no larger than ¥50) to pay the fare. If you anticipate a fair amount of taxi travel and don't want to be burdened with cash, you can purchase a taxi/subway card (Jiaotong Ka) at ticket counters in subway stations. Cards come in denominations of ¥50 or ¥100, and are easily rechargeable. The fare is automatically deducted from the balance on your card. You can also use this card on the subway. Finally, for taxi service complaints, call tel. 021/6323-2150; you may not get your money back, but you might be helping future riders.

• Never go with taxi touts or individual drivers who approach you at airports, railway stations, tourist sights, or even outside your hotel. The general rule is never go with a driver who asks you your destination before you even get into the cab.

• In general, always hail a passing cab if possible, as opposed to waiting for taxis that have been waiting for you. Opinions differ on the following point, but if you're staying at an upmarket hotel in Shanghai, it is generally safe to go with the taxis called by the doormen, usually from a line of waiting cabs. It sometimes occurs that drivers give kickbacks to the doormen for being allowed to the head of the queue, but in my experience, I have not had, nor have I heard of, problems with hotel-hailed taxis. Some top hotels will give you a piece of paper with the taxi's registration number on it in case of complaints, though there's no guarantee of redress, of course. Some hotels restrict their waiting taxis to those from the Da Zhong Taxi Company, which has the best reputation in Shanghai for honest and efficient service.

• Always have your destination marked on a map or written down in Chinese, as well as a business card from your hotel with the address in Chinese so you can show it to the taxi driver when you want to get back.

• Check to see that the supervision card, which includes the driver's photo and identification number, is prominently displayed, as required by law. If not, find another cab.

• If the driver's identification number is over 200,000, there's a good chance that the driver is newly arrived in town and may not be familiar with the streets, which is reason enough to find yourself another cab. Caveat emptor: This is not a foolproof way of weeding out inexperienced drivers since a number of new arrivals actually "share" the taxis of more experienced drivers, even if this is against the law.

• Make sure the meter is visible, and that you see the driver reset it by pushing down the flag, which should happen after the taxi has moved off. You should also hear at that time a voice recording in Chinese and English welcoming you to take the taxi. If the driver fails to reset the meter, say, "Qing dabiao," and if that fails, find yourself another cab.

• If traveling by yourself, sit up front and take out your map so you can follow (or at least pretend to follow) the taxi's route.

• On the rare occasion that the taxi driver refuses to honor your request after you're en route, make a big show of taking down the driver's identification number and suggesting, by any means available, that you intend to file a complaint. This can sometimes scare the otherwise recalcitrant driver into complying.

• If you're unwittingly riding with a driver who doesn't know the way (and you only realize this after you've been driving in circles or if the driver has had to stop to ask directions), it's best to find yourself another cab. Unfortunately, even if you have every "right" to not pay the fare, this can sometimes lead to more inconvenience than it's worth (the driver will likely complain loudly or create a scene). At such times, it may be more practical to pay the fare or a portion of it, but, as in the previous example, make a show of taking down the driver's identification number and notifying him/her of your decision to lodge a complaint.

• At the end of the trip, pay the indicated meter fare and no more. Tips are not expected. It's a good idea to carry smaller bills (¥100 notes can sometimes be changed, but don't count on it) to pay your fare.

• Be sure to get a receipt (fa piao) with the phone number of the taxi company and the taxi driver's numerical identification, should you need to file a complaint or retrieve lost items. All the legitimate taxis are now equipped with meters that can print receipts.

By Car

Tourists are forbidden to rent self-drive cars (or motorcycles or scooters) in China because a Chinese driver's license is required (available only to foreigners with an official residency permit). Of course, major hotels are only too happy to rent chauffeured sedans to their foreign guests by the hour, day, or week, at rates that will make you never complain about car rental prices back home again. With a multitude of other transportation options available to tour the city, we do not recommend this method unless time is an issue and cost is not.

By Bus

Public buses (gong gong qi che) charge ¥2, but they are considerably more difficult to use, less comfortable than taxis or the Metro, and for the truly intrepid only. Some buses have conductors, but others only have money slots in the front of the bus with no change given. To figure out which bus number will get you to your destination, ask for help in your hotel. Bus nos. 20 and 37, for example, run between People's Square and the Bund; bus no. 16 connects the Jade Buddha Temple to Old Town; bus no. 65 travels from the Bund to the Shanghai Railway Station. Be prepared to stand and be cramped during your expedition, and take care with backpacks and purses, as these are inviting targets for thieves, who frequently seek out foreign visitors on public buses.

By Bicycle

If you've always dreamed of joining in the dance that is millions of Chinese riding their bicycles, Shanghai is not the ideal place to fulfill that dream. The huge economic wealth generated in the last decade has resulted, predictably, in an exponential increase in the number of cars on the road and the concomitant decline in popularity of the bicycle (since 1990, sales have dropped from one million to 500,000 bikes per year). Wide avenues and small streets these days are much more likely to be taken up by honking vehicles spewing exhaust, making bicycle-riding appear even more hazardous and intimidating. That said, the bicycle is still the main form of transportation for millions of Shanghai's residents. Unfortunately for the visitor, most hotels don't rent bikes (you may get some daft looks if you inquire), and even the Captain Hostel, which used to rent bikes, has since stopped. Those with their hearts set on seeing Shanghai on two wheels can rent a basic city bike starting at ¥80 for a day at China Cycle Tours (Huaihai Zhong Lu 358, no. 52; tel. 0/1376-111-5050; www.chinacycletours.com; daily 9am-6pm) near the Huangpi Road (S) Metro station in the French Concession. Another option is Bodhi Bikes (Zhongshan Bei Lu 2918, Building 2, third floor, Ste. 2308; tel. 021/5266-9013; daily 8:30am-5:30pm), near the Caoyang Lu Metro station in the northwest part of town. The shop rents bikes at ¥150 a day with a deposit of your passport or ¥2,000. Alternatively, if you plan on doing a significant amount of cycling, consider buying a bicycle (average cost is around ¥400) for a very basic bike without flashy accessories. One of the better places to purchase bicycles is a supermall like Carrefour.

Whether you rent or buy, be sure the brakes and tires are in good working order. You'll also need a bicycle lock. Helmets are not required in Shanghai -- few use them -- but they are advised for the neophyte China bike rider. In general, stick to a few general principles, namely: Ride at a leisurely pace, stay with the flow, and use the designated bike lanes on the big streets. Should you have a flat or need a repair, there are sidewalk bicycle mechanics every few blocks, and they charge low rates. Always park your bike in marked lots (identifiable by the forest of bikes outside a park, attraction, or major store) watched over by an attendant, and lock your bike or it will be gone by the time you get back. Parking usually costs around ¥.50.

By Bridge, Boat & Tunnel

To shift the thousands of daily visitors between east and west Shanghai across the Huangpu River, there is now a multitude of routes. Three are by bridge, each handling around 45,000 vehicles a day: the 3.7km-long (2 1/3-mile), harp-string-shaped Nanpu Daqiao (built in 1991), and the Lupu Daqiao, both in the southern part of town; and the 7.7km-long (4 3/4-mile) Yangpu Daqiao (built in 1993) northeast of the Bund. A fourth route (and the cheapest) is by water, via the passenger ferry (lundu) that ordinary workers favor. The ferry terminal is at the southern end of the Bund around Jinling Lu on the west shore (ticket price: ¥2), and at the southern end of Riverside Avenue at Dongchang Lu on the east shore. Other routes across the river make use of tunnels, with motor vehicles using the Yan'an Dong Lu Tunnel, the Fuxing Lu Tunnel, the Renmin Lu tunnel, the Dalian Lu tunnel, the Xinjian Lu tunnel, and the Dapu Lu Tunnel, with at least two additional tunnels under construction; Metro Line 2 is filled with German-made subway cars, while Metro Line 4 and Metro Line 8 also make the crossing; and there is also the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel (Waitan Guanguang Suidao) equipped with glassy tram cars that glide through a subterranean 3-minute light show with music and narrative (daily 8am-10:30pm [11pm Fri-Sun, 10:30pm May-Oct]; ¥55 round-trip; ¥45 one-way).

