Yangtze Delta
Shanghai
Shanghai gets described as the future, which undersells it. The interesting part is how narrow the gap is — a lane house breakfast and a tower with a view of it are ten minutes apart, and both are the same city arguing with itself.
Two cities, ten minutes apart, both correct.
Days in Shanghai
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Modern Shanghai by Architecture
One day, roughly 10:00 to 19:00
A private day reading Shanghai as built form — the Bund's stone banks, a tea room high above the river, and the districts being drawn now.
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Xiaolongbao Cooking Class in Shanghai
One day, roughly 08:00 to 21:00
A private Shanghai day — park life at dawn, a soup dumpling kitchen, the lane houses, and the river between two centuries.
Questions
Is Shanghai worth more than a day?
Two days works well — one for the lanes and the cooking, one for the contemporary city. A single day forces a choice between them.
What food is Shanghai known for?
Xiaolongbao above all — soup sealed inside a dumpling. Our cooking day teaches the fold, which is harder than it looks and the reason most versions abroad are wrong.