What you didn’t know about Shanghai, China.
Beneath Shanghai’s hyper-modern skin lies a history and geography that quietly define everything about the city’s character.
The Huangpu River, the city’s spine, is actually a branch of the Yangtze River Delta, one of the most fertile and economically powerful regions in Asia. Its curves shaped how the city grew, how neighborhoods formed, and how trade moved long before skyscrapers filled the horizon. The colonial architecture along the Bund is more than aesthetic, each building represents a different foreign concession, forming one of the most unusual cultural enclaves in Chinese history. The lilong alleyways, though disappearing, remain the heartbeat of old Shanghai: dense, warm, communal micro-neighborhoods that once housed much of the city’s population. Even the futuristic towers have stories, the Shanghai Tower, for example, is twisted to reduce wind load using principles of ancient Chinese geometry. And the food? It reflects Shanghai’s coastal roots: sweet soy braises, delicate river fish, crab dishes tied to seasonal tides, and xiaolongbao born from a fusion of Jiangnan culinary traditions. Shanghai looks like the future, but it’s built on centuries of craftsmanship, migration, and waterways that shaped every flavor, street, and skyline angle.
Five fascinations about Shanghai.
5. Shanghai is home to the world’s second-tallest hotel.
The J Hotel, perched inside the Shanghai Tower, sits over 2,000 feet above the city, offering cloud-level cocktails and panoramic views like nowhere else.
4. The Bund was once a swamp.
Now a dazzling waterfront promenade, the Bund was originally marshland before being transformed by international trade and colonial ambition in the 1800s.
3. Shanghai has its own language.
Beyond Mandarin, locals speak Shanghainese, a Wu dialect with unique tones and expressions that can sound entirely foreign even to other Chinese speakers.
2. The city lights up with over 40,000 buildings nightly.
Shanghai’s skyline is a nightly spectacle, LED-lit towers synchronized in a glow-up that rivals Times Square, every single evening.
1. There’s a 400-year-old teahouse suspended over a pond.
The Huxinting Teahouse, in the heart of Old Town, floats peacefully over a koi-filled pond, a pocket of quiet tradition amid the urban rush.
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