By Foot

The best way to see Shanghai's sights and experience life at street-level is on foot. Much like downtown New York or Tokyo, Shanghai's streets can be almost impossibly crowded at times, but they are always fascinating to stroll. Doing so requires a bit of vigilance, of course, as Shanghai pedestrians are distinctly second-class citizens to the motorists who rule the road. Shanghai drivers, who drive on the right side of the road, have never been known to give pedestrians the right-of-way; at red lights, vehicles seldom stop when making a right turn, whether pedestrians are in the crosswalk or not. Drivers don't pay much attention to lane markings and will always rush to fill an empty space wherever they can find one, even if it's where you happen to be walking. Besides a sea of humanity, Shanghai pedestrians also have to contend with bicycles, scooters, and motorcycles on sidewalks. Happily, there are now surly brown-clad, whistle-blowing traffic assistants at the major roads and intersections to make sure both pedestrians and motorists obey the traffic lights. Jaywalkers who are caught may be fined up to ¥50. In general, whether crossing large avenues or small lanes, look every which way before you cross, take your cues from locals, and you should be just fine.

Parking

Shanghai, with one of the largest urban populations on Earth (more than 19 million permanent residents), is divided by the Huangpu River into Pudong (east of the river) and Puxi (west of the river). For the traveler, the majority of Shanghai's sights are still concentrated downtown in Puxi, whose layout bears a distinct Western imprint. After the First Opium War in 1842 opened Shanghai to foreign powers, the British, French, Germans, Americans, and others moved in, carving for themselves their own "concessions" where they were subject not to the laws of the Chinese government but to those established by their own governing councils.

Today, the city is divided into districts (qu), according to which listings in this guide are organized. Today's districts hew fairly close to, but do not follow exactly, the original concession borders. For the traveler, the two most important geographical markers are the Bund (Waitan) and People's Square (Renmin Guangchang) about a mile to the west. Since the days of the International Settlement, established in 1863 with the melding of the British Concession and the American Concession, the Bund, with its signature colonial-era banks and trading houses, has been and still is the symbolic center of the city; from here, downtown Shanghai opens to the west like a fan. Today's practical and logistical center, however, is People's Square (Renmin Guangchang), about a mile to the west of the Bund. This is the meeting point of three important subway lines (1, 2, and 8), as well as the location of some major attractions, including the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai Art Museum, and Shanghai Grand Theatre. The Bund and People's Square are linked by several streets, none more famous than Nanjing Lu, historically China's number-one shopping street.

Southwest of the Bund is historic Nanshi, Shanghai's old Chinese city, which was the first part of Shanghai to be settled (and one of the last to be developed, though building is certainly proceeding apace these days). Nanshi used to have a city wall, which followed today's Renmin Lu and Zhonghua Lu circle. As its name suggests, the old Chinese city has retained the greatest number of typically Chinese sights, such as the quintessential Southern-Chinese Garden, Yu Yuan, the famous Huxinting Teahouse, several temples, and even part of the old city wall.

A mile or so west of the Bund and the old Chinese city, Shanghai's former French Concession, established in 1849 and straddling both today's Luwan and northern Xuhui districts, is still one of Shanghai's trendiest neighborhoods. Chock-full of colonial architecture and attractions, it is home to some of the city's priciest real estate and to its most glamorous shops and restaurants, as seen in the megadevelopment Xintiandi.

Farther west still, beyond the Inner Ring Road that wraps around downtown Shanghai and the French Concession, is the Hongqiao Development Zone, where modern commercial and industrial development was concentrated beginning in the 1980s.

While sightseeing is concentrated in downtown Shanghai and the French Concession, north Shanghai has a scattering of interesting sights, including the Jade Buddha Temple, the Lu Xun Museum, and the Ohel Moshe Synagogue; and south Shanghai has the Longhua Pagoda, Xujiahui Cathedral, and the Shanghai Botanical Garden.

In contrast to the colonial and historical sights of Puxi, the district of Pudong, lying east of the Huangpu River, is all about Shanghai's future. Mere farmland before 1990 when then-President Deng Xiaoping designated it as the engine of China's new economic growth, Pudong has sprouted in just a decade to become the city's financial center, and a high-tech and free-trade zone, home to Asia's largest shopping centers, longest bridges, tallest buildings, and the 2010 World Expo site. Modern skyscrapers like the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, the Jin Mao Building, and the Shanghai World Financial Center, which houses the world's highest hotel, the Park Hyatt, and a new slew of swanky international hotels, restaurants, and shopping malls, are attempts to attract the visitor over to the eastern shore of the Huangpu. With considerably less choice in the matter, many Shanghai residents were also displaced here in the last decade by the destruction of old neighborhoods in Puxi. 

Main Streets -- In downtown Shanghai, the general rule is that east-west streets are named for Chinese cities, while north-south streets are named for provinces and regions. The main east-west street through downtown Shanghai is Nanjing Lu, historically China's top shopping street. The portion running west from the Bund, through the pedestrian mall, to People's Park (Renmin Gongyuan), is known officially as Nanjing Dong Lu; it continues west as Nanjing Xi Lu. Parallel to Nanjing Lu in the south is Yan'an Lu (originally a creek dividing the International Settlement from the French Concession to the south), which runs west through the downtown corridor all the way to the Hongqiao Airport (changing its name in the western segment to Hongqiao Lu). Running above Yan'an Lu is the elevated expressway Yan'an Gaojia, the quickest way to traverse downtown Shanghai; near the Bund, this leads to the underground tunnel Yan'an Dong Lu Suidao that resurfaces on the east side of the river in Pudong. It used to take an hour to drive from the Hongqiao District through downtown to Pudong, but the Yan'an Expressway has cut the travel time to 20 minutes without traffic. To the south, the Fuxing Lu Tunnel also runs from Puxi to the foot of the Nanpu Bridge in Pudong.

The major north-south thoroughfares include the Bund, on the west shore of the Huangpu River (the avenue along the Bund is known as Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu which becomes Zhongshan Nan Lu as it moves into the South Bund); and Xizang Lu, which divides Nanjing Lu into its east and west sectors, and Yan'an Lu and Huaihai Lu into their east and middle (zhong) sectors. Xizang Lu also borders People's Square (Renmin Guangchang), the site of the Shanghai Museum, the Grand Theatre, and the central subway station for both Metro lines.

In the French Concession, the two big avenues are Huaihai Zhong Lu (Shanghai's second-most-famous shopping street) and Fuxing Zhong Lu, both extensions of the east-west streets that begin downtown at the southern Bund (Zhongshan Dong Er Lu). Crossing them are a number of smaller scenic streets, the liveliest of which are Ruijin Lu and Maoming Lu near the historic Jin Jiang Hotel. At the western end of the French Concession, the graceful and trendy avenue of Hengshan Lu runs south toward the Xujiahui shopping area.

