Old-school Shanghai halal institution. The thing to do here is lamb hotpot / mutton. Very 'you came to China and actually ate Chinese Muslim food,' not generic hotel food.
杰: Old-school, local, worth it if you want one proper traditional halal meal.
Do this or you'll hate me later
Before You Fly
Internet / eSIM
- Keep your UAE / home SIM switched on for SMS codes.
- Add a travel eSIM before you arrive and use that for mobile data.
- Don't make a VPN your main plan. A roaming travel eSIM is much less annoying.
Why: local China SIMs + hotel Wi-Fi are behind the Great Firewall, so Google, Gmail, WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube etc. may not work normally. Many travel eSIMs route data internationally, so those apps work without a separate VPN.
Tip: install the eSIM profile before flying. Don't land and start a heroic airport-Wi-Fi battle.
Payments
China is basically QR-code civilization now. Set up both — one always decides to become dramatic exactly when you need it most.
Alipay
- Link an international Visa / Mastercard.
- Verify identity with passport if asked.
- Use it for shops, restaurants, transport and often DiDi.
Metro card hack — skip the ticket machines
Activate a transit card inside Alipay (Transport → Metro / Bus Code), then just open the QR code and scan in & out at the gates. No need to queue at the self-service machines. Got a Visa card with tap-to-pay? Most turnstiles let you tap straight in — no app needed.
WeChat / Weixin Pay
Also link your international card. Useful because many local people / businesses live inside WeChat mini-programs.
Load these before landing
Apps I'd Actually Install
MUSTAMap / Gaode Maps
高德地图
The map I'd trust in China. Better local POIs, entrances, traffic and taxi pickup points than Google Maps.
MUSTDiDi China
滴滴出行
Basically Uber for China. English interface, international phone login, bilingual driver chat, international cards supported.
VERY USEFULDianping
大众点评
Where locals check restaurants, cafés, bars, photos, reviews and what's actually popular right now. The English is not always beautiful. Use screenshot translate if needed.
VERY USEFULRedNote / Xiaohongshu
小红书
China's visual discovery app. Search any sight, restaurant or popular spot — locals post real reviews, photos and tips you won't find in English guides. The best way to see what actual Shanghai residents think of a place before you go.
BONUSDoubao / 豆包
豆包
ByteDance's AI assistant. The standout feature: real-time voice translation — speak English, it speaks Chinese back in real time. Genuinely useful for menus, taxis and those moments where pointing stops working.
⚠ Needs a China App Store account to download — ask 杰 and I'll help you install it.
USEFULSmartShanghai
SmartShanghai 网页版
The longest-running English-language Shanghai city guide. Restaurant reviews, bar picks, exhibition listings and neighbourhood write-ups — all written by people who actually live here. No app, just the website. Bookmark it.
Optional: Trip.com for trains / hotels / tickets — App Store ↗ / Google Play ↗. Apple Maps works in China and is a decent backup.
Not just another Lanzhou noodle shop
Halal Food — the Actual Good Stuff
Qingmeiju Muslim Restaurant
青梅居清真餐厅
Hui-stylePeople's Square
313 Fengyang Rd, Huangpu, Shanghai
Hui-style Chinese halal food around People's Square. Easy location, very local, good if you're already doing Nanjing Road / People's Square.
杰: Practical + legit + very un-Dubai.
Yershari
耶里夏丽
XinjiangCumin & naan
918 Dongfang Rd, Pudong, Shanghai (Pudong branch)
Xinjiang food: lamb, cumin, naan, noodles, big-plate chicken. Multiple branches. If you want Chinese food but something that feels closer to Central Asian / Gulf taste preferences, this is an easy win.
杰: Easy win if you want Chinese food closer to Central Asian / Gulf taste.
Pasha Turkish Restaurant
Pasha
TurkishConfirm halal
125 Nanchang Rd, Huangpu, Shanghai
Useful if you want a break from Chinese food while walking around the former French Concession / Nanchang Road area. Important: I'd still ask them to confirm halal status for the exact meat / branch on the day. Don't trust 'Turkish = automatically halal' logic.
杰: A useful break from Chinese food near the French Concession.
Lanzhenzhen Lanzhou Halal Baozi
兰真真·兰州清真包子
BaoziBudgetFrench Concession
Lane 30-32 Sinan Rd (N), Unit 1, Huangpu, Shanghai
Lanzhou-style halal steamed buns and sweet snacks, first-ever branch in the country. ¥36/person — stupid cheap for this location. 4.0 on Dianping, #2 on the Huangpu baozi hot list. 2-min walk from Line 13 Huaihai Middle Rd.
