Shanghai & Hangzhou Holidays

What you can find in Shanghai that you won't find anywhere else?

Context is important in China, so how did Shanghai's rampant commerciality come to pass in a nominally communist country? Well, the glib answer would be that the Chinese invented capitalism, but with regards to Shanghai in particular, the answer requires rewinding to the infamously insular China of one hundred years ago, home to hundreds of millions of potential customers. The Brits, in far from their proudest imperial moment, started peddling opium from India to China and when the Chinese authorities raised entirely legitimate objections there was a short sharp little war that lead to foreign nations being given footholds - the so-called concessions - in China's financial hub. Within a few short years the city has become possibly the most vibrant city in the world, with champagne consumption apparently the highest per capita of any city on earth. After a tough 20th Century, the city is back with a bang and makes for a fabulously fun city break or stop on a longer journey within China, dovetailing beautifully with the more venerable cities of Beijing and Xi'an.

Shanghai is also an excellent staging post for a foray inland to Hangzhou, one of the seven ancient capitals of China. The city was once the largest in the world, and described by Marco Polo as 'the finest and noblest' city. Praise indeed. Today the city is even larger, but retains many beautiful elements, such as the West Lake, botanical gardens and several ancient pagodas.