Top Five Places You’ve Never Heard of in Shanghai

Shanghai is, without a doubt, a city you really need to know in order to enjoy. At first glance the city may seem like it has little to offer, what with the financial focus of Pudong and the commercial side of Puxi. But, if you get to know her, Shanghai has many secret wonders that will make you slowly fall in love with the Pearl of the Orient.

Dagu Road is one such place in Shanghai. Legendary with expats, the street offers a cornucopia of reasons to visit. For starters, two of the city’s most tasty restaurants are on this tiny road, Papa Mario’s authentic Italian, and Hayas Mediterranean cuisine. Either place will delight your palate and leave you feeling like you are truly in a metropolis. Before you eat, there is another treat Dagu Road offers—the traditional Chinese massage. There are countless places to get a massage in Shanghai, but the Elephant Massage Hall on Dagu raod is simply the best (and, surprisingly, one of the cheaper halls). Finally, for cheap DVDs in English, German, French and Japaneese, Dagu Road is the place to go. Nearby you’ll also find charming shops and a few bars. Essentially, it’s a one stop shop for everything that would make a perfect evening.

If the treasures of Dagu Road don’t do it for you, check out Mogunshan, which is a small art area in northern Shanghai where tagging artists converge to cover the walls in creative and inspiring spray paint art. Even if you are not into graffiti, this is a fun place to go because of the galleries and ice cream shops that are sprinkled around the spray painted walls. The tagging is tolerated for its artistic qualities, though some are quite political.

Many people come to Shanghai on a shoestring. China is such a place that it can be enjoyed on any budget. For those looking to save money while still having a good time consider heading to Windows Café. You can get a beer for a dollar here, play pool and darts, and even snack on a semi-authentic grilled cheese. Its low key and not too many people know about it, making it a fun place to hang out any night of the week.

Everyone who has spent any time at all planning a trip to Shanghai has heard of People’s Park. But, few people venture around the labyrinth of streets slightly south-east of the square. Here you’ll find endless hops that sell goods for extremely cheap prices, including artwork, canvas, medals and flatware and other souvenirs that are more lasting that the traditional jade chopsticks.

Finally, though everyone goes to Yu Gardens during their visit to Shanghai, people seem to miss the more interesting and cheaper sections of Yu Gardens that the locals so much adore. The fancier the architecture of the shop, the more expensive the goods in Yu Gardens. Walk slightly south-east of the Gardens and you’ll find thriving streets full of locals buying clothing, kitchen ware, art, toys and shoes. Its more fun than the tourist-trap of the Gardens, and you’ll find cool stuff at cheap prices. Consider buying porcelain dishes as your self-gift instead of a ‘I Love Shanghai’ T-shirt, and the dishes will last much longer than the shirt and have more meaning.

So, five places in Shanghai you wouldn’t normally hear of are perhaps the five places that you’d most like to visit.