杰: Cheap, cheerful, and the best halal baozi in the French Concession area.
Guanguanji Yizhen Qingzhen Hot Pot
贯贯吉·伊真清真涮肉
HotpotHalalOpen late
8 Zhejiang Rd (S), Huangpu, Shanghai
Halal beef & mutton hotpot — the place I'd send you if you want a proper Chinese hotpot experience without the halal anxiety. ¥121/person, 4.3 on Dianping, #1 on the Huangpu beef & mutton hotpot environment list. Open till 2am. Near Dashijie metro (Line 14, exit 5, 5-min walk).
杰: The halal hotpot move. #1 environment ranking in Huangpu for a reason.
Ningxia Yinchang Tanyang Experience Store
清真·宁夏印象·盐池滩羊肉体验店
NingxiaTan sheepMust-Eat List
Rm 102, 1F, Kaiyue Bldg, 1580 Jiangning Rd, Putuo, Shanghai
Ningxia-style halal — the signature is Yanchi tan sheep (盐池滩羊), a premium breed raised in Ningxia, prepared every way. ¥143/person, 4.7 on Dianping with 13k+ reviews, 2024 Must-Eat List restaurant, listed 10 years. This is the 'I want to eat well and I'm willing to pay for it' pick. Near Jiangning Rd metro (556m).
杰: The flex. 4.7 rating, 13,000+ reviews, 2024 Must-Eat List. Go here to win.
Halal cheat code
Look for 清真 (qingzhen) on signs / menus. If unsure, show: 这是清真的吗？ (Is this halal?)
You can also open the Dianping (大众点评) app and search 清真 or halal directly — it surfaces nearby halal restaurants with ratings and reviews.
Chosen carefully, three is enough
Shanghainese Food — 本帮菜
Optional try · not strictly halal
Jesse / Lao Ji Shi
老吉士酒家
ClassicBook aheadFrench Concession
41 Tianping Rd (near Huaihai Middle Rd), Xuhui
Tiny, old-school and very Shanghainese. This is the 'what Shanghainese food actually tastes like' meal: 浓油赤酱 — rich, sweet-savoury sauces, braised dishes, river fish, home-style classics. ¥180/person, 4.2 on Dianping. Location is perfect — keep wandering Hengshan / Wukang Road afterwards.
杰: Classic / chaotic / very Shanghai. Zero concern about looking fashionable. Book ahead.
Haosheng Restaurant
好生酒家
Bib GourmandMy top pickPolished
156 Guangyuan Rd, Xuhui, Shanghai
A Michelin Bib Gourmand pick for Shanghainese cuisine. A notch more refined than the old-school institutions, but nowhere near stiff fine dining. Honestly, I'd even pick this over the 'famous historic' options — those matter more for history than for a dinner you'd actually enjoy.
杰: Best balance between local and polished. If you only have ONE proper Shanghainese dinner — this.
The other way to do Shanghainese: a restored old villa, proper service, beautiful plating, refined benbang dishes. 4.9 on Dianping, ~¥600/person — noticeably pricier, and worth it for the occasion. 11:00–14:00, 17:30–23:00.
杰: If you want to dress up and make a night of it. Not every day — but a very reasonable 'one fancy Shanghainese dinner' option.
杰's order list — what to actually eat
Ten dishes that explain Shanghainese food better than any menu translation. Point at the Chinese name if all else fails.
Crab Roe Noodles
蟹黄面The seasonal superstar — noodles buried under golden crab roe sauce. Rich, decadent, very Shanghai.
Yellow Croaker Noodle Soup
黄鱼面Milky fish broth, thin noodles, a piece of pan-fried yellow croaker on top. Comfort in a bowl.
Scallion Oil Noodles
葱油拌面Shanghai's simplest addiction — noodles tossed in fragrant scallion oil and dark soy. Costs almost nothing.
Quick-Fried River Shrimp
油爆虾Tiny shrimp flash-fried in a sweet amber glaze, shell on. You eat them whole. Trust me.
Hairy Crab
大闸蟹Autumn-only ritual. You're after the golden roe inside — dip in vinegar with ginger, take your time.
Shanghai Smoked Fish
熏鱼Not actually smoked — fried fish glazed in a dark sweet soy lacquer. A classic cold starter.
Sizzling Eel
响油鳝糊Shredded eel in a glossy sauce, finished tableside by pouring sizzling hot oil over garlic. Theatre + dinner.
