Shanghai

Shanghai
Some of the most astonishing views in Shanghai is the-slap-in-the face  and stark contrast of the old and new. The low buildings prior 1930s, the grand ones along the Bund of 1930s with the British trading companies established there and the 21st century glass and steel high-rises, and huge blocks of flats for accommodating the increasingly dense population. All of this makes Shanghai an amazing paradise for photographers and inquisitive minds of visitors, expats and verylikely locals alike.

Top of Shanghai World Financial Centre seen from the Pearl tower. Third tallest building in the world at the time, it is also known as the bottle opener.

Old and new Shanghai from the Pearl tower, in Pudong

New super high rise bulidings

Shanghai, at the bottom of the Pearl tower, roundabout and elevated crossings, beautifully decorated with flower beds for the China National Day

Shanghai, one of the most densely populated cities in the world.

update: just found this video about one of the towers being built when i was there in 2012.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLDYtH1RH-U

Shanghai, before the British arrived, was a small fishing village, surrounded by swamps in the now Pudong area. It had been a trading port but of no more relevance than that. Then in 1930s with Europe's hand in Asia and the opium trade, financial deals were made and corporations were formed there and it was not till 1990s that Shanghai flourished as a financial hub, time when new developments began being made.
Shanghai was bombed by the Japanese in 1932, who invaded China and the ensuing 1930s and 1940s war, badly affected the city, and after communism, in 1990s its econominy flourished.


My days in Shanghai
Arrived by air, found the hostel easily and it wasn't hard to get our bearings and know our surroundings. Shanghai metro goes to the airport, so cheap and easy.
Hostel: Mingtown Nanjing Road. three minute walk from East Nanjing Road metro station. Recommended, I would definetely stay there again.
Amenities, food, 10 minute walk to the Bund, off Nanjing Road, cool location.

I fell in love with the city within hours of being there so when planning how long to stay there, rather than a mere two or three-day stay, I’d say, let yourself get carried away, don’t plan a return trip if you can and see how you feel about it. Colleagues who'd been there had said a couple of days was enough but oh man how wrong I thought they were.
It’s easy enough to get away from it with no travel arrangements. I did not want to leave. I’d followed Maitane's, and others', advice about the length of stay but no no. Three days is just enough to get a rough idea of what the city is like, but stay longer and relish what it has to offer.

The food, the sights and neighbourhoods, the dancing ladies in the evening, the taichi and sword and fans ladies and elderly men flying kites against the  blue, bathed-in-sunshine sky by the Huangpu river on the magestic Bund early in the morning when the sun rises behind the awe-inspiring high-rises, underestimating the height of the new Pudong skyscrapers. Just magic. The light at this time of the day is breathtaking in October. Something I like to do even though I don't always have the time to do it is visit the same place in different moments of the day, say morning and evening, the light, the crowds are totally different. This time, I did.
You won’t be hassled, people are nice and friendly despite their lack of English skills. And again, if you travel alone, opportunities to speak with locals abound. I was invited into one of the French Concessions houses, where a handlful of ladies in their late 70s were playing some go, the domino-like game. Smiles did all the job, no word spoken other than xiexie, now widely used in China.
As leonasam says, there are plenty, plenty of incredible shopping opportunities, in newly built shopping malls, and beautiful and charming little local shops in the French Conscession. The original houses have been stripped of their façades and turned into fancy shops. One can't help the change.
What stroke me the most is the size of the metro stations and the number of exits. Distances are undeniably big for someone from old Europe. And one more thing worth saying the contrasts. Streets, people, shops, affordable consumer paradise from rags and local to luxury are just one step away from each other. Shanghai is many Shanghais and locals don’t seem to mind the radical change the city has undergone these last 10 years, they seem to go with the flow although surely there must be some resenting it as whenever there's dramatic changes but we hardly met any who spoke out about this.
Shocking was also the huge amount of plastic in the streets: rubbish-pickers making their wages collecting the discarded plastic bottles, which is a sight everywhere in Asia but probably nothing compares to China. 
Well, after three whole days there I’d say: I want to move to Shanghai and work for the British Council there for some time! It’s thriving, amazing, rich and poor, cheap and expensive, accommodating, exciting, cultural. It can be what you want it to be. Just amazing.
and I haven't even mentioned the temples. 

shanghai metro photographer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-25435392