Downtown Shanghai, the French Concession, large portions of north and south Shanghai, as well as the Pudong New Area, are surrounded by the Inner Ring Road (Neihuan Gaojia), an elevated expressway that bears the road name Zhongshan along most of its route. This Inner Ring Road is bisected by the North-South Elevated Road (Nanbei Gaojia), which runs above Chengdu Bei Lu, the first major street west of People's Square, a rough dividing line between downtown Shanghai and the French Concession. A second, even larger ring road is under construction; it will join the airports of east and west Shanghai.

Making Sense of Shanghai Street Names

Shanghai's main streets, as well as some smaller streets that intersect them, are often mouthfuls to pronounce and difficult to remember at first, but after a few trips through the city, they begin to sort themselves out. One reason that the street names in pinyin seem so long is that they incorporate the characters for north or south, street or avenue, all running together in the street name. Zhongshan East First Road is written in pinyin as Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu. Common items in street names and their English translations are as follows:

Bei = North

Jie = Street

Yi = First

Nan = South

Da Dao = Avenue

Er = Second

Dong = East

Lu = Road

San = Third

Xi = West

Nong = Lane

Zhong = Central

Finding an Address

Nearly all of Shanghai's big streets have signs on poles near intersections that give the names in Chinese characters and in pinyin, which is the alphabetical rendering of those characters. Though street numbers are given, few locals pay any attention to them, as navigation is usually by street name, landmarks, and nearby intersections. The only exception is in the case of Shanghai's many smaller lanes (longtang, long for short) branching off the main streets and the smaller intersecting streets. An address sometimes given as Hengshan Lu 9, no. 3, means it's House no. 3 (sanhao) situated in Lane no. 9 (jiu nong) off Hengshan Lu; Lane no. 9 could well be found between House no. 7 and Lane no. 11; taxi drivers and locals are quite familiar with this system should you need to locate such an address.

It's highly recommended that you buy a map or get one from your hotel concierge. Between the Chinese characters provided in this guide's map keys and a second (preferably trilingual) map with English, pinyin, and characters, you should have no problems comparing the characters with the road signs as you make your way. It's always helpful to have your hotel staff mark your hotel and destination on your map before you set off so that you can show it to taxi drivers or passersby should you get lost. There is, however, no question of truly getting lost even if you wander off the main paths indicated on the maps. Given Shanghai's Western influence, it's not difficult these days to find even a marginal English speaker to help you, even if it's just to locate an address on the map and point you in the right direction. Though their daily attitudes may not reflect it, Shanghai residents can be quite friendly and helpful to beleaguered foreigners.

The Streets of Old Shanghai

Up until the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, many of Shanghai's streets bore foreign names, bequeathed to the city by colonial overlords. Here's a partial list of old and new:

Current street name . . . once known as

Fuxing Zhong Lu . . . Route Lafayette

Henan Lu . . . Homan Road

Hengshan Lu . . . Avenue Petain

Huaihai Zhong Lu . . . Avenue Joffre

Maoming Bei Lu . . . Moulmien Road

Maoming Nan Lu . . . Route Cardinal Mercier

Nanjing Xi Lu . . . Bubbling Well Road

Nanjing Dong Lu . . . Nanking Road

Renmin Lu . . . Boulevard des Deux Republiques

Ruijin Er Lu . . . Route Pere Robert

Ruijin Yi Lu . . . Route des Soeurs

Sinan Lu . . . Rue Masenet

Tianshan Lu . . . Lincoln Avenue

Xizang Nan Lu . . . Boulevard de Montiguy

Yan'an Dong Lu . . . Avenue Edward VII

Yan'an Xi Lu . . . Great Western Road

Yan'an Zhong Lu . . . Avenue Foch West

Zhongshan Dong Yi Lu . . . The Bund

Tips for Single Travelers

Single travelers on a group tour to China are often hit with a "single supplement" to the base price. Unfortunately, there is no real way to avoid it unless you agree to room with other single travelers on the trip. If you are traveling by yourself in China, however, you may find that you can sometimes get a smaller "single" room (with one twin or double bed, often called a danren jian) for considerably less than the standard double (biaozhun jian).

Health & Safety

Before You Go

No vaccinations are required for entry to China and Shanghai, but be sure your inoculations are up-to-date. The standard inoculations are for polio, diphtheria, and tetanus, while additional inoculations may be against meningococcal meningitis, cholera, typhoid fever, hepatitis A and B, and Japanese B encephalitis. Some of these vaccinations, such as the one for hepatitis B, may require several shots over a span of several months, so allow enough time before your trip. Mosquito-borne malaria, while a cause for concern in more rural parts of China, is not a factor in Shanghai. Consult your doctor or a specialist travel clinic about your individual needs.

For the latest information on infectious diseases and health-related travel risks (including the latest update on the ever-changing situation with malaria), contact the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travelers (IAMAT) (tel. 716/754-4883 or, in Canada, 416/652-0137; www.iamat.org) for tips on travel and health concerns in China, and for lists of local, English-speaking doctors. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (tel. 800/311-3435; www.cdc.gov) provides up-to-date information on health hazards by region or country and offers tips on food safety. The website www.tripprep.com, sponsored by a consortium of travel medicine practitioners, may also offer helpful advice on traveling abroad. You can find listings of reliable overseas clinics at the International Society of Travel Medicine (www.istm.org).

Standard over-the-counter remedies are easily available at drugstores and supermarkets, though you may want to bring your own if you use any regular medications. It's best to stock up on all your prescriptions before you leave, but prescriptions can also usually be filled (at least with a generic equivalent, if not the actual drug) at select Shanghai pharmacies if you're in a pinch. Carry the generic name of prescription medicines, in case a local pharmacist is unfamiliar with the brand name. Don't forget an extra pair of contact lenses or prescription glasses, though there are plenty of optometrists in Shanghai who can replace your glasses or lenses. Feminine hygiene products such as sanitary napkins are widely available, but tampons are usually sold only in international supermarkets and pharmacies like Watson's.

Regional Health Concerns

Hygiene standards in Shanghai are some of the highest in China, but despite this, the standards of many places are still not up to those in developed nations. Do take precautions here that you may otherwise overlook at home, more so if you plan to travel outside of China's big cities. Still, travelers shouldn't be unduly worried.

Dietary Red Flags -- The greatest risk to your enjoyment of traveling in China is probably that of stomach upsets caused by low hygienic standards. To minimize this risk, wash your hands frequently, and keep them away from your mouth and eyes; eat freshly cooked hot food, especially if away from the top international hotels; eat only fruit that you peel yourself; and only drink boiled or bottled water bought in supermarkets, larger shops, and convenience stores. Never drink tap water. Use bottled water to brush your teeth.

Respiratory Illnesses -- Another common ailment is respiratory illnesses of various kinds, from the common cold (which can be picked up during the long flight over, the overcrowded subways, or the change in temperature and humidity) to upper-respiratory tract infection, often mistaken for a cold, all of which are exacerbated by Shanghai's heavy pollution. Standard over-the-counter cold remedies are easily available at drugstores and supermarkets, though you may want to bring your own if you use any regular medications. More serious infections can be treated at any of the clinics that cater to foreigners.