Malantou with Smoked Tofu
马兰头香干Spring-green chopped herb salad with pressed tofu and sesame oil. The light, fresh counterpoint.
Oil-Braised Bamboo Shoots
油焖笋Caramelized bamboo wedges in amber glaze. Sweet, rich, and proof vegetables aren't the boring option.
Sautéed Clover Greens
草头Bright local greens flash-fried until glossy. The vegetable dish Shanghainese people actually order.
Say this when you order
Every dish above is usually cooked with lard and cooking wine. Show the staff this line and they'll adjust: 不要放猪油，不要放料酒/黄酒 (no lard, no cooking wine). Simple sentence, saves the whole meal.
More local options
157 Shifang
157食坊
Bib GourmandLocal
Kaixuan Rd, Changning (Changning International branch), Shanghai
Also on the Michelin Bib Gourmand list for Shanghainese. Very local, barely touristed. 4.6 on Dianping, ¥182/person, #3 on the Xinhua Rd benbang hot list. This is the one that makes the guide look like it came from a person, not an algorithm 😂
杰: The 'I actually know Shanghai' pick — not a Google top-10 answer.
Simple, relaxed, very home-style Shanghainese on Jianguo West Rd. Perfect when you've been walking the French Concession all day and don't want to turn dinner into a formal event.
杰: The easy, casual, home-style option for French Concession days.
One important note
For Shanghainese food, tell them clearly if you avoid pork/lard or cooking wine — both sneak into dishes more often than you'd expect. Even fish and vegetable dishes aren't automatically pork-free or alcohol-free here, so none of the places above are halal-friendly.
Not my uncle
Nightlife — Where I'd Send You
C·PARK for the younger, more local, underground-ish crowd. INS for louder, chaotic, commercial Shanghai energy. Then do one polished Bund rooftop / cocktail night — because you're visiting Shanghai for the first time — just don't spend every night looking at the Bund like you're shooting a bank commercial.
Check what's on tonight — SmartShanghai ↗The newer, cooler option. Basement cluster, lots of younger local crowd, electronic / alternative / indie / live venues, fashion kids, skaters, people who look like they slept 2 hours but somehow styled it intentionally. Inside / around C·PARK you'll see names like ILLUM, Reactor, Specters, Wigwam etc. Check what's actually on that night before going.
杰: If you only do ONE 'current Shanghai' nightlife thing, start here.
Six floors of nightlife inside Fuxing Park. Hip-hop, pop, house, techno, K-pop-ish rooms, young local crowd + internationals. It's commercial and chaotic, but honestly that is part of the fun. Extra note: Culture Club inside INS tends to pull a queer / queer-friendly crowd on weekends.
杰: Go if you want energy + people-watching + 'what the hell is happening on floor 4?'
Rice Bar
上海米吧
LGBTQLow-keyChangning
2/F, 532 Fahuazhen Lu, near Dingxi Lu, Changning
A small, diverse, community-friendly lounge bar on Fahuazhen Lu. Low-key, no attitude, good for a quiet drink and conversation before the night gets loud. LGBTQ-friendly. ¥63/person, open daily 8pm–2am. Near Yan'an West Rd metro (Line 3/4).
杰: Small, friendly, community bar — the 'sit and actually talk' move.
A small Jing'an cocktail bar from Ting Ting, a 15-year scene veteran formerly of Inferno, Hepcat and Roxie. Proper craft cocktails, not showy. Tucked on the 2nd floor above a tattoo studio. Good if you want one genuinely well-made drink instead of a club. Near Changping Rd metro (Line 7).
杰: Craft cocktails run by Ting Ting — the roller queen of RIINK turned bartender.
Potent Club
POTENT
LGBTQTechnoHuangpu
3/F, TX Huaihai, 523 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Yandang Lu, Huangpu
LGBTQ-friendly club on the 3rd floor of TX Huaihai mall. Techno, house, drag shows, drag queens — the energy is real. ¥172/person, 3.0 on Dianping (don't let the score fool you — club ratings on Dianping are a different animal). Open late. Inside the same building as a lot of young-fashion energy, so the crowd spills out into the mall.
杰: The queer / techno club night inside TX Huaihai. Loud, sweaty, fun.
Culture Club
Culture Club
LGBTQLive musicINS Fuxing
4/F INS, 109 Yandang Lu, near Nanchang Lu, Huangpu
On the 4th floor of INS (the Fuxing Park nightlife complex). Electronic / underground music, live acts, and a queer / queer-friendly crowd on weekends. ¥156/person, 3.3 on Dianping. Open Wed–Sun 10pm–5am. If you're already at INS and floor-hopping, this is the one that tends to feel the most intentional — not just 'room with a DJ.'
