The Complete Business Travellers' Guide to Shanghai
The citizens of Shanghai, “the Pearl of the Orient”, are rightfully proud of their sophisticated city and business acumen.
To take in Shanghai’s young history, stroll riverside promenade The Bund. Here, on one side of the Huangpu River stand stately Art Deco buildings, while gleaming high-rises (including Shanghai Tower, China's tallest building and the third-tallest in the world) pierce the sky on the other side.
This contrast of European influence and speedy, modern development can be seen in other parts of the city, too. The quaint French Concession district melds seamlessly with the shoulder-to-shoulder malls and huge office buildings of the downtown area – the city boasts more than 100 skyscrapers classed as "super tall" (over 300-metres high).
Although Shanghai’s population – at just shy of 30 million – sounds alarming, it’s a well-maintained and convenient city, with litter-free streets and virtually no violent crime. As well as being China’s financial capital, it’s a fine-dining and drinking hub – the city has a staggering 148 Michelin-starred restaurants. So plan ahead and make the most of your “work” trip.
Coffee pit stop
Brut Cake Café
Created by a husband-and-wife duo, this hipster-chic bistro offers artisanal coffee and American-fusion fare, including fluffy waffles topped with crisp, spicy giant prawns. Order a peanut butter and sea salt latte and if the weather is good, nab one of the tables by the open window with views of Yuyuan Lu’s canopy of trees.
Breakfast meeting
O’Mills Bakery
Pesto zucchini noodles, 72-hour-fermented sourdough crust pizzas and housemade pickles keep the crowds coming to this airy two-storey café for brunch, particularly on the weekends. Schedule an early meeting if you want peace and quiet and be sure to book ahead.
Dining alone
Bird
Bird and its neighbour, Bitter, are the brainchildren of American restaurateur Camden Hauge, known for her creative food concepts. Bitter is a café by day and luminous cocktail bar by night; Bird is a simple yet sophisticated wine bar and kitchen, featuring bar seating perfect for solo diners and a leafy terrace upstairs that’s ideal for an aperitivo. The concise, ever-changing menu includes dishes such as sweet potato chips with egg yolk and Vietnamese pork rib with pineapple and coriander garnish.
Business dining
Canton Table
This striking restaurant fuses murals of gorgeous women in cheongsams with minimalist grey bricks (typical of Shanghai) and stunning glass light fixtures, all framing a spectacular view of The Bund. Fastidious service and ample space between the tables make it a top destination for business diners. The menu by head chef Eason Man covers both Cantonese classics and their contemporary twists, such as his famous flaming whole chicken and braised abalone tart.
Yaya's
For a less formal booking that keeps your finger on the pulse of Shanghai’s hospitality scene, this Italian fusion restaurant in Jing’an District balances hipster cool vibes with award-winning dishes. Created by Chinese-Australian chef Andrew Moo and his business partners Dan Li and Mike Liu, Yaya’s has come a long way since its original pop-up incarnation in 2022. The venue’s temporary status was made permanent by popular demand at the start of 2023, with its place among the city’s top diners cemented when it was crowned Restaurant of the Year at the 21st That's Shanghai Food & Drink Awards in January of 2024. Expect surprising riffs on Italian classics, such as salted egg yolk carbonara, mapo tofu lasagna or the cappelletti in brodo – silken pasta parcels stuffed with the wonton staple of shrimp and pork, swimming in a rich chicken broth spiked with goji berries and finished with a generous dusting of grana padano.
Drinks with clients
The Odd Couple
The international love child of Shingo Gokan, a Shanghai native whose solo venture Speak Low was voted the second best bar in Asia in 2021, and Steve Schneider, the founder of legendary New York speakeasy Employees Only, The Odd Couple is a playful space with serious credentials. While this technicolour cocktail lounge, situated in Huangpu District, is very much a collaboration between these two heavyweight barkeeps, their respective voices are clearly distinct. The menu is in two parts, with one devised by Gokan – full of Asian spice, tart sochu, fruit wines, kokuto sugar and house-steeped Chinese teas – and the other by Schneider – heroing irreverent reinventions of American favourites, like Manhattans, Negronis or Martinis. Hopscotch between these tandem cocktail lists for the best of both worlds.