Influenza -- The SARS crisis hit China in 2003, avian influenza (or "bird flu") struck a chicken farm on the outskirts of Shanghai in 2004, and the H1N1 Flu also hit Shanghai in 2009, but all three have been brought under control and you should have little to be concerned about. At press time, none of the above was a major concern in Shanghai, but check the latest news before you leave.

Sun Exposure -- Other ailments to guard against, especially in the summer months, include excessive sun exposure, heatstroke, and dehydration. Shanghai's pollution makes most days appear overcast, but the sun still has the power to burn. Shanghai's high humidity during the summer can also cause those just coming from drier climes to fatigue quickly. Drink plenty of bottled water.

Sexually Transmitted Diseases -- Led by AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases are also on the rise in China. The government denied the existence of AIDS for as long as it could, and while there are now a few public campaigns addressing the issue, there is still a lot of ignorance and silence surrounding AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Condoms, including Western brands, are widely available in Shanghai.

If You Get Sick

If you begin to feel unwell, contact your hotel reception first. The top hotels have in-house doctors or doctors on call who may be able to treat minor ailments and direct you to the best places should further treatment be required.

Shanghai has several clinics with the latest equipment and English-speaking, foreign-trained doctors who deliver international-caliber health care. Expect to pay rates comparable to those in the West. In general, avoid Chinese hospitals.

Foreign consulates can provide a list of area doctors who speak English. In many cases, you'll be expected to pay the full medical costs upfront. Keep all proof of payment so you can submit your health insurance claim when you return home.

Crime & Safety

China is one of Asia's safest destinations, and Shanghai is one of the safest cities in the world for foreign travelers. Most likely the biggest potential threat you'll encounter will be the pickpockets who tend to congregate in crowded places like railway, bus, and subway stations; airports; popular tourist sights; and crowded markets. As always, the standard precautions apply: Leave as many of your valuables as you can in hotel safes; any other valuables should be distributed around your person, and not kept inside your purse or backpack, which can be easily picked. Wear a money belt inside your clothes. Always leave one photocopy of your passport and traveler's check receipts at your hotel. Violent crimes and cases of sexual harassment against foreign visitors are quite rare but do occur, so use common sense. Travel with others when possible, rebuff strangers in the streets, and avoid unlighted streets after dark. Beggars can sometimes be seen on Shanghai streets.

Visitors should also beware of scam artists who will use the pretext of practicing their English to try and befriend you, with the goal of separating you from your money. As far as many Chinese are concerned, there's no such thing as a poor foreigner. These scams can range from "art students" taking you to special shops and pressuring you to buy paintings that are neither authentic, unique, nor worth what's claimed, to the friendly face who'll offer to buy you a meal or a drink at a local haunt, where you'll find yourself with 12 opened bottles of warm beer you didn't order and, if you refuse to pay, several thuggish bouncers standing between you and the door.

Solicitations are also commonplace, whether in a bar, karaoke joint, or even your hotel room, where many a China visitor has been telephoned in the wee hours, with a voice on the other end inquiring "Massagee?" (The caller always hangs up when a woman answers.) Not only is there a higher-than-expected incidence of sexually transmitted diseases in China, but there have been reports of men, foolish enough in the first place to accept such invitations, being forced to pay huge sums for services not actually rendered.

If you find yourself a victim of theft, file a police report at the local PSB (Public Security Bureau) known as gong an ju. Don't expect any redress, necessarily, but at least you'll have the report for insurance claims back home.

In general, there's very little harassment of solo female travelers, in and of itself a rare sight among Chinese.

For all travelers, however, if you are planning a night of bar- or club-hopping, do travel in groups and watch your drinks, as stories have surfaced around press time of the appearance of drugs, particular those with sedative properties like Rohypnol (officially known as Flunitrazepam), being slipped into drinks.

Another major hazard that tourists will have to contend with is traffic. Even if foreign visitors were allowed to drive (which you are not without a Chinese driver's license), you stand little chance against Chinese motorists who treat lane markings and traffic lights like so much fluffy roadside decoration. Seat-belt rules and speed limits are consistently ignored. There really is only one rule on Chinese roads: Might is right, which kicks pedestrians down to the bottom of the traffic food chain. Still, if you look every which way before you cross, generally go with the flow, and take your cue from locals, there's little cause for concern. Paying greater attention in the streets will also prevent you from falling down open manholes or being hit by debris from Shanghai's many construction projects.

Dealing with Discrimination

In general, there is little overt discrimination in China against non-Chinese, except perhaps for persistent overcharging. But then again, many Chinese have the attitude that all foreigners (including ethnic Chinese from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia) are moneybags, and will simply overcharge anyone and everyone they can. Ethnic Chinese, on the other hand, can use the "We're all Chinese after all" appeal for better prices, which the laowai (the somewhat condescending "old foreigner" term applied to non-Chinese) cannot do. Dark-skinned visitors may also have a slightly more difficult time of it than whites, especially outside of the big cities, but beyond the expected gawking and overcharging, those who don't speak Mandarin probably will not notice any difference.

On the other hand, once some sort of communication has been established, non-Chinese tend to receive better treatment from locals than the Chinese dole out to each other. Unfortunately, this situation sometimes even extends to Shanghai's top hotels.

Getting There

By Car

Since foreign visitors are not allowed to drive their own vehicles into or within China unless prearranged with a state-recognized travel agency on a specific itinerary (and accompanied by guide and driver), few visitors generally arrive this way.

By Train

From Hung Hom Station in Kowloon (Hong Kong), train T100 arrives at the Shanghai Railway Station (Shanghai Huoche Zhan) (tel. 021/6354-3193 or 021/6317-9090) on alternate days at 10am (departing from Hong Kong the day before at 3pm; see www.it3.mtr.com.hk for schedules and fares). Many trains from China's major cities especially to the north and west also arrive here. You must produce your train ticket to attendants at the station exits in order to leave the terminal. The station is located in the northern part of town in Zhabei District. You can take the subway (lines 1, 3, 4) into town, or hail a taxi on the lower level of the terminal. There are no currency exchange facilities or ATMs here. Scheduled to open in 2011 is the Hongqiao Railway Station (Hongqiao Huoche Zhan) west of Hongqiao Airport, which will service nearby cities in Jiangsu Province like Suzhou, Wuxi, and Nanjing. If you arrive here, you can take a taxi or Metro Lines 2 or 7 into town. Many trains from Hangzhou and some cities in southern China like Xiamen and Kunming arrive at the Shanghai South Railway Station (Shanghai Nan Zhan) (tel. 021/6317-9090) in the southern part of town. The station is accessible via Metro Lines 1 and 3.

By Boat

International arrivals from Kobe and Osaka in Japan are at the Shanghai Port International Cruise Terminal (Guoji Keyun Zhongxin) at Dongdaming Lu 500 (tel. 021/6181-8000), not far north of the Bund. Domestic ships arriving from Dalian, the Yangzi River, and Putuo Shan now arrive at the Wusong Passenger Terminal (Shanghai Gang Wusong Keyun Zhongxin) (Songbao Lu 251; tel. 021/5657-5500), at the intersection of the Huangpu and Yangzi rivers. If you arrive here as an independent traveler, you will have to hail a taxi at the passenger terminal to reach your hotel, which is likely another 30 to 45 minutes away.