杰: INS Fuxing Park's queer / live-music floor — the room that pulls the best crowd after midnight.
Not 'museum homework'
Art & Architecture
Shanghai Museum / 上海博物馆
上海博物馆
MuseumChinese history
Shanghai Museum, 201 Renmin Ave, People's Square
My personal pick for the best museum about Chinese history in China. Bronze, ceramics, calligraphy, jade, furniture, coins — done seriously and done well, not as a tourist checklist. The People's Square building is the classic one; the new East branch in Pudong (by HTLV / M+ architect) opened recently and is worth the trip if you want the bigger, flashier version. Free entry, book ahead on weekends.
杰: Honestly the best museum in China for Chinese history — start here.
Big riverfront, museums, galleries, architecture, joggers, design people, dogs that probably cost more than my first car. Do West Bund Museum + river walk around sunset.
杰: My pick if you want contemporary Shanghai.
Good combo for art + walking + seeing how Shanghai is reusing old industrial riverfront spaces. Do this in late afternoon and stay around for dinner / drinks.
杰: Good combo for art + walking + reused industrial riverfront.
Restored shikumen architecture + luxury / fashion / city-center energy. It's polished, yes, but the architecture is genuinely worth seeing and it fits nicely with Nanjing West Road / Jing'an.
杰: Old Shanghai shell, new Shanghai money 😂
More old-school contemporary art district / industrial texture. Less glossy than West Bund. Go if you like wandering more than 'must-see masterpieces.'
杰: Go if you like wandering more than 'must-see masterpieces.'
Just walking around
People-Watching
Wukang Rd → Anfu Rd → Wulumuqi Mid Rd
The easy answer for fashionable Shanghai: coffee, small shops, couples, dogs, creative / media / design crowd and people pretending not to people-watch while aggressively people-watching. Best: weekday late afternoon. Weekends can become human traffic.
Jing'an / Nanjing West Rd / Zhangyuan
More polished, expensive, stylish. Easy after work. Good for restaurants + architecture + drinks without designing an expedition.
Suzhou Creek
Less "iconic postcard," more urban Shanghai. Great if you like cities as cities.
The Bund
Yes, do it once. Sunset / blue hour is the obvious time. Then leave before you accidentally spend your entire Shanghai trip there.
From modern to old Shanghai — pick your vibe
🍵 Tea — worth sitting down for
tea'stone
tea'stone 新天地
ModernXintiandiBeginner-friendly
L108, 1F, Lane 123 Xingye Rd, Huangpu, Shanghai
One seat, one tea, choose your brewing style. Very polished, very modern — no 'grandfather's tea club' energy. Perfect for someone's first real encounter with Chinese tea. Xintiandi branch, L108, Lane 123 Xingye Rd. Pair with the Xintiandi / Huaihai Road day.
杰: My first pick for modern Chinese tea — what happens when tea culture gets a 2020s redesign.
Yinxi
隐溪茶馆
QuietPrivate roomProper session
Jing'an Temple area, Shanghai (multiple branches)
Modern Chinese tea space with relatively private tea rooms — pu'er, white tea, black tea. Staff will help with the first brew. Less 'new consumer brand' feel than tea'stone, more 'sit down for two-three hours and actually talk.' Jing'an Temple branch is the most central for tourists.
杰: More serene and grown-up. Private tea rooms where two hours disappear very easily.
Da Ke Tang
大可堂普洱茶馆
1930s villaPu'erOld Shanghai
Lane 388-25 Xiangyang Rd (S), near Yongjia Rd, Xuhui
Pu'er-focused tea house in a beautiful three-story 1933 French-style garden villa on Xiangyang Rd (S). The space itself is the draw. Particularly good if you want to try pu'er properly. This is very 'Shanghai' — Chinese tea, but inside an old Shanghai villa. Daily 10am–1am.
杰: For the full old-Shanghai tea atmosphere — tea inside a 1933 French villa.
Tianshan Tea City
天山茶城
Tea marketFor nerdsRabbit hole
Yuping Rd (S), Changning, Shanghai
Not a polished afternoon tea — this is a massive tea market. Hundreds of tea merchants, leaves and teaware all in one place. First-time visitors don't have to go, but if you're clearly getting into tea, this is the most real Chinese tea experience on the list. 4.8 on Dianping. Near Loushanguan Rd metro.
杰: If you said you like tea — now we're going down the rabbit hole.