Switch Off
Jing’an Sculpture Park is a green haven dotted with impressive sculptures by artists from around the world. Stroll among bronze cows lazing on a lawn and past a tower of massive apples to one of the park’s highlights – a semi-trailer balancing on its nose by renowned Austrian artist Erwin Wurm. The park is also next door to the Shanghai Natural History Museum, filled with state-of-the-art exhibits about butterflies, dinosaurs and almost every creature in between.
The bamboo-lined lobby of Subconscious Day Spa is a retreat in Shanghai’s tree-lined former French Concession. Services range from hot-stone massages to private Pilates sessions but our pick is the water-lily body wrap.
For thousands of years, Chinese people have practised the art of qi gong (pronounced chee gong) to master the body’s energy through gentle movements, focused breathing and meditation. Shanghai Pathways offers private lessons with an English-speaking shifu (master teacher) in one of the city’s many parks.
New hotel
Kimpton Qiantan Shanghai
In the bustling Pudong District, just south of the frenetic streets of downtown Shanghai, lies a seamless fusion of classic and modern design. Traditional Shanghainese and European touches have come together to create a tranquil retreat where business travellers can de-stress after a long day of meetings. Opened in 2023, the Kimpton Qiantan combines clever tech – from a concealed minibar and TV that rise at the touch of a button, to a “smart mirror” in the bathroom that can turn into an electronic display for your devices – with a sleek aesthetic: brushed steel bed frames, marble and frosted glass finishes, and mirrored walls. The hotel’s resident fine diner, Le Chloé French Brasserie, makes for an impressive backdrop for wining and dining clients, followed by a nightcap at the hotel’s rooftop bar, the Upper Deck, with outstanding views of the city skyline.
Between meetings
If you have a couple of hours…
Jump on a food tour for an opportunity to sample the increasingly rare street-side snacks of Shanghai. In recent years, many small vendors have been shuttered due to a food-hygiene crackdown by the government. UnTour Food Tours takes you to the best dumplings, noodles, pancakes and pastries by traditional local cooks.
If you have half a day…
The lane houses of Tianzifang are an artefact of Shanghai’s past. Most of the city’s “stone gate neighbourhoods” were razed long ago but this one has been turned into a maze of bohemian shops, bars and restaurants. For gifts, pick up a luxurious cashmere wrap at Shanghai Woo or a pair of hipster sneakers at Feiyue.
If you have a day…
Take the metro to Zhujiajiao station to visit the 1700-year-old “Venice of the East”, where you can be rowed along canals framed by winding cobblestone streets and explore the Buddhist Yunjin Monastery, built in the mid-1300s. For a bite, head to the rustic, canal-side Dongtian Shifu to try specialties such as ginger scallion steamed fish and pork-stuffed snails. In the evening, catch Tan Dun’s opera, Water Heavens, an immersive tour de force that combines a majestic score with stunning visuals of ancient Chinese architecture.
If you have a weekend…
Perched on Shanghai’s fringes is a portal to China’s ancient past: the remarkable Amanyangyun hotel. Surrounded by centuries-old camphor trees on the edge of the Qizhong Forest, 35 kilometres south of the city centre, 11 restored antique villas dating from the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties – moved brick by brick and log by log from nearly 700 kilometres away – form the core of this one-of-a-kind stay. A further 24 courtyard suites, a sprawling spa with private bathing suites, a hammam, a fitness centre with yoga and Pilates studios and two pools, plus a variety of restaurants already places this luxury property in a league of its own. But Amanyangyun truly sets itself apart with its range of cultural discoveries – a unique melding of heritage, preservation and storytelling. At the heart of the hotel is the Nan Shufang, named after the royal reading pavilion in the Forbidden City: a grand re-creation of a 17th-century scholars’ studio where guests can learn calligraphy from skilled artisans, hear traditional music performances by folk virtuosos and experience a tea ceremony.
