10 Best Sights in Shanghai, China

Home of the Shanghai Museum, the city's enormous main square is a social center for locals. During the day, residents stroll, practice tai chi, and fly kites. In the evening, kids roller-skate, and ballroom dancers hold group lessons. There is also a small amusement park. Weekends here are extremely busy—particularly on Xizang Road—and are not for the agoraphobic.

Look past the eyesore of an exterior—this museum holds the country's premier collection of relics and artifacts. Eleven galleries exhibit Chinese artistry in all its forms: paintings, bronzes, sculpture, ceramics, calligraphy, jade, furniture of the Ming and Qing dynasties, coins, seals, and art by indigenous populations. Its bronze collection is one of the best in the world, and its dress and costume gallery showcases intricate handiwork from several of China's 55 ethnic minority groups. There are signs and an audio guide available in English. You can relax in the museum's pleasant tearoom or head to the shop for postcards, crafts, and reproductions of the artwork.

Shanghai's waterfront boulevard best shows both the city's pre-1949 past and its focus on the future. Both the northern and southern ends of Bund are constantly changing, with hotels and restaurants popping up amid scooter repair shops and hardware stores.

On the riverfront side of the Bund, Shanghai's street life is in full force. You'll find Chinese tourists as well as foreigners here, ogling the Pudong skyline. If you have blonde hair, prepare to be stopped for photos. In the morning, just after dawn, the Bund is full of people ballroom dancing, doing aerobics, and practicing kung fu, qi gong, and tai chi. The rest of the day, people walk the embankment, snapping photos of the Oriental Pearl Tower, the Huangpu River, and each other. In the evenings, lovers come out for romantic walks amid the floodlit buildings and tower.

Be prepared for the aggressive souvenir hawkers; while you can't completely avoid them, just ignore them—and watch your pockets and bags.

When this beautiful neoclassical structure was built by the British in 1923, it was the second-largest bank building in the world. It served as the headquarters of the Shanghai branch of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. After the building was turned into offices for the Communist Party in 1955, the beautiful 1920s Italian-tile mosaic in the building's dome was deemed too extravagant and was covered by white paint. Ironically enough, this protected it from being destroyed by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. The mural was then forgotten until 1997, when the Pudong Development Bank renovated the building. If you walk in and look up, you'll see the circular mosaic in the dome—an outer circle portraying the cities where the bank had branches at the time: London, Paris, New York, Bangkok, Tokyo, Calcutta, Hong Kong, and Shanghai; a middle circle made up of the 12 signs of the zodiac; and the center painted with a large sun and Ceres, the Roman goddess of abundance.

This European-style park, once open only to Shanghai's French residents, is one of downtown's most tranquil spots. Here you'll find people strolling hand in hand, practicing tai chi, and playing cards and mah-jongg. There is a tiny amusement park and, on weekends and holidays, art projects for kids. The open spaces double as dance floors, with elderly couples dancing away the day—visitors are welcome to join in.

It may seem tranquil now, but Longhua Martyrs Cemetery was the execution site of many Communists, particularly during the Guomingdang crackdown in 1927. The small, unkempt, grassy execution area—accessed by a tunnel—is chilling. In the 1950s, the remains of murdered Communists were found here still wearing leg irons. A glass, pyramid-shape museum in the center of the grounds contains paintings and other items. Elsewhere, Soviet-style sculptures dot immaculate lawns.

In colonial days this park was the northern half of the city's racetrack. Today the 30 acres of flower beds, lotus ponds, and trees are crisscrossed by a large number of paved paths. It's also home to the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Urban Planning Exhibition Hall.

The marriage market, held in the park weekends noon–5 pm, is not to be missed.

Desperately seeking spouses for their children, the parents and grandparents of unmarried adults post flyers advertising their child's height, job, income, Chinese Zodiac sign, and more.

Although this park along the Huangpu River has a sterile atmosphere, it offers the most beautiful views of the Bund. As you stroll on the grass and concrete, you get a perspective of Puxi unavailable from the west side.

This sleek museum is on the site of Shanghai's 2010 World Expo, which was held in areas along both sides of the river. It takes its name from its sponsor, Minsheng Bank, which opened it to showcase contemporary art in all mediums, from photography to sound, by artists from China and beyond. The museum is housed in the former French expo pavilion and is within walking distance from China Art Palace.

The secret meeting on July 31, 1921 that marked the first National Congress was held at the Bo Wen Girls' School, where 13 delegates from Marxist, Communist, and Socialist groups gathered from around the country. The upstairs of this restored shikumen is a well-curated museum detailing the rise of communism in China. Downstairs lies the very room where the first delegates worked. It remains frozen in time, the table set with matches and teacups. Ironically, the site today is surrounded by Xintiandi, Shanghai's center of capitalist conspicuous consumption.