Escorted & Package Tours

The single biggest decision first-time visitors to China often have to make is whether to travel independently, booking all accommodations and onward transportation on your own as you go; travel on a structured escorted group tour with a group leader, where everything from airfare to hotels, meals, tours, admission costs, and local transportation are included; or travel on an unescorted package tour, which straddles the two by having the basic elements such as airfare, accommodations, and transfers taken care of, but leaving you the freedom to visit sights, shops, and restaurants at your will. Your decision will, of course, depend on your experience and goals. Shanghai itself can be comfortably explored on your own (especially armed with this guide!); any package tour, escorted or otherwise, is really just a waste of money, unless you are seeking a special theme or expert-guided tour. The rest of China is possible to see on your own, even if you don't speak the language, but it will require a lot of patience, energy, resourcefulness, time, goodwill, and not a little luck.

If convenience is paramount and money no object (as you may be able to do a trip more cheaply on your own, particularly if you're willing to stay in hostels or very inexpensive hotels), consider booking with one of the agencies listed in the next section, which can also book unescorted tour packages. You can also check with the China National Tourism Administration for a list of registered Chinese agencies that can help. In each case, always comparison-shop, as package tours vary widely with regard to choice of airlines, hotels, and other hidden expenses; never go with the first company on the list. Do not under any circumstances book with private Chinese tour agencies or guides online, as many of them are not licensed.

As an alternative for those desiring a more personalized and customized experience, concierge service providers creating tailor-made itineraries and private guided tours -- a relatively new business in China travel -- have also started to appear on the scene. Run by two expatriates in Shanghai, Luxury Concierge China (Wulumuqi Bei Lu 457, Ste. 403; tel. 135/0166-2908; fax 021/6249-2316; www.luxuryconciergechina.com) can custom-design your trip in whole or in part from the minute you land in Shanghai. Services provided include itinerary planning, hotel booking, transportation, and private guided tours (art, architecture, culinary, fashion design, history, and shopping).

Escorted General Interest Tours

Escorted tours are structured group tours, with a group leader. The price usually includes everything from airfare to hotels, meals, tours, admission costs, and local transportation, but not usually domestic or international departures. Most require you to pay upfront. Many, but not all, escorted China tours include Shanghai (1-2 nights), but do not cover it in any kind of depth (as with any escorted tour, you'll get little opportunity for serendipitous interactions with locals and you'll likely miss out on some lesser-known gems).

As noted previously, it is possible to travel through China on your own even if you don't speak the language (even more so through an increasingly international city like Shanghai), but time, energy, and resourcefulness are required to arrange your own way. For those short on time and who want the security and ease that come from knowing all you have to do is show up, escorted tours have traditionally been and continue to be the preferred way to see China.

But there can be drawbacks to taking an escorted tour. So before you book, read the section below.

Evaluating Tours

In evaluating tour companies for China, besides the usual considerations of price, itinerary, schedule, size and demographics of the group, physical ability required, types of hotels you're likely to stay at, existence of single supplements if you're traveling alone, and payment and cancellation policies (especially as they pertain to health-related issues like SARS or H1N1), here are some other questions to ask your tour operator:

• Shopping Stops: This is how tour guides, drivers, tour operators, and all their kith and kin make money: by ferrying you to as many shopping outlets as possible in between the sights, and then collecting commissions on every item purchased. (Equal opportunity fleecers, they do this to all tourists, not just foreigners.) The better foreign tour operators try as much as possible to design their own itineraries, keeping shopping stops to a minimum, but it is difficult to avoid the stops entirely. Ask your tour operator how many of these stops are included, and if they don't know, find another company. This is as sure a sign as any that your company is not a China specialist and is only cobbling together a package without much concern for their clients. If you're stuck at one of these stops, sit them out if possible, as prices are astronomically marked up to begin with, so any discounts promised are no big deal.

• Additional Costs: You cannot be too clear on what exactly is included in the price of the tour. Watch out especially for additional tips that may be asked of you. For what it's worth, there is officially no tipping in China. Taxi drivers, your average restaurant waitstaff, and the staff at your typical Chinese hotel do not expect tips and will usually return any change. However, where escorted tours are concerned, there invariably ends up being some form of tipping of guides and drivers. In general, payment for the tour guides and drivers, including reasonable tips, should be included in the initial cost quoted by your tour operator; if your tour operator tells you that tips are not included, you will need to add the anticipated tips onto the initial cost quoted you. As a general rule, despite the nonstop pressure you'll get to tip and tip well, only tip for truly excellent or exceptional service, and then pull together a reasonable (by Chinese standards, not the West's) sum from the group. Some guides claim they would not be making a living wage were it not for tips and shopping commissions, but it's also true that many tour guides make many times more than what an ordinary factory worker makes. Any excessive or misguided tipping merely makes it more difficult on the travelers that follow you.

• Guides: The quality of guides in China varies widely, from genuinely knowledgeable and critically thinking guides to those who merely repeat verbatim every bit of propaganda they've had to study to become licensed, to those whose grasp of the English language makes it all sound like Chinese to you. Your chances of encountering the first are considerably greater, though hardly assured, in the big cities where competition has forced the better guides to a level of proficiency and accountability not demanded of guides in smaller towns and areas. Many guides, though, still tend to err on the side of telling foreigners what they want to hear; others don't have much experience beyond their limited purview. Ask your tour company if they will be sending an accompanying guide or tour manager from home to oversee the trip and supplement the local guides. This person, who should be knowledgeable about not only Chinese history and culture, but also the workings of Chinese tourism, is worth paying more for as they can help ensure a smoother trip. Depending on your itinerary and tour operator, you may get a Chinese tour guide who will accompany you throughout China (called a quanpei) as well as local guides in the different cities, or simply local guides at every destination. As noted above, make sure all the guides and drivers' fees are included in the tour cost, or factor in the accurate number of guides along the way if you have to prepare for tips.

Tour Companies

The following is but a short list of companies offering packages to China that span different interests and budgets. While they are located in North America, the U.K., and Australia, they have representatives around the world, and it's usually possible to fly in on your own and join only the land portion of the tour.

• Abercrombie and Kent (U.S.): Classy top-of-the-line luxury-travel company that specializes in tailor-made private tours and escorted small group travel. tel. 800/323-7308,  www.abercrombiekent.com (U.S.); tel. 08450/700610, www.abercrombiekent.co.uk (U.K.); tel. 1300/851-800, www.abercrombiekent.com.au (Australia); tel. 0800/441-638 (New Zealand).

• Academic Travel Abroad (U.S.): Arranges all the tours for the Smithsonian (educational, cultural) and National Geographic Expeditions (adventure, natural history). tel. 877/EDU-TOUR (338-8687),  www.smithsonianjourneys.org; tel. 888/966-8687, fax 202/342-0317, www.nationalgeographic.org/ngexpeditions.

• Adventure Center (U.S.): Touts a plethora of China trips that offer a more adventurous twist on the standard itineraries; activities can include walking, cycling, and even staying at a Hangzhou farm. tel. 800/227-8747 (U.S.); 888/456-3522 (Canada); www.adventurecenter.com.

• China Focus (U.S.): Its large mainstream tours have received good reviews from travelers on Frommer's message boards; they have been described by an enthusiastic client as "champagne tours at beer prices." Watch out for additional costs to cover extras. tel. 800/868-8660 or 415/788-8660; www.chinafocustravel.com.

• Road Scholar (U.S.): Popular educational tours for those 55 and older, formerly known as Elderhostel. tel. 877/426-8056; www.roadscholar.org.

• Gecko's Adventures (Australia): Budget adventures aimed at 20- to 40-year-old travelers who normally journey independently. Uses local accommodations and transport, and has branches worldwide. tel. 03/9662-2700; www.geckosadventures.com.