Hangzhou — West Lake & Tea Fields
杭州·西湖·茶田
Day tripUNESCOBest green teaLongjing
West Lake (西湖), Hangzhou — high-speed train from Shanghai Hongqiao
If you have a free day, take the high-speed train from Shanghai Hongqiao to Hangzhou (40 min–1 hr). West Lake is a UNESCO site — and the surrounding tea fields around Longjing (龙井) produce what most Chinese people consider the best green tea in the country. Walk the lake, visit a tea farm, drink a cup of Longjing where it's grown. This is the real rabbit hole — not a Shanghai tea house, but the source itself.
杰: The best green tea in China — and it's only a 40–60 min high-speed train from Shanghai.
If you can only pick two
tea'stone + Da Ke Tang. One represents today's China — modern, stylish, easiest introduction. The other represents old Shanghai — a 1933 villa, pu'er, the full atmosphere. The contrast is exactly the point.
The hits, but what a local would actually tell you
Shanghai Classic Sights — A Local's Version
The Bund
外滩
Go at dusk — catch the sunset and the lights coming on, then leave. Don't spend three hours weaving through the crowd. Detour down Yuanmingyuan Rd, Huqiu Rd and the back lanes behind the Bund; that's the interesting part.
Yu Garden
豫园
Mixed feelings. Overly touristy and commercialised — at night when it lights up it feels more like a traditional temple fair than a garden. The actual garden inside is genuinely worth seeing during the day, but most of the experience isn't really worth recommending.
Lujiazui
陆家嘴
The skyline is worth seeing up close. If you want to go up, pick ONE tower — no need to tick off Oriental Pearl, Shanghai Tower and Jinmao all in one day.
Wukang Rd / Anfu Rd
武康路·安福路
Don't just photograph Wukang Building. Walk Wukang Rd, Hunan Rd, Fuxing West Rd, Wuyuan Rd and Anfu Rd as one loop — that's where this neighbourhood is actually fun.
Xintiandi
新天地
A very successful shikumen commercial retrofit, but not 'authentic old Shanghai.' Best paired with Sinan Rd, Fuxing Middle Rd and Huaihai Rd.
Jing'an Temple
静安寺
Old temple, skyscrapers and luxury malls mashed together — very Shanghai. Continue down Yuyuan Rd or Julu Rd afterwards.
West Bund
西岸
Art museums, industrial heritage, the riverside, parks and city life all mixed. More 'today's Shanghai' than the classic checklist sights.
Suzhou Creek + M50
苏州河·M50
M50 alone is just okay, but paired with Suzhou Creek and Suhewan it's great. Good for art, architecture and a proper city walk.
Shanghai Museum
上海博物馆
If you like Chinese history and art, absolutely go — it's the best museum in China for that. If not, don't force it just because 'you're already here.'
The controversial ones
Overrated, or just past their prime
Not banned — just don't build your day around them.
Nanjing East Rd 南京东路
Once Shanghai's commercial heart, now mostly a tourist pedestrian street. Fine to pass through; don't mistake it for Shanghai's most stylish shopping area.
Tianzifang 田子坊
The lanes still have charm, but the whole thing is heavily touristified. If you're staying nearby, pop in; not worth crossing the city for.
Chenghuang Temple shopping street 城隍庙商业街
The buildings and night lights are lively, but it's souvenirs, snacks and crowds. The thing actually worth doing is Yu Garden — not queuing two hours for xiaolongbao.
People's Square 人民广场
An important landmark and transit hub, but not much to 'tour' on its own. Better used as the start point for the museum or Nanjing Rd.
Oriental Pearl Tower 东方明珠
Still the Shanghai icon, but no longer the best viewing experience. For a high-city view, Shanghai Tower or a high-rise bar is usually more comfortable.
"Just photograph Wukang Building" 只拍武康大楼
Wukang Building is worth seeing — but compressing the whole French Concession into one intersection selfie is the Xiaohongshu way to misunderstand Shanghai.
Of confusion
Things That Save You 20 Minutes
- In China, a place can have several English translations. Search the CHINESE NAME in AMap / Dianping when possible.
- Google Maps POIs can be stale or oddly positioned in mainland China. Use the Google links in this guide as a reference, then navigate with AMap.
- Screenshot the hotel name + address in Chinese and keep it in your phone.
- DiDi pickup points in malls / clubs can be weird. Follow the exact AMap / DiDi pickup pin, not your emotional interpretation of 'I'm literally outside.'
- For halal places, look for 清真 and confirm if strict observance matters to you.
- Shanghai distances lie. "It's only 8 km" can still become 40 minutes when traffic gets creative.