Shanghai

by Bradley Mayhew, Lonely Planet

Lonely Planet: The world's leading travel guide publisher

Lonely Planet Shanghai is your passport to all the most relevant and up-to-date advice on what to see, what to skip, and what hidden discoveries await you. Experience the iconic skyscraper backdrop at the Bund, witness Shanghai Museum's marvellous tribute to the path of beauty, or browse the French Concession boutiques; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Shanghai and begin your journey now!

Inside Lonely Planet Shanghai Travel Guide:



Full-colour maps and images throughout

Highlights and itineraries show you the simplest way to tailor your trip to your own personal needs and interests

Insider tips save you time and money and help you get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spots

Essential info at your fingertips - including hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, and prices

Honest reviews for all budgets - including eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, and hidden gems that most guidebooks miss

Cultural insights give you a richer and more rewarding travel experience - including customs, history, art, literature, music, fashion, martial arts, architecture, and politics

Free, convenient pull-out Shanghai map (included in print version), plus over 32 colour neighbourhood maps

Useful features - including With Kids, For Free, and Day Trips

Coverage of Pudong, Hongkou, North Shanghai, The Bund, People's Square, Old Town, Jing' an, French Concession, Xujiahui, South Shanghai, West Shanghai, and more
eBook Features: (Best viewed on tablet devices)



Zoom-in maps and images bring it all up close and in greater detail

Downloadable PDF and offline maps let you stay offline to avoid roaming and data charges

Seamlessly flip between pages

Easily navigate and jump effortlessly between maps and reviews

Speedy search capabilities get you to what you need and want to see

Use bookmarks to help you shoot back to key pages in a flash

Visit the websites of our recommendations by touching embedded links

Adding notes with the tap of a finger offers a way to personalise your guidebook experience

Inbuilt dictionary to translate unfamiliar languages and decode site-specific local terms
The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Shanghai, our most comprehensive guide to Shanghai, is perfect for those planning to both explore the top sights and take the road less travelled.


Looking for just the highlights of Shanghai? Check out Lonely Planet's Pocket Shanghai, a handy-sized guide focused on the can't-miss sights for a quick trip.
Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet's China guide for a comprehensive look at all the country has to offer, or Lonely Planet's Discover China, a photo-rich guide to the country's most popular attractions.
Authors: Written and researched by Lonely Planet, Damian Harper, and Christopher Pitts.

About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as well as an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves in.

Genres: Travel, China, Nonfiction, Asia

258 pages, Paperback

First published February 12, 2001

Reviews

[Michael Flick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just back from 8 days in Shanghai. This book was moderately interesting for background information before the trip, but its organization and spotty coverage made it pretty much useless once there.

[alana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Shanghai LP proved invaluable this week for its inclusion of addresses written in both Pinyin and Chinese characters. If you are taking taxis and don't speak Mandarin, just point to the address and you will get there. Brilliant!

As usual, I loved reading the history portions of this LP prior to visiting Shanghai.

The business turnover rate is high in Shanghai, and several restaurant locations listed in this book are no longer there. In other cases, the hours are no longer the same. The most up-to-date guide book would be essential if you are depending solely on recommended restaurants.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent maps and other essentials, but some lazy mistakes in the surrounding narratives. Also it would have helped to have more explicit instructions for how to get a refillable subway card.

Loved that the "Useful phrases" section included "I don't like innards." Useful indeed.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful for my brief trip to Shanghai. I wish the practical and architecture sections had been earlier in the book, though, as I didn’t finish reading before my trip and would have found them helpful when I was there.

[Jc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great up-to-date advice that I made use of on my recent trip.

[Mojca · Rating 4 out of 5]

3½ - 4 stars

[Jaap Grolleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's an impossible task to describe a massive city like Shanghai in a book, especially coupled with the pace that Shanghai is cycling through its restaurants and shops that are mentioned inside.

[Barry D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

General information is Good, but some of the places mentioned (restaurants and bars) could not be found or were closed down.

The problem with these books is that they need to be reevaluated on a regular basis. As the book mentioned Shanghai consumes a large portion of the world concrete production that means that the city changes a lot.

In general a lot of useful tips, maps and tourist information.
I would recommend to have these kind of books in digital form with you. The lonely planet book series tend to be a bit large and heavy to just carry around in your luggage (with the exception of the pocket editions).

[Krys · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously offering more detail than the big LP guidebook. For the most part, this series delivers the goods. But most frustrating is how practically every restaurant mentioned is no longer in existence. Other than that, it's been very helpful for finding my way around (and things to do) in both Shanghai and Hangzhou. Highly recommended for those who feel the need for at least a LITTLE sense of direction

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Took a trip to Shanghai for the 2010 expo and brought this along. The information is alright, but the book is not written by a local. We tried one of the restaurant recommendations in a tourist area, and it was the worst meal of our stay. Lonely Planet puts out reasonable travel guides, and this one fits the bill, but it needs more local insight if it wants to earn its keep as one of the better guides.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Shanghai was one of the few safe havens for Jews fleeing the Holocaust in Europe as it required no passport nor visa to stay. Gestapo agents followed the refugees and, in 1942, tried to persuade the Japanese to build death camps on Chongming Island. Instead, in 1943, the Japanese forces Jews to move into a 'Designated Area for Stateless Refugees' in Hongkou."

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

really helpful, that's how i got around, open up this book and keep on reading.. i still haven't been to all the places it mentioned even after 3 months of my stay here.

[Sagar Jethani]

Pretty good overview, as are most of the LP review guides.