• Helen Wong's Tours (Australia): Well-regarded, experienced group offering longer stays to savor the "local" experience. tel. 02/9267-7833; www.helenwongstours.com.

• Intrepid Travel (Australia): As its name suggests, adventurous trips with competent guides; good value for money. tel. 613/9478-2626, www.intrepidtravel.com (Australia); tel. 877/448-1616 (U.S.).

• Laurus Travel (Canada): A small China-only specialist that runs well-received small group tours. tel. 604/438-7718;www.laurustravel.com.

• Pacific Delight (U.S.): Popular outfit offering a wide range of mainstream tours, many economical. Also offers special tours for families with children. tel. 800/221-7179; www.pacificdelighttours.com.

• Peregrine Adventures (Australia): Upmarket counterpart to Gecko's Adventures; emphasizes soft adventure and new angles on standard experiences such as visiting an untouristed part of the Great Wall or checking out Shanghai's local food stalls. tel. 03/9663-8611, fax 03/9663-8618, www.peregrineadventures.com (Australia); tel. 800/227-8747 (U.S.).

• R. Crusoe & Son (U.S.): Classy outfit offering custom, private, or small tours that include extras such as viewing the terra-cotta warriors in Xi'an up close at eye level. tel. 888/585-8555; www.rcrusoe.com.

• Ritz Tours (U.S.): The largest China tour operator in the U.S.; offers different China packages with maximum group size at 32; varying ages, popular with families. tel. 800/900-2446; www.ritztours.com.

• SITA World Tours (U.S.): Experienced outfit offering different grades of tours to China. Also guarantees its advertised departures so there is no fear of a tour canceling. tel. 800/421-5643; www.sitatours.com.

Another option is to visit Shanghai on a themed escorted tour, such as one on Chinese cooking, shopping, architecture, tai chi, traditional medicine, art, or another topic. Such tours are usually one-time offerings, however, led by experts in the field, so finding them requires research and some luck. Search magazines, newspapers, and the Internet for groups that specialize in your interest.

Neighborhoods in Brief

The Shanghai municipality consists of 14 districts, four counties, and the Pudong New Area, and covers an area of 6,341 sq. km (2,448 sq. miles), with its urban area measuring 2,643 sq. km (1,020 sq. miles). The seven main urban districts, running from east to west, are identified here.

Pudong -- Located across the Huangpu River from the Bund, Pudong (literally "east of the Huangpu") was formerly backwater farmland before 1990 when it was targeted by then-Chinese President Deng Xiaoping to lead Shanghai and the rest of China into a new age of economic growth. Today, it is home to the Lujiazui Financial with its many modern economic monuments (Jin Mao Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center), the Shanghai stock exchange, Asia's second-largest department store, a riverside promenade, the Pudong International Airport, and the 2010 World Expo grounds.

Huangpu (Downtown Shanghai) -- The city center of old Shanghai lies in a compact sector west of the Huangpu River and south of Suzhou Creek. It extends west to Chengdu Bei Lu (the North-South Elevated Hwy.), and encompasses the Bund, People's Square (Renmin Guangchang), and the Shanghai Museum. The district now also stretches to the south to encompass Nanshi, the old Chinese city, with the Old Town Bazaar, Yu Yuan (Yu Garden), Shanghai's old city wall, and the Confucian Temple.

Hongkou (Northeast Shanghai) -- Immediately north of downtown Shanghai, across Suzhou Creek, this residential sector along the upper Huangpu River was originally the American Concession before it became part of the International Settlement in colonial days. Today, it's a developing neighborhood with a few sights: the Ohel Moshe Synagogue, the Lu Xun Museum, and the Duolun Lu Commercial Street.

Luwan (French Concession) -- Beginning at Xizang Lu at the eastern end of People's Square and continuing west to Shanxi Nan Lu, this historic district was the domain of the French colonial community up until 1949. The French left their mark on the residential architecture, which boasts such tourist sights as Fuxing Park, the historic Jin Jiang Hotel, the shops along Huaihai Zhong Lu, the Xintiandi development, and the former residences of Sun Yat-sen and Zhou Enlai.

Jing An (Northwest Shanghai) -- North of the French Concession and part of the former International Settlement, this district has its share of colonial architecture, as well as the modern Shanghai Centre. Two of the city's top Buddhist shrines, Jing An Si and Yufo Si (Jade Buddha Temple), are located here, as are a number of Shanghai's top hotels and restaurants.

Xuhui (Southwest Shanghai) -- West of the French Concession and south along Hengshan Lu, this area is one of Shanghai's top addresses for cafes, bars, and shops. Sights include the Xujiahui Cathedral, Longhua Pagoda, the Shanghai Botanical Garden, and the former residence of Soong Ching-ling.

Changning (Hongqiao Development Zone) -- Starting at Huaihai Xi Lu, directly west of the Xuhui and Jing An districts, this corridor of new international economic ventures extends far west of downtown, past Gubei New Town and the Shanghai Zoo, to the Hongqiao Airport.

Visitor Information

China's travel industry, though ostensibly controlled by a central authority, is generally quite mired in misinformation and obfuscation, so that it is often difficult for visitors to get truly reliable and accurate information either inside or outside the country. The all-controlling China National Tourism Administration has branches in foreign countries known as China National Tourist Offices (CNTO); their purpose is supposedly to provide tourist information and services. Traditionally, however, CNTO has usually funneled visitors to the agency handling all travel within China, China International Travel Service (CITS or guoji luxingshe). There are more tour operators inside China now, but don't expect the information CNTO provides to always be accurate or up-to-date. For a list of CNTO office addresses, see below.

Shanghai online: The best way to receive fairly up-to-date information on Shanghai before departure is to use the Internet, though it's best to surf a variety of websites so you can compare information. Treat with some skepticism "official sources" of information, including the official city website (www.shanghai.gov.cn), which is not always up-to-date either. Also beware of unofficial Chinese-run sites, especially those that also sell travel services -- they are a dime a dozen on the Web and there is no guarantee of reliability.

Shanghai's English-language newspaper, Shanghai Daily (www.shanghaidaily.com), offers both Shanghai and China news, albeit of the highly filtered and uncontroversial variety.

Of the online editions of the English-language magazines, the best of the lot are the long-running bi-weekly City Weekend (www.cityweekend.com.cn) which offers news and features, along with its restaurant, bar, and arts reviews and listings; the 2010-launched Time Out Shanghai (www.timeoutcn.com/tosh); and the monthly that's Shanghai (www.shanghai.urbananatomy.com), with longer feature articles and listings for just about everything the visitor or even expat can want to look up. "Smart Shanghai" (www.smartshanghai.com) is an urban webzine on local nightlife, dining, and culture, while "Shanghaiist" (www.shanghaiist.com) is one of the best blogs on the latest happenings in Shanghai. Other Shanghai blogs include www.sinosplice.com and www.wangjianshuo.com.

The Oriental-List offers an ad- and spam-free discussion of issues relating to travel in China, and is a good place to ask questions that may not be addressed in this guide. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: subscribe-oriental-list@list.datasinica.com.

In Shanghai: The best source of visitor information is the 24-hour Shanghai Call Center (tel. 021/962-288). Staffed by very helpful English- and Chinese-speaking university graduates, it's the first of its kind to offer such a service in the country, providing information on culture, entertainment, medical services, the economy, tourism, dining, transportation, entry-exit issues, and other related topics on Shanghai.

