Into the melting pot

Awe-inspiring facades

Here, charming neoclassical architecture and art deco structures stand alongside modern buildings with shimmering glass and metal facades, rustic lane houses and decrepit shikumen buildings. Humble mom-and-pop shops that look stuck in time can often be found right next to hip dining venues or industrial-chic boutiques selling designer apparel.

It is also not uncommon to find Maseratis, Ferraris and Rolls-Royce cars sharing the road with cyclists riding their colorful shared bikes or the classic models of Forever Bicycles, one of the nation's most famous domestic brands.

One of the best places to get an overview of these surreal contrasts is none other than the tallest building in the city - the Shanghai Tower in Lujiazui. Measuring a dizzying 632 meters in height, this architectural marvel boasts having the world's highest observation deck within a building or structure. It also comes with the world's fastest elevators which would get you from the bottom to the top at 20.5 meters per second.

On the other side of the Huangpu River is where you would find the Bund, which is home to magnificent neoclassical buildings such as the HSBC Building, the Custom House and the Waldorf Astoria. The Bund is to Shanghai what Times Square is to New York or what the Champs-élysées is to Paris. A trip to Shanghai would not be complete without exploring this iconic waterfront promenade.