1. Duolun Culture Street

Duolun Road in Hongkou district of Shanghai (where you leave China after affordable China travel packages), north of Suzhou Creek, was home to many of Shanghai's most famous left-wing writers and intellectuals in the 1920s and 1930s. During this time, the road was just outside the formal boundary of the International Settlement, and between 1932 and 1945, under the de facto Japanese military occupation. Consequently, many left-wing writers who lived here felt fairly safe from persecution by the Guomindang government at that time. The road has now been pedestrianised, and most of the historical buildings along it preserved. Some of the more interesting one are: a French-style mansion at no. 145 where the League of Leftist Writers was founded in 1930; the former residence of HH Kung (Finance Minister during the Guomindang government) at no. 250; and the Old Film Cafe at no. 123.

Duolun Road is off Sichuan Bei Lu (Sichuan North Road) in Hongkou. The nearest metro is Dong Baoxing Lu on Line 3.

2. Longhua Temple and Pagoda
 

Longhua Temple (an option for your best tours of China in Shanghai) has a long history and has survived the many turmoils of Shanghai in the past hundreds of years. Its construction, including its wooden pagoda, can be traced back to 997 AD, during the Northern Song dynasty, though earlier versions of the temple may have existed. The temple complex was enlarged in the subsequent Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. It was severely damaged during the Japanese bombing of Shanghai in 1937, and again in 1966 when thousands of Red Guards stormed the temple to destroy its treasures, including Ming dynasty Buddha statues and sacred Buddhist scriptures (all gone). The temple and its pagoda were saved from total destruction due to the intervention of local residents. Today's Longhua temple must be a shadow of its former self, but remains the largest working temple complex in Shanghai. There are several halls dedicated to various deities, separated by tranquil courtyards. Its 7-storey pagoda has striking orange walls and a metal spire at the top. Longhua Temple is located near Longcao Road metro station in southwest Shanghai.

3. Shanghai Science and Technology Museum

The Shanghai Science and Technology Museum located in Pudong is a huge, modern, and exciting museum for people of all ages. This museum has 12 exhibition halls and 4 theatres (including the IMAX theatres). It was one of the best science museums I have ever visited. There are lots and lots of hands-on activities to do, including very fun and meaningful physics experiments. The "World of Robots" exhibition was very cool; you get to communicate with and control robots. There is also an impressive man-made tropical rainforest inside the museum where you will get to learn about bio-diversity, ecology, and genetics. There are lots of live demonstrations and presentations inside the museum like a robot show and an earthquake simulation, so be sure you don't miss them. I strongly recommend this museum. As of summer 2006, admission tickets are 60 yuan per person. The museum is easily reached using Subway Line 2, Shanghai Science and Technology Museum Station.

4. Talk to Chinese people in People's Park

On Sundays a group of Chinese people meet in a corner of People's Park (walk through by the fern flowers and trees at the city end) to talk English. We came across them by accident, just walking through. About twenty of them, all meeting up to talk Enlish to each other - and to any native English speaker who happens to walk by.

It was really nice, everybody very excited, practising their English and enjoying themselves hugely. They had an organiser (who they call the Teacher) who was himself a tourist attraction - big and bouncy, with limitless energy. So if you walk through that corner of the park and a big bouncy man rushes up and asks you to talk with his English students, don't be too afraid - it is genuine, and enjoyable.

5. Fuzhou Lu - Books and Stationary

Between the Nanjingdong Lu pedestrian shopping street and Yuyuan Gardens (must-see for popular China tours), running parallel to Nanjingdong Lu, is Fuzhou Lu. This is side street famous for its bookstores and stationary/office supplies shops. In the pre-Republic era, this place is also famous for brothels. Brothels are gone now, but the bookstores are still around.

Stroll down this street and visit all the specialty stores. Take the side alleys to discover out of the way street vendors. This road connects the southern side of Bund to the east and southern side of People's Park/Square to the west. It is not a large street with a nice mixture of feelings of west and east. It's a nice break from the too westernized parts of Shanghai and from the too touristy Oriental parts of Shanghai.

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