Shanghai

Basic Information
Originally a minor walled city city by the mouth of the Yangtze river, it was transformed after the Opium Wars into the fifth-largest city in the world by the establishment of extraterritorial settlements by the British, French and Americans, resulting not only in a unique architectural landscape and high society, but also a world-famous nightlife that was decadent to the point that the city was alternately known as 'The Paris of the East' and 'The Whore of the Orient'.

The foreign settlements were handed back during the Second World War, and after the establishment of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the city was essentially mothballed, being an unwelcom reminder of the bad old days of foreign domination. During the Cultural Revolution the city turned into a hotbed for fanatical communism, and was the headquarters of the 'Gang of Four', headed by Madame Mao, who attempted unsuccessfully to keep the Cultural Revolution going after Mao's death.

Deng Xiaoping's policy of opening-up that began in the late 1970s brought about the realisation that China had been sitting on a goldmine in the form of Shanghai, so the city began to be restored and redeveloped, with Pudong in particular growing at lightening pace, due to it being declared a Special Economic Zone.

The city today has far outstripped it's colonial roots, though still retains much of the old-world charm that made it so glamorous back in it's heyday. It is the financial capital of China, with a population of 23 million. As with Beijing, Tianjin and Chongqing, it is a municipality, meaning it is governed as if it were a province. The city looks set to grow for the forseeable future, as migrant workers from all over China flood into the city to seek work (much to the irritation of the native Shanghainese)

Transportation
There are two main airports in Shanghai, Hongqiao (to the West of the city, on the outskirts) and Pudong (East of the city, this is generally considered the main airport). Regardless of which one you go to, there are metro lines directly to the city. Both airports are on line 2, incidentally, which is the line that will take you into the city centre (i.e. the centre of the former International Settlement), with stops at West/East Nanjing Road, Jing'an Temple, People's Square, Lujiazui etc.

Taxis are very cheap, but taxi drivers never ever have English, so if you want to go somewhere and you don't have decent Mandarin you'll need to give them an address written in characters. You can get someone at your hotel to write it down for you, or you can use a business card (most shops, restaurants etc have them, and they usually have the place's address written in characters).

Alternatively, use one of these two numbers:

Guanxi: 106695882929 

[This is the handiest number to have in big Chinese cities. Essentially you just text a vague location to that number, e.g. 'JC Mandarin Hotel Shanghai', and they'll text you back a list of possible options. You pick the one you're looking for, and it replies with an address in English. You then reply with 'C' if you want them to text you the address in characters. Bear in mind that while this service is usually right, they occasionally get it wrong, but it's quite rare.]

Shanghai Call Centre: 962288 [sic]

[This is a number that you see in the back of taxis. This is handiest for when Guanxi fails you. Essentially, you ring up and ask the English-speaking operator anything you like, e.g. 'how to I get to Huaihai Zhong Lu', or 'Is there a dry-cleaners near Xujiahui?' etc. The most useful application of this number tends to be if you don't have a written address for a place, as you can ask the operator to tell the taxi driver where to go. I think it's free, but I'm not certain.]

There are Maglevs around the city too, but in all honesty I don't know much about them, other than that if you're going to Pudong Airport on the metro, you may need to change at Guanlan Road and get on a Maglev, rather than going all the way on the metro (I don't know why). Listen out for the announcements in Mandarin and English, they should mention it when you're approching Guanlan Road.

There are two train stations in the city, Shanghai North Station and Hongqiao station. There's a very good guide to train travel in China at http://www.seat61.com/China.htm