Otherwise, Shanghai has an official Tourism Hot Line (tel. 021/6439-8947 or 021/962020) with the occasional English speaker who can be helpful. You can also try the 24-hour Tourist Information Line maintained by Spring Travel Service (tel. 021/6252-0000). Hotel staff and concierges can be a font of information as well, though even the most friendly and knowledgeable guest-relations officers at the top hotels can sometimes still be in the dark about any options off the beaten path. Also, beware of those who would try to sell you expensive tours.

There are about a dozen Tourist Information Service Centers (Lu[gum]you Zixun Fuwu Zhongxin) around Shanghai. They appear to exist mainly to sell various city tours and to book hotels but, depending on who is sitting behind the desk, they may be able to offer some guidance. You can also pick up city maps, postcards, brochures, and information on local sights, shopping, and restaurants here. The main office is at Zhongshan Xi Lu 2525, Room 410, Changning District (tel. 021/6439-9806), with smaller branch offices at Nanjing Xi Lu 1699, Jing An District (tel. 021/6248-3259); Nanjing Dong Lu 561, Huangpu District (tel. 021/5353-1117); Chengdu Nan Lu 127, Luwan District (tel. 021/6372-8330); and Lujiazui Xi Lu 168, Zhengda Guangchang first floor, Pudong (tel. 021/6887-7888).

The best sources for current information about Shanghai events, shopping, restaurants, and nightlife are the free English-language newspapers and magazines distributed to hotels, shops, and cafes around town.

Contact these China National Tourist Offices (www.cnto.org):

• In the United States: 350 Fifth Ave., Ste. 6413, New York, NY 10118 (tel. 212/760-8218; fax 212/760-8809; ny@cnta.gov.cn); 600 W. Broadway, Ste. 320, Glendale, CA 91204 (tel. 818/545-7505; fax 818/545-7506; la@cnta.gov.cn).
• In the U.K.: 71 Warwick Rd., London SW5 9HB (tel. 020/7373-0888; fax 020/7370-9989; london@cnta.gov.cn).
• In Australia: 44 Market St., Level 19, Sydney NSW 2000 (tel. 02/9299-4057; fax 02/9290-1958; sydney@cnta.gov.cn).
• In Canada: 480 University Ave., Ste. 806, Toronto, ON M5G 1V2 (tel. 416/599-6636; fax 416/599-6382; www.tourismchina-ca.com).

Online Traveler's Toolbox

• ATM Locators: Visa ATM Locator (www.visa.com) provides locations of PLUS ATMs worldwide; MasterCard ATM Locator (www.mastercard.com), gives locations of Cirrus ATMs worldwide.

• China Digital Time (www.chinadigitaltimes.net) is a U.C. Berkeley-based website that delivers the best collection of China-related news stories from media sources around the world.

• C-trip (www.english.ctrip.com) is a Chinese consolidator hotel and airplane booking site that is very popular with many Chinese. English-speaking agents are available to help with bookings.

• eLong (www.elong.net) offers excellent prices on both domestic and international flights, which can be booked online or via telephone. Credit cards are accepted (with a 3%-5% surcharge), or pay in cash when the tickets are delivered. English-speaking agents can help with the booking process.

• Foreign Languages for Travelers (www.travlang.com) provides a lexicon, with pronunciation guide, of basic useful traveling terms in English, Chinese characters, and pinyin.

• Online Chinese Tools (www.mandarintools.com) has Chinese dictionaries for Mac and Windows users, and also provides conversions between the solar and lunar calendar.

• The Oriental-List is a spam- and ad-free moderated mailing list focusing only on travel in China, and is an excellent location to post questions not already covered in this guide. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to subscribe-oriental-list@datasinica.com.

• Travelchinaguide.com (www.travelchinaguide.com) is an online tour operator in China. While it offers both package and private tours, the information (especially on train travel and getting around locally) and community sections are the most helpful.

• Travel Advisories are available at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_1764.html, www.fco.gov.uk/travel, www.voyage.gc.ca, and www.dfat.gov.au.

• Universal Currency Converter (www.xe.net/currency) provides the latest exchange rates for any currency against the yuan.

• Weatherbase (www.weatherbase.com) provides month-by-month temperatures and rainfalls for individual cities in China.

• The Weather Channel (www.weather.com) provides current temperatures in Shanghai.

• World Health Organization (www.who.org) and the Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov) both provide information on health concerns that may affect travelers around the world, including in China.

Sustainable Travel & Ecotourism

Responsible tourism is conscientious travel. China doesn't have much by way of organized eco-tourism. Indeed the country as a whole is facing staggering environmental problems as a result of its economic growth, and one can argue that the domestic travel industry contributes to the problem.

For the visitor to Shanghai, the main environmental problem you'll likely encounter is pollution. As the standard of living rises for the average Shanghainese, the number of cars on Shanghai's streets go up, too.

The local (and central) government are acutely aware of the environmental challenges facing them, and one of the development goals for Shanghai is to become China's greenest city. To that end, the 2010 World Expo, which had as its theme "Better City, Better Life," helped focus a great deal of attention on sustainable urban development. In the years leading up to the Expo, the Shanghai government took several measures to walk the talk, including rehabilitating the Suzhou River, which had been seriously polluted by 80 years of industrial use; building environmentally friendly and energy-efficient World Expo pavilions; building China's largest waste-to-energy plant; banning the use of ultra-thin plastic bags while requiring shops to charge for thicker plastic carrier bags; and encouraged recycling by introducing separate trash bins for recyclables throughout the city. Shanghai also has its first carbon-neutral hotel, URBN Hotel, and its first carbon-neutral fitness gym, One Wellness, and some of the new hotels, such as the PuLi Hotel and Spa and the Peninsula, have taken it upon themselves to install energy-saving devices in their rooms.

While it remains to be seen how much of the talk coming out of the World Expo about sustainable living will translate into actual results in the future, visitors can certainly help lessen their environmental impact with basic measures such as recycling, not getting hotel linens washed daily, and walking instead of using motorized transport. Shopping at stores that employ local workers and sell locally produced goods also help to support local economies.

General Resources for Green Travel

The following websites provide valuable, wide-ranging information on sustainable travel.

• Responsible Travel (www.responsibletravel.com) is a great source of sustainable travel ideas; the site is run by a spokesperson for ethical tourism in the travel industry.
• Sustainable Travel International (www.sustainabletravelinternational.org) promotes ethical tourism practices, and manages an extensive directory of sustainable properties and tour operators around the world.
• Carbonfund (www.carbonfund.org), TerraPass (www.terrapass.org), and Cool Climate (http://coolclimate.berkeley.edu) provide info on "carbon offsetting," or offsetting the greenhouse gas emitted during flights.
• Greenhotels (www.greenhotels.com) recommends green-rated member hotels around the world that fulfill the company's stringent environmental requirements.
• Environmentally Friendly Hotels (www.environmentallyfriendlyhotels.com) offers more green accommodations ratings.
• Volunteer International (www.volunteerinternational.org) has a list of questions to help you determine the intentions and the nature of a volunteer program. For general info on volunteer travel, visit www.volunteerabroad.org and www.idealist.org.

Money

Frommer's lists exact prices in the local currency. However, rates fluctuate, so before departing, consult a currency exchange website such as www.oanda.com/convert/classic to check up-to-the-minute rates.

