TRAVEL IN SHANGHAI part6

Do
Shanghai is a huge city, so all individual listings should be moved to the appropriate district articles, and this section should contain a brief overview. Please help to move listings if you are familiar with this city.
Walk along Fuxing Rd (复兴路) to see classical old buildings and enjoy the neatness of the road.
Take an elevator to the top of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower (东方明珠), the tallest TV tower in Asia with the height of 468 meters, and on a good day, the sprawling views are spectacular!
Enter Shanghai Xintiandi (新天地), Lane 181, Taicang Road. A small pedestrianised area of the city featuring rebuilt traditional shikumen [stone gate] houses. Housing a cinema complex, mall, numerous bars, cafés and art galleries marketed towards foreign visitors and the more affluent locals. Close to where the Communist party headquarters were located.
Enter Shanghai International Convention Center. Shanghai International Convention Center was opened for business in August 1999. The '99 Fortune Global Forum was held here. It is located in the southwest of the Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Pudong. It covers an area of 45,000 square meters with a landscaped square of 30,000 square meters. It consists of several modernized halls including a 42,000-sq.m multi-functional hall, a 25,000-sq.m exhibition hall, a 11,000-sq.m underground exhibition hall and 20 meeting rooms of different sizes. There are 259 guest rooms, including presidential suites, executive suites, standard rooms, Chinese and Western restaurants, a coffee room, a nightclub, a show room, a gym, a swimming pool, a bowling room, a billiard room, a sauna bath and a shopping arcade.
See the giant panda and many more exotic animals at the Shanghai Zoo. Located near the Hongqiao airport, this is a spacious and modern zoo that's for the most part a far cry from the concrete animal prison in Beijing. Open daily from 6:30 to 17:00 (16:30 in winter), tickets are ¥30, or ¥40 including an elephant show. One kid not taller than 1.2m gets in for free together with one paying adult. Take bus 925 from Renmin Square (¥3) for about 45 minutes. Please follow the signs (even if the locals do not) and do not feed or tease the animals.
Walk along Nanjing Dong Lu (南京东路) in the evening. Start at People Square (人民广场) and enjoy the bright neons and lights of this pedestrian road. For a longer walk, continue your way to the Bund and enjoy the bright lights of Pudong. Be careful of pick-pockets and and people that come up to you for a chat. Usually, they have something to sell or a service to offer that is not in your best interest.
Take a ride on the Maglev train either to or from the Pudong Airport. 431 K/hr is a cool ride. Taxi's are plentiful at the Maglev station.
Take photos of the old style buildings in the Laocheng (Old Town) Huang Miao shopping district. Come back at night after 6.30 pm when the lights are on for an experience. Eat upstairs at one of the restaurants overlooking the square on Yu Yuan Lu (a pond criss-crossed by a zig-zag bridge and tea room) and see the reflections of the night lights. (The entrance to Yu Yuan Gardens can be found in the centre of this interesting area)
Take a tour of Shanghai on a vintage 1930's sidecar motorbike. They are flexible on the tours you want to do: I chose the changing architecture of Shanghai. Afternoon tour is better. www.shanghaisideways.com.
Go to the electronic market right next to baoshan metro station, they sell electronics, but also all sorts of crazy stuff. not too many foreigners go there yet so enjoy while it lasts.
Learn
Shanghai urban development is all about the 'five year plan'. Visit the Urban Planning Museum in People's Square for a fascinating look into Shanghai's colourful past, and learn about development strategies for the future. There is a heavy focus on eco-friendly satellite cities with spacious public centres and loads of greenery. The trip is worth it just for the scale model of Shanghai in ten years. All is located on the fourth floor, including a virtual tour of up-and-coming large scale public projects, which encompasses the World Expo 2010 site. It is located just across from the Shanghei Museum.
Work
There is lots of work for expatriates in Shanghai today. Construction is proceeding at an incredible pace and the economy is booming.