Currency

Though it's usually a good idea to change at least some money before you leave home, this scenario doesn't apply as readily to mainland China, as the Chinese renminbi (RMB) is not a commonly held currency. Where it's carried, it will most likely be exchanged at a highly unfavorable rate. This shouldn't present too much of a problem for most travelers arriving in Shanghai by plane, as airports all have money exchange facilities and ATMs. Those travelers arriving by train from Hong Kong would do well to change a small amount of money in Hong Kong where the RMB yuan (¥) is readily obtainable.

Currency exchange in China is legal only if conducted at hotels, banks, and stores, at the official rate set by the central government through the Bank of China. This rate is the same at all nationwide outlets, saving travelers the hassle and stress of having to find the best rate. Besides the airport, you can change money at hotel bank desks and at larger branches of the Bank of China. Hotel desks have the convenience of being open long hours 7 days a week, but their services are usually restricted to guests. You'll have to provide your passport for any kind of currency exchange.

Keep all receipts when you change money; you will need them should you wish to reconvert any excess RMB yuan (¥) into your home currency.

Reject any attempts by private individuals or shops to change money at rates different from the official rate: Not only is this illegal, you may well end up with fake bills. Avoid especially the black-market money-changers who congregate outside branches of the Bank of China that are popular with tourists, such as the one on the Bund.

Yuan Notes & Exchange Rates -- Chinese currency is known as renminbi (RMB, literally "the people's money") or the yuan (¥). However, you'll mostly hear money referred to as kuai qian, literally "pieces of money," or kuai for short. Bills come in denominations of ¥100, ¥50, ¥20, ¥10, ¥5, ¥2, and ¥1, which also appears as a coin. The next unit down is the jiao (¥.10), commonly referred to as mao. There are notes and coins for ¥.50, ¥.20, and ¥.10. Beyond that is the fen (¥.01), but you'll hardly ever see or have use for it. China being primarily still a cash society, keep a good stock of smaller bills, especially ¥10 notes, for street stalls, convenience stores, and taxis, all of whom will balk if you offer a ¥100 bill first thing in the morning.

After years of being pegged solely to the U.S. dollar, China allowed an appreciation of the yuan in 2005, ostensibly pegging it to a basket of currencies (known as a "crawling peg"). However, critics note that since then, the yuan has been appreciating steadily against the dollar without much reference to the other currencies (which were never specified), and since the financial crisis of 2008, has once again been all but frozen against the dollar. In mid-2010, the Chinese government again signaled that it would allow the yuan to be tracked to a trade-weighted "basket" of currencies, but since none of the details are made explicit, it is difficult to get a clear picture of what is actually happening with the valuation of the yuan. At press time, the U.S. dollar has been trading at ¥6.80, the pound sterling around ¥11, and the euro at ¥8.60.

ATMs

There are many ATMs in China, but only a handful that will accept your foreign-issued card. In Beijing and Shanghai, the situation is improving as more banks have ATMs that are able to accept foreign cards. Check the back of your ATM card to see which network your bank belongs to: Cirrus (www.mastercard.com), PLUS (www.visa.com), or AEON (www.americanexpress.com). Before you leave home, you can contact the proper institutions to locate ATMs currently available in Shanghai or ask your bank for a list of ATMs in China and Shanghai. Be sure you know your personal identification number (PIN) and daily withdrawal limit before you depart. In general, the ATMs at the major branches of the Bank of China, Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), and China Construction Bank will accept your card, as will a Citibank ATM at the Pudong International Airport (in the arrival hall right after immigration). The above-mentioned bank ATMs usually allow a maximum withdrawal of ¥2,500 per transaction, but it is possible to make another withdrawal the same day. Note: Remember that many banks impose a fee every time you use a card at another bank's ATM, and that fee can be higher for international transactions (up to $5 or more) than for domestic ones (where they're rarely more than $3). In addition, the bank from which you withdraw cash may charge its own fee. For international withdrawal fees, ask your bank.

Credit Cards

Credit cards are another safe way to carry money. They also provide a convenient record of all your expenses, and they generally offer relatively good exchange rates. In China, however, despite the plethora of Visa and MasterCard signs throughout, your international credit card (guoji xinyong ka) is usually accepted only at the top international hotels, and at restaurants and shops catering to foreigners. You can also obtain cash advances (in yuan) against your American Express, Visa, MasterCard, and Diners Club card at major branches of the Bank of China (bring your passport). This is an expensive way of getting cash, as there is a minimum withdrawal of ¥1,200 and you'll have to pay a 4% commission plus whatever your card issuer charges you, so use it only as a last resort.

In general, beware of hidden credit-card fees while traveling. Check with your credit or debit card issuer to see what fees, if any, will be charged for overseas transactions. Recent reform legislation in the U.S., for example, has curbed some exploitative lending practices. But many banks have responded by increasing fees in other areas, including fees for customers who use credit and debit cards while out of the country -- even if those charges were made in U.S. dollars. Fees can amount to 3% or more of the purchase price. Check with your bank before departing to avoid any surprise charges on your statement.

If you plan to use your credit cards in China, notify your issuer(s) beforehand, as many companies, to prevent fraud, often put a hold on cards that suddenly start registering foreign charges. Loss of credit cards should be reported immediately.

Traveler's Checks

With the proliferation of Shanghai ATMs accepting international cards, traveler's checks are becoming a less popular but still acceptable way to bring money into China. However, they are only accepted at major branches of the Bank of China, at foreign exchange desks in hotels, and occasionally at major department stores and shops targeted to foreign tourists. Bigger bank branches will accept checks in any hard currency from any major company, but smaller branches will only accept the currencies of larger economies. The exchange rate for traveler's checks is fractionally better than for cash, though the commission charged on checks (.75%) usually offsets any gains. Most Chinese banks will change U.S. dollars cash into yuan, so it's a good idea to have some U.S. dollar notes on hand in case of emergencies. If you carry traveler's checks, be sure to keep a separate record of their serial numbers so you're ensured a refund in case of loss.

You can buy traveler's checks at most banks. They are offered in denominations of $20, $50, $100, $500, and sometimes $1,000. Generally, you'll pay a service charge ranging from 1% to 4%.

The most popular traveler's checks are offered by American Express (tel. 800/807-6233 or 800/221-7282 for card holders -- this number accepts collect calls, offers service in several foreign languages, and exempts Amex gold and platinum cardholders from the 1% fee); Visa (tel. 800/732-1322); and MasterCard (tel. 800/223-9920).

Tips for Student Travelers

Student travelers should not expect special rates or other discounts in Shanghai. A few attractions offer discounts to students, but you'll have to produce a Chinese student identity card for that.

Tips for Gay and Lesbian Travelers

Shanghai is quite tolerant of gay and lesbian travelers, though there are no specialized resources catering to them. This is not all that unusual, given how puritanical Chinese society tends to be in sexual matters, gay or straight. (Walking hand in hand with a same-sex partner won't raise any eyebrows because it is deemed a sign of friendship.) Shanghai does have a homosexual community that is becoming increasingly visible, but it is still not officially sanctioned. Because foreigners are perceived as "different" from Chinese in the first place, gay and lesbian travelers should experience no discrimination here. In recent years, a few nightspots have even become identified with a gay, lesbian, and transsexual clientele. The popular International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) (tel. 800/448-8550 or 954/776-2626; www.iglta.org) has a few listings for gay-friendly organizations serving inbound visitors to China. Hermes Tours (tel. 877/486-4335; http://hermestours.com) offers